Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Stabilo Pen 68 1.0 mm Neon Marker Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

The Stabilo Pen 68 Markers are a favorite of many marker lovers. Their huge variety of vibrant colors allow for infinite creativity and they're priced at a point where you don't have to feel too weird for collecting multiple, similar shades of the same color.

Stabilo's latest addition to this marker line is neon shades--six electric bright colors for when your work needs an extra pop or highlight. There's neon red, pink, orange, yellow, green, and blue. The ink is much brighter than it appears in pictures--these could even be used as highlighters, with the 1 mm tip perfect for highlighting finer print. The tip can also be held at different angles to produce different line widths. The tips are bullet-shaped and quite firm for felt tips. They hold up well for sketching, coloring, and lettering, and they're great for coloring books.

The ink is super bright. It's odorless, water-based, and dries quickly with no smearing--so it's great for lefties. Though it dries quickly on paper, through some sorcery it doesn't dry out in the tip. They can be left uncapped for up to twenty-four hours without drying out. That's insane. And great for long coloring sessions. A twenty-four-hour coloring session sounds pretty nice right now. This feature also makes them good kid markers, where creative enthusiasm can sometimes lead to forgotten or lost caps. The small caps are a choking hazard, though--so keep them away from younger kiddos.

The body of the pen is hexagonal, so it won't roll on tabletops. It's a rather long marker at 6.6" capped, 6.2" uncapped, and 7.1" posted. It's also fairly narrow--similar to a pencil in feel. There is no clip and no specific grip area. The body itself serves as the grip section, which allows for some nice flexibility in grip preference, and the hexagon angles are subtle enough that they aren't uncomfortable to hold. Which is good if you're planning that twenty-four-hour color-a-thon. The cap is ventilated and clicks in place. It also clicks to post, and is nicely secure there. The cap is really small, though, and it twists freely so that the hexagon angles don't line up. I confess I've lost some valuable coloring time to fiddling with the caps so that they line up with the body. But I'm also aware that if they put the engineering into aligning the caps, the markers would probably cost more. So I'll let this one go. I mean, I'll probably have to fix it every time, but I'll try not to complain about it.

I generally prefer colored pencils or gel pens to markers, but if I was going to invest in a big set, I'd consider these a good value. I'd personally prefer a finer point, for the tiny spaces in adult coloring books.

I think everyone needs a little pop of brightness and fun in their day--and there's not much more bright and fun than neon art supplies.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on January 26, 2017 by Sarah Read and filed under Stabilo, Marker, Pen Reviews.

Zebra Sarasa Grand Gel Ink Pen Review

I’m a big fan of stationery companies adding upgraded barrel options for their main line products. Pilot does it for the G2 and Hi-Tec-C, Uni-ball does it for the Signo 207 and Jetstream, and Zebra now does it for their ever popular Sarasa Push Clip lineup.

The Zebra Sarasa Clip Grand succeeds where many of the products I mentioned above fail. It is a good product, where outside of the Hi-Tec-C Cavalier, the other upgraded barrel options are mediocre at best.

Zebra kept the functionality, style, and feel intact with the Grand barrel. It is made from brass and maintains a not too heavy, not too light feel. I was concerned at first that the grip section might be too slick - it is lacquered just like the rest of the barrel - but I had no slipping problems with dry or slightly sweaty fingers. They latched on well.

I was impressed with how solid and quiet the knock felt. It gives a sturdy click when engaged, and it never rattled regardless of what position it was in. The clip mechanics are essentially the same, with a curved metal attachment on the Grand that either sticks out further than on the Push Clip, or at least appears that way. The functionality is exactly the same, and may work even better on the newer pen.

People love the Sarasa Push Clip because of how well the refill performs, and of course you get that same excellence with the Grand since it uses the same refill. And that is the point of this pen anyway. Use any of your favorite Push Clip refills in the upgraded barrel of the Grand.

If I had to do it over again, I would choose the Black barrel over the Pink. The color is more of a light metallic red instead of any type of pink that pops. There are Navy and Gold options to choose from as well.

The Zebra Sarasa Grand is $16.50 at JetPens, which make it a no-brainer to recommend to Sarasa Clip fans. You are buying a lot of refills anyway, so you may as well give them a nice home.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on January 23, 2017 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Zebra, Sarasa, Pen Reviews.

Aurora TU Fountain Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Before a few months ago, I really didn't know much about Aurora. Luckily, I had the opportunity to use a couple of top-notch pens that definitely ensured Aurora would stay on my radar going forward. There are several reviews already on the site for Aurora fountain pens that cost several hundred dollars, but the TU is more of an entry-level option.

The Aurora TU fountain pen from JetPens runs for around $125, and it does a great job of representing the brand at this price option. The model I have is the ivory resin with chrome trim, but you can also get a black resin model. The steel nibs come in a range from EF - B, so you're bound to find one that fits you well.

The TU is a small to medium size pen, but it feels great in the hand despite it's smaller size. The plastic grip section is comfortable to use, and the raised band close to the tip of the section is a nice tangible guide when writing with the pen. Depending on your grip style, this small bump may annoy you, but it's necessary as its job is to keep the cap on the pen when closed.

The cap is a snap cap mechanism that feels solid when opening and closing the pen. The snap also works when posting the pen, giving a satisfying "clunk" when it snaps in place. You definitely know when the pen is closed or posted due to this snap system. It's well done.

The pen is weighted evenly and feels very balanced. Some pens feel top or bottom heavy depending on the materials used, but the TU is a balanced pen even when posted.

The cap features several branding flares for the Aurora brand, and they might feel a bit gratuitous to some. The top of the cap has a prominent Aurora logo debossed into the chrome trim. The clip also has "Aurora" debossed along the side, and the band reads "Aurora Made in Italy." The nib is also branded with a very small Aurora mention along with the nib size. Apart from that, the nib is not decorated or flourished.

The pen as a whole is attractive. It's subtle, but has plenty of nice touches to set it apart from other pens. The flat ends are somewhat rare in my collection, so I have no problem telling it apart.

The nib is a crisp, well-tuned steel EF model. It did not require any tweaking since it wrote beautifully straight out of the case. It writes smoothly and has great ink flow, even for a small EF nib. Compared to other European EF nibs, it's on the small side, but I like that. The line looks like something between a 0.5mm and 0.38mm gel ink pen line.

Even though the nib works flawlessly, it does make some scratching noises. I'm not sure why it does this, as it feels very smooth when writing. I might do some nib smoothing at some point, but I really like how it writes at the moment. I don't want to risk changing that.

I haven't noticed any issues with dry starts or skipping, which is on-par with the other Auroras I've used. It's a great writer, and I've really enjoyed using it.

Is there anything not to like about this pen? Well, it turns out there are a couple of gripes. For one, this pen does not come with a cartridge-converter. You must purchase one separately, and it's on the more expensive side of the converter market. It costs $16.50, which isn't unheard of, but it looks like a slightly modified standard converter that you receive at no cost with pens that cost half as much. It would be awesome if Aurora would just include the converter with the pen. If you go in on the pen and converter combined, you're looking at almost $140. Strangely enough, Aurora includes a blank cartridge with this pen (along with a regular blue cartridge). My only assumption for this blank cartridge is that it's intended to be syringe-filled with an ink of your choosing, which is exactly what I did. I don't know if this was correct, but it worked! Still, syringe-filling isn't something everyone is comfortable with or able to do without purchasing a proper syringe.

Another problem that is a bit more difficult to pin down or support is that the price point feels awkward. This is definitely a well-made pen, but I'm not sure it fits in the $100 - $150 market. When you look at other pens that you can purchase in that price range, it doesn't look as attractive. And, I know that's a very subjective statement because this pen might be the most beautiful thing you've seen. Still, the point remains. When you're pricing a pen in the same ballpark as the Lamy 2000, Pilot Custom Heritage 92, the Pilot Decimo and Vanishing Point, and the Platinum 3776, there needs to be a clear distinguishing factor. For me, I can't distinguish it against this group. It's an easier task when dropped to the $75 - $125 range.

Pricing aside, it's a great pen that would make a great gift or first introduction to the Aurora brand. You get one blue cartridge with the pen, so be sure to either purchase more cartridges or a cartridge converter if you're not keen on syringe filling the provided empty cartridge.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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