Pilot Vpen Disposable Fountain Pen Review

Pilot has a big share of the disposable fountain pen market, so despite the fact I am not a big fountain pen user, I thought I would give the Pilot Vpen a try. The Platinum Preppy is the disposable fountain pen which I compare all others to, and I thought the Pilot Petit mini fountain pen was one of the worst I had used, so where will the Vpen land on my somewhat out of kilter scale?

In the look and feel department, the Vpen is a winner. Pilot takes a simplistic approach to pen design, but they do it very well. If you have ever used a Pilot V5 pen before, then you will know how the Vpen feels in the hand, but just a fraction wider. You pretty much always know what you are going to get with Pilot in this department, and the Vpen is no different.

When initially putting the nib to the page, I was pretty impressed with how the Vpen performed. My preference would have been a fine or extra fine nib, but this medium nib wasn't all that bad. In fact, it was pretty darn good. The ink flowed immediately, the lines were solid and consistent, and there was minimal bleed or feathering. The blue ink was a really nice shade as well.

While the Platinum Preppy may still be my first choice due to the added nib options, the Pilot Vpen is an excellent disposable fountain pen.

Pilot FriXion Colors Erasable Marker Review

This one was a bit of a head scratcher when I saw it pop in the JetPens new product feed a month or two ago. I understand and am behind the Pilot FriXion gel ink line of pens - write your notes, erase your mistakes, rinse, repeat. But the FriXion Colors erasable marker, I'm not really sure where this pen falls in to line.

Despite my confusion, there are several things I like about this pen. One, the barrel design is great. I love the white barrel with red text, and the translucent cap makes for a nice presentation. Secondly, the eraser works like a champ. You can see in the photo above how well it erases letters and solid blocks of colors.

On the downside, I am not crazy about the ink and the tip. The tip is softer than I like in a felt tip marker, and it seemed to me like it was breaking down almost immediately after starting to use it. A small little felt ball even rolled off it at one point. The ink color is nice and lays down on the page ok, but if you write over ink that is already on the page - like if you were coloring in a circle - the second layer of ink removes some of the underlying layer. You know how when you are at a white board and you write ink over ink and it leaves white streaks? It's like that. 

So in buying this pen, it all boils down to what you will be using it for. Any ideas?

Click here for the XL review.

Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Five Cartridge Barrel Review

First it was the two cartridge, then the three, then the four, and now the five cartridge Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto has arrived. What's next, an eleventeen cartridge Coleto? If there was, I would still probably buy it, because the Coleto line is probably the best bang for your buck gel ink multi pen on the market today.

I love the versatility of multi pens, and because of that, I have tried as many as I can get my hands on. Compared to its closest competitors - the Uni-Ball Style Fit and the Pentel Sliccies - the Coleto is the undisputed champ in my book. The barrel has a great feel and design, and the many ink colors are vibrant and write wonderfully. If there is any knock on it, it is that the ink cartridges run out too quickly, but that is the case with many gel ink multi pens.

I was actually a little hesitant to pick up the five cartridge model, worrying that it was going to be too wide of a body for me, but it is not bad at all. The two cartidge Coleto is obviously the skinniest of the bunch, while the three and four cartridge barrels are nearly identical in width. The five is only slightly wider than the three and four, but completely comfortable to write with. That said, the four cartridge barrel is my Coleto sweet spot. With the width of the three and an extra slot to boot, what's not to like (I promise I will get them all together for a family photo shoot soon).

Pliot has been doing a great job of late with all of the different Coleto bodies, and I am having a fun trying them all out.

Click here for the XL review.

Products used:

Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto 5 Color Multi Pen - Pen Body - Clear Black from JetPens

Writing Pad from Doane Paper