Platinum SBTB-1000H Roller Ball Review

The sleek and shiny barrel is what caught my eye on the recently added Platinum SBTB-1000H Roller Ball at JetPens. But as I have said many times before, don't let looks get in the way of performance. What good is an expensive pen if you don't like how it writes?

Fortunately, the SBTB-1000H writes almost as well as it looks. I say almost because I did notice if I hold the pen at too low of a writing angle I start to feel some scratchiness. This happens with many pens. If your writing angle is low you start catching more of the tip cone than the actual ball of the pen. Raise your writing angle a bit and you should notice a completely different feel.

With my normal writing angle the ink flowed smoothly and very cleanly for a rollerball, which is sometimes hard to pull off. There is little to no feathering or bleed, and the ink is pitch black.

The aluminum barrel feels great and the design is top notch. It reminds me of a cross between the Pilot Hi-Tec-C Cavalier and the P1 on Kickstarter, two outstanding pen designs. All in all I am happy with this pen.

My only hang up is the name. "Would you like to borrow my Platinum SBTB-1000H" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Oh well, it's not like us pen people talk to real human beings anyway. ;)

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Platinum Mini Ballpoint Pen with Capacitive Stylus Review

I mentioned in last week’s podcast that I had tried out a new pen + stylus combo that I did not like, and the Platinum Mini Ballpoint Pen with Capacitive Stylus is the guilty party. The concept is good, but there are just too many flaws to make this a pen worth using.

To cut right to the chase, my main issue is the stylus performance. First off, it is very non-responsive on my touch screen devices. It took 2–3 taps to register on my iPad without a screen protector and 3–5 taps on my iPhone with an Otter Box built in screen protector. Swiping? Don’t even ask.

Secondly, and possibly the cause of the first issue, is that the stylus is on top of the pen knock. I didn’t give it a passing thought when ordering the pen, but the knock spring is not strong enough to prevent the stylus from receding a large amount when trying to use it. It is like squish, squish, squish every tap. It was frustrating after about five seconds of use.

The pen itself is not so bad. The slim design is great for portability, and the 0.5 mm ballpoint writes very well. It’s a shame that the stylus performance is not up to par. I think JetPens agrees - I have never seen a pen move from New Arrivals to Close-Out so quickly.

Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen Fine 03 Nib Review

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is what is a good fountain pen for beginners. Being a fountain pen novice myself I have tried out several and always come back to one that I always recommend: the Platinum Preppy.

The reason I like the Preppy so much is that the nib writes very well for such a low cost pen. I of course prefer the Fine nib, but there is a Medium option if you prefer. When you first snap in the ink cartridge it takes a minute or two of scribbling to get the ink flow going, but once you do it is a solid, steady, and smooth performer. I keep this pen within reach at all times for when I want a no nonsense fountain pen experience.

Seriously, for $3.30 from JetPens you cannot go wrong. If you have never used a fountain pen in your life this is a good, inexpensive way to see if you like writing with a nib. If you do like it, then that is where the trouble begins. :)