Posts filed under Zebra

Zebra Justfit Mojini Line Highlighter

(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.)

A new semester is starting! It's time to pack away the holidays, dust off the textbooks, and re-stock the school supplies. Whether you've got a mountain of studies on the horizon, or just need to color-code your calendar or planner, highlighters are essential. The Zebra Justfit highlighters have impressed me in the past, so I was excited to give the Mojini Line Highlighters a try.

When you're in a study crunch, a highlighter is just a highlighter--but this one has a few features that might help make things go more smoothly.

The chisel tip has a very narrow profile and flexible felt, so it glides a little extra smoothly across the page. And the flex means you don't have to line the tip up with the text perfectly to get straight, even lines. It will bend itself into a neat 4mm line, even over curved pages.

The construction of the marker is really good. It feels solid and durable--almost too nice to be disposable, but, alas, it is not refillable. There is a fair amount of branding and text on the white plastic of the pen body. There is a color band on the body and on the cap roll-stopper to indicate the ink color. The cap closes and posts very well. I wish the roll-stopper was a clip. I tend to use my highlighters as bookmarks and clip them to the pages I'm studying--but most highlighters do have clips, so I suppose it's nice that there are some without, for those who prefer that.

The ink is the main feature of this particular highlighter. The colors are standard fare. This 3-pack has yellow, green, and pink. Blue and red are available separately or in the five-color pack. The ink isn't too bright, doesn't bleed, dries very quickly, and doesn't smudge. All great things, especially if you're highlighting on both sides of thin paper or on notes written with liquid inks.

While I didn't notice any significant smearing, there was some discoloration to the tip of the marker, so not all the ink stayed put. That discolored area did then leave a dingy line when I used it next. I've yet to find a felt-tip highlighter that entirely dodged that issue, though.

This 3-pack is priced at $4.95, and individual highlighters are $1.95. It's a fair price, I think, for the quality.

Now that we've had this little diversion, I think it's best we get back to our studies.

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

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Posted on January 10, 2019 by Sarah Read and filed under Zebra, Highlighter, Pen Reviews.

Zebra SL-F1 ST Ballpoint Pen 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.)

I love pocket pens. They're cute and practical and easy to have always at hand. I have small hands, so pocket pens fit easily and comfortably in my grip. If you have larger hands, that might not always be the case. Pocket pens are not comfortable or practical or many folks. But this pen! This one has you covered. The Zebra SL-F1 ST ballpoint pen is a pocket pen that telescopes open to be a full-sized ballpoint pen. Kind of like a magic trick. Or a transformer. It even makes a satisfying click when you expand and retract it, like any properly fidgety pen should. This pen wasn't just designed, it was engineered. And even apart from its magical properties, it is a very fine pen.

When shortened, the pen has a tip cover that retracts as it expands, and re-emerges when contracted, so there's no risk of ink leakage in a pocket. The metal construction is sturdy and has a good weight to it. The finish is a pretty, vibrant blue, and it comes in a number of nice colors. The grip is smooth ridges, so it has good traction but no sharp edges. The edge where the barrel separates over the interior tube is slightly sharper, but not enough to cause any irritation to the hand. My hand doesn't even touch the pen at that part. The clip is metal and very solid, but has good flexibility.

The refill is nothing to get too excited about--it's a fairly standard ballpoint. It writes smoothly and consistently with no skips and only a few blobs. It's certainly better than the big-box plastic ballpoints that you find on every public counter.

I'm in love with the simple practicality of this pen. It's become a staple in my purse. In fact, it slipped so easily into my life that I almost forgot I needed to review it.

JetPens sells this pen for $7.75, which I think is an absolute steal. I would not have flinched if it had been twice that. If you have any use at all for a pocket ballpoint pen (don't we all?), get you this one.

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

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Posted on December 13, 2018 by Sarah Read and filed under Zebra, Ballpoint, Pen Reviews.

Zebra Sarasa Mark On 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.)

I'm continually amazed at the level of specificity that some stationery tools tout today. My most recent surprise came with the Zebra Sarasa Mark On gel ink pens. They look like a Sarasa Clip on the outside, but there's a different design on the barrel. What gives? Well, this particular model of Sarasa is made specifically for people who want to use a highlighter along with their gel pens while taking notes.

It's been a long time since I've regularly used a highlighter for emphasizing notes, so I had forgotten that ink can sometimes bleed after running a highlighter over it. That's exactly what the Mark On line of pens aims to solve. The ink in the Mark On is unique in that it dries quickly and is water and smudge resistant. Since highlighter ink is water-based, these two are a great match.

The models I have on hand are the 0.4mm variant, although they are also available in 0.5mm sizes. The color selection isn't great (just the standard black, blue, and red), but it covers the absolute basics. This is such a niche use case that I can't expect dozens of color options.

Just like the other Sarasa models, this model features a strong, beefy clip that secure the pen to anything that fits into the jaws. There's also a comfortable rubberized grip on the section that makes note-taking sessions a little easier to endure. In all, it's a standard Sarasa that we all know and love, but it has that one trick up its sleeve.

How does it stand up against highlighter smudge? In my tests, it works great provided you give the ink about five seconds to dry before using a highlighter over it. No matter the color, the gel ink doesn't bleed when introduced to highlighter ink. It's fantastic.

Even with the smaller 0.4mm tip size, the Sarasa Mark On writes smoothly and reliably. Just like other Sarasa gel inks, this is no surprise and I wouldn't expect anything less.

The Zebra Sarasa Mark On gel ink pens are a delightfully narrow-minded use case that will fit the specific needs of people taking notes all over the world. If you use gel pens in conjunction with highlighters in any capacity, this is worth checking out.

(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!