Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Pentel EnerGel Infree Gel Pen Review

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

We're all familiar with the Pentel EnerGel lineup, and for good reason. This iconic pen has been around for years and years, and it's one of the best pens you can pick up at your local big box store. But just because the EnerGel is a popular pen doesn't mean Pentel can let the line grow stagnant! To me, that's where the Infree line comes in.

The Pentel EnerGel Infree is a new style that features a clear barrel and lots of silver and chrome accents. It's the same refill inside that we all love, but there's so much more to like about this new barrel design.

The particular version I'm using in this review is the 0.7mm in Turquoise Blue, and I am smitten. The color is amazing, and it's just as smooth and reliable as every other EnerGel I've used. The color is a dark turquoise with plenty of beautiful green to play along with the medium blue. There's no shading, but it's a lovely shade of blue-green. The 0.7mm tip is wide enough to really show off the color of this ink, and I've really enjoyed using it.

The ink looks great when writing on the page, but it also looks great inside the pen. The crystal clear barrel on this pen shows off the ink cartridge inside, allowing you to see how much ink is left as well as what color it is (in the case where you have several of these pens with different colored refills). As an added bonus, it just looks cool. I love the crystal clear body and how it shows off the refill, but it also shows off the nock mechanism and even the grip threads. It's a great touch, and it reminds me of the demonstrator fountain pens I love so much.

The clip is a shiny chrome accent, and it's strong enough to keep this pen sturdily attached to anything the clip jaw can get around. The grip section has a textured rubber grip that is comfortable to hold, and it's also a nice gray color to compliment the clear plastic and chrome accents. The nock mechanism has a solid chunk when you use it, letting you know for sure when it's been used. All in all, it lines up exactly the same with every other EnerGel retractable pen I've used, just with a different aesthetic.

I'm a big fan of the look of this pen, and I'll heartily recommend it to anyone. My personal favorite is the Turquoise Blue, but there are several other colors available, including Blue Black, Orange, Blue, and Black. At just $3 per pen, it's a great deal for an attractive and stellar performer.

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

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Posted on March 6, 2019 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Pentel, Energel, Pen Reviews.

Zebra Sparky-2 Highlighter Review

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

Highlighters are one of those stationery items that many people keep on hand without fussing about the features and quality of the ink, tips, and other items. Even though highlighters aren't an exciting genre of our world, they are something you expect to work well when you need them. When it's time to mark up a book or some notes, it's good to have options. The Zebra Sparky-2 highlighters are great at both making marks and providing a great amount of variety in color and tip size.

Double-sided highlighters aren't a new invention, and you could even argue that they're the new baseline these days. Who doesn't want the option of a thick or thin line from the same pen? Even so, manufacturers have to tick several products and offer a compelling product. The Sparky-2 is a well-performing highlighter with a couple of nice features to set it apart from the pack.

The liquid ink is resistant to both light and water, making it a great option for annotating notes and textbooks. Your marks will stand the test of time and play nicely with most inks and papers. Fountain pen inks can sometimes bleed and smear under a highlighter, but this is a problem that impacts any highlighter. With gel pens, ballpoints, and pencils, you'll never deal with any smearing or bluring.

The ink is also very bright and fluorescent without being too dark. I've used highlighters in the past that made it difficult to read the text or notes that they covered. This is not the case with the Zebra Sparky-2 highlighters, and I'd even prefer the green highlighter to be a bit darker.

Another great trick that the Spark-2 pens offer is a protective covering around the tip. The purpose of this small sleeve is two-fold: one, it adds rigidity to the tip so that it doesn't collapse over time, and it also prevents ink from getting on a ruler or straightedge if you run the highlighter alongside it. It's not something I've ever wished for, but now I wish that all highlighters were made this way!

As an added bonus, both caps can post to their sibling cap, meaning you don't have to keep trck of these small, clear caps. Losing a cap is a death sentence for the liquid ink tip!

Finally, the number of color options available in this line is astounding. At a total of ten (10!) colors, you should be able to differentiate your notes and research with no problem. Add in the fact that each pen has two sizes of tip, and that's effectively 20 highlighters.

The three-pack of yellow, green, and pink that I'm using comes in at just $6, which is a great deal for such a great and useful product. If you spring for the 10-pack of all colors, they'll come in just under $16, which is also an incredible value.

Pick up a set for yourself or the industrious student in your life!

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

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on February 20, 2019 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Zebra, Highlighter, Pen Reviews.

Sailor Pro Gear Ocean Fountain Pen Review

I have a strange habit of not having reviews on The Pen Addict for some of my most favorite pens. In my head, I’ve done them. I talk about the pen constantly online, or with friends, or on the podcast, so certainly I can link you to the review right? Time and time again, the answer is nope, I can’t. And I can’t figure out why!

But today, I’m logging the Sailor Pro Gear Ocean Fountain Pen into the permanent record. I looked back through the eleven plus year history of this blog and saw that I have reviewed exactly one standard Pro Gear fountain pen, back in 2015. That’s unacceptable for a pen I use and recommend so much.

Since that last review, my love for the brand, and specifically this pen model, has grown. Sure, I’ve had dalliances with the 1911, and rave about the King of Pen (which I haven’t reviewed yet either!), but the Pro Gear is one of my favorite all day, every day pens in my rotation.

Everything about this pen is perfect for me. The size and weight of the pen hit a perfect balance of not to small and not too heavy, while also remaining not too large. It slides into a pocket or a pen case easily, with the strong clip keeping it secure. It even posts to a reasonable writing length for you heathens out there.

As great as this pen feels, I have a lot of pens that feel just as nice. Two things set it apart from those other pens. First off, Sailor pens have a style that fits me and my aesthetic perfectly. There are always fun colors and combinations to choose from, including a ton of rhodium trim and nib options. The clip design is classic, the cap band is a strong, but not overwhelming, visual, and the anchor in the finial is as classic to me as the Montblanc snowcap. And don’t even get me started on all of the special/limited editions, of which the Ocean model is one of.

Secondly, and the thing most people think of when they think of Sailor, is the nib. If I can tell you one thing about Sailor nibs and how they compare to their Japanese counterparts it is that they are firm. Sailor stock nibs come in a wide range of sizes, from Extra Fine, to Zoom and Music. I ordered a Medium Fine for my Ocean, and had Dan Smith stub it before shipping - an awesome service he offers by the way. (Disclosure: I paid full price for this pen with my own cash money.)

Even with the nib modification, this thing writes like a nail. And I love it. A quick look at the writing samples in this review will tell you why. This is my normal writing style and size. The output on the page is tight and clean, and the ink flow is perfect.

For years, people have asked “Why fountain pens?” when questioning me about why people choose to write with certain pens. And my answer is always “Customization.” This Sailor Pro Gear Ocean is the epitome of that for me. It’s the feel I want, the color I want, and the nib I want, all wrapped up in one neat package. Add up all of those wants, and all I want to do is use it. There is no higher praise I can give a product than that.

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