Zebra 301A Ballpoint Review

It has been nearly a year since I wrote the review for the Zebra 301A above - things sometimes have a way of getting overlooked in my Flickr stream. Re-reading what I wrote last January though, my first thoughts still hold true today.

When I see someone using the traditional Zebra F-301 Ballpoint I know they at least care a little about the pen they are writing with. It is a good pen, even a little bit above average, and many people swear by it. I won't go that far but I do understand its appeal. With the 301A, Zebra has gone after those same customers by applying a fresh coat of paint to an already good pen, but did nothing to take it further than that.

The 301A comes in four barrel colors - blue, gray, maroon, and gold - with the same grip and knock as the F-301. The font on the barrel has been "upgraded" too, but I liken it more to a logo you would find at the $2.99 t-shirt shop down at the boardwalk. It is not as classy as the old logo, and combined with some of the new colors it is downright disappointing.

Unlike the original, I have never seen one of these in use by anyone other than myself. I missed the mark in not reviewing this pen when it first came out, but Zebra missed the mark by not making a real upgrade to one of the anchors of their product line. Bring me an F-301 with an emulsion ink refill and then we can talk.

Kaweco AL Sport Ballpoint Review

Everyone knows I am a big Kaweco fan, especially of the AL Sport Fountain Pen which I currently own four of. Its close relative, the AL Sport Ballpoint, had been on my wish list for ages until I finally bought one a few months back. I was really excited when I first got it, but that excitement waned quickly for a few reasons.

I knew going into it that the ballpoint refill was going to be poor. That's fine, and was actually a big selling point to me because it takes D1 refills, meaning I can load it with the Zebra Sharbo X 0.4 mm gel ink refills that I like so much. The hand written review above is done with the stock refill. The best compliment I can give it is that it is usable. The lines and tip are clean, but the ink color is far too light - you can tell how hard I was pressing in an effort to darken it up.

It is also a loud pen. This is a product of the combination of aluminum construction materials and the retractable mechanism. The moving parts and the metal on metal areas of the pen cause some noise when writing. Lots of click-clack going on. What really did not work for me with the Kaweco AL Sport Ballpoint is the barrel length. It comes up about 1/4" short of where I am comfortable writing with it for any length of time. Unfortunately for me, the stylus-equipped version of this pen showed up online about a week after I received my standard model. I think the extra length would have made all the difference in my opinion of this pen. As it stands, it made the "Truly Disappointed" list in Episode 32 of the podcast.

It all worked out in the end though, as I was able to trade this pen to a Pen Addict reader for an EF nib unit for my Vanishing Point. The Kaweco AL Sport Ballpoint is working out very well for him and just goes to show you how a pen that doesn't work so well for you can work great for someone else.

Monteverde Poquito Ballpoint Pen + Stylus Review

I was surprised at how diminutive the Monteverde Poquito was when I opened the package. I ordered it myself, so you would think I knew what I was doing, but I honestly had to double-check the packing slip to see what the pen actually was. My next step was to bring up the product page on JetPens and REALLY make sure it was what I ordered.

Yep, it was, and I'm glad I did. This is one of the more surprising pens I have used in quite some time. Most mini or compact ballpoint pens I have reviewed in the past have ranged from passable to unusable. The Poquito trumps them all by a long shot.

Aside from the excellent barrel design, the 0.7 mm black ballpoint ink cartridge is the hero here. Crisp, clean, and smooth lines flow with no mess or skipping to speak of. It was a very impressive performance from an ink category that generally disappoints. It was so good I am going to actively search out other Monteverde refills to test out.

Writing is only part of the picture with the Poquito as it features a stylus as well. I reviewed another mini ballpoint pen with stylus that was horrible but the Poquito stylus handled everything I threw at it with ease. It didn't fail on any swipes or taps on my iPhone and was very responsive overall.

Welcome to my every day carry Monteverde Poquito.