Tuff-Writer Frontline Series Tactical Pen Review

(Disclosure: I was provided this pen at no charge from Tuff-Writer.)

I love the idea of tactical pens. Their design is extremely appealing to my eye and the highly engineered pen bodies are a pleasure to use. When I was contacted by the PR team that handles the Tuff-Writer account about reviewing one of their pens how could I say no?

They shipped out the Frontline Series Stealth Black Tactical Pen to me a few weeks ago. Having only reviewed one legitimate tactical pen before in the County Comm Embassy Pen I was happy to have another to compare it to.

The first thing I noticed about the Frontline is how long the barrel is. The sharp end really stands out and at 6 1/2 inches it is all business. I couldn’t help but stare at it and wonder what uses it had outside of the desk jockey realm that I inhabit. Very impressive.

The barrel is made from 6061-T6 Aerospace Grade Aluminum. I don’t know what any of those numbers and words mean other than aluminum, but I do know the quality is top notch. There are two different depths of knurling on the barrel. The cut on the body is deeper to allow for better gripping, while on the grip area it is shallower for a more comfortable writing experience. The clip could be a weapon in its own right it is so tight and thick.

From a writing standpoint the stock refill is the Fisher Space Pen 1.0 mm black ballpoint, which is almost mandatory for tactical pens. The pressurized cartridge holds up well in the extreme conditions where this pen is often found.

I’m not taking my Tuff-Writer anywhere other than my desk, but I did show it to a couple of friends who would use it out in the real world and they were impressed by it. One even mentioned he liked it better than his titanium Embassy Pen, especially the sharp “business-end”.

Thanks to Tuff-Writer for sending me this pen for review. Be sure to check out the Frontline Series product page for more specs and details.

Uni-ball Woodnote .38 mm Orange Review

(This is a guest review by Brian Draghi. You can follow Brian on Twitter @sketchscape)

This is one of those types of pens that holds your interest the first time you see it. The main element is the visually appealing wood main body and the reliable Signo gel ink. While the Uni-ball Woodnote catches your attention, it falls flat in comfort, function and price compared to the other options in the Uni-ball brand.

Anyone that uses regular wood pencils will feel right at home when using the Uni-ball Woodnote. It has almost the same type of texture but more of a smoother feel than a regular pencil. Most of the body is made up of recycled cedar wood except for both end pieces and the cap, which are made up of plastic. This is a small pen without the cap posted measuring about 4.5 inches long. The bulk of the pen is taken up by the plastic cap.

I'm rather torn here because I really wanted to like this pen but there are several issues that make it irritating to use. The wood body has a quality feel to it but it's also too smooth and slick. It's hard for me to find an ideal comfortable grip especially since my thumb and index finger rest right between the wood and plastic. I wished the wood texture came completely up the whole barrel right before it tapers into the pen point. Right now my fingers rest right on the part line between the materials which doesn't feel comfortable at all.

The writing quality is less than ideal which is rather surprising considering there is a Signo gel ink refill inside. Maybe it's just this particular orange refill that came with the pen but it feels difficult to write with. I decided to switch out one of my blue black refills in my Uni-ball Style Fit for the orange refill in the Woodnote. There was a slight improvement using the blue black refill in the Woodnote as well as the orange in the Style Fit but even so, the Style Fit just felt better to write with. Writing with the Woodnote on copy paper tended to drag across more slowly then smoother paper. It also felt rather scratchy against the paper which made it feel like more effort was required to write with.

This really isn't the ideal pen to use for carrying in your pocket due to it's durability issues with the wood body. The wood frame seems to easily be nicked especially if you have any keys or other items in your pocket. The other problem I had revolved around the overly flexible and flimsy clip. The clip is so flexible that I worry how effective it would be using it to attach anything to. The quality of the clip reminds me of the cheap Bic pen cap clips that will take a new shape if you happen to bend it. I also have a problem with how the cap rotates when posted on the end. The cap is definitely secure but it feels like your going to lose it when you rotate it. Maybe I'm just used to caps that stay firmly on place to really adjust to this pen.

Overall

The Woodnote just doesn’t cut it for me due to its scratchy writing quality and uncomfortable recycled wood body. This seems like more of a novelty pen to me rather than something practical that I can use everyday. Take away the wood and you would have just a standard pen that wouldn’t be good enough to put in my regular rotation. At nearly 5 dollars on JetPens, this is a more expensive option considering their are cheaper and better options in the Uni-ball family. The Uni-ball Style Fit with the exact refill is not even half the price and feels better to use than the Woodnote.

Rating

2 out of 5 pens

Pros

- Solid design

- Signo gel ink

- Eco-friendly recyclable American cedar wood

- Can interchange refill with Uni-ball Style Fit

Cons

- Lack of comfortable grip

- Scratchy writing quality

- Easily wear wood body

- Clip is too flimsy

Zebra SL-F1 Mini Ballpoint Pen Review

Zebra makes the best mini pens. Anyone care to disagree?

I’m not trying to get anyone riled up or make some off the wall point. I’m being serious - who does it better? I think the Fisher Space Pen will get a lot of votes because of the pressurized ballpoint refill, but in the bang for the buck category I think Zebra gets it right.

The SL-F1 Mini Ballpoint Pen is Zebra’s latest addition to an ever growing line of portable pens. This telescoping model is a compact 3.3 inches when closed and expands to 4 inches when extended into the writing position. The metal barrel gives it a nice weight and feel. The 0.7 mm ballpoint ink is smooth and clean. Positive marks all around for the SL-F1 in my book.

At $5.00 it is an excellent value, but that isn’t the best part. The SL-F1 takes a standard D1 refill, which means gel ink refills are an option. 0.4 mm Mandarin Orange here I come!

For another look at the Zebra SL-F1 see the review at No Pen Intended.