Posts filed under Zebra

Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.5mm Neon 5 Color Set Review

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

Fall is officially here, and that means that we're in store for the lovely autumn colors that change during this time of year. The rich browns, reds, oranges, and yellows is such a welcome treat after the long, hot summer months.

But, let's say you want to freshen up the mood with some colors that are a bit more electric. If that's the case, there are many, many options, but a great starter set is this Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.5mm Neon 5 Color Set (what a name!). In this set, you get a handful of neon fluorescent refills packed in matching Sarasa Clip bodies. The colors range from yellow, pink, green, purple, and orange.

We've done so many various reviews on the Zebra Sarasa Clip pens over the years, and this variant is no surprise. Aside from the shockingly bright colors, these pens are exactly what you know and love from the Sarasa Clip. The refills are extremely smooth when writing and lay down a vibrant, crisp 0.5mm line on the page.

Where these pens differ is in the ink color area, and they are more than capable of exceeding your expectations if you're in the mood for some bright, happy, fun colors.

My personal favorite out of this bunch is the green. It's not quite as fluorescent as the others, but it's such a cheery and happy light green with plenty of oomph behind it. The other colors are a bit lighter but have no problem bringing on the cheer.

I did have some complaints with the yellow color in particular since it's so light. It's practically a highlighter, but that's entirely due to the base color. Yellow is a really light color to begin with, and it's difficult to use it as anything but a highlight in most cases.

Despite my own frustrations with the yellow ink on white paper, it quickly dawned on me that this is the perfect ink for a dark paper. So, you can imagine my despair when I was unable to find any dark paper in the stationery drawers. I have some on order, but I made due with some darker poster-board that we had in the garage. It wasn't a smooth writing surface, but the yellow, pink, and orange colors popped like crazy off the dark gray background. It was incredibly enjoyable to make squiggly lines on this scrap poster-board, and that's the entire purpose of this set of pens. They are pure fun and worth every penny. You can't help but be delighted when you see them, and using them is even more satisfying.

I've had a lot of fun using these pens over the last couple of weeks, and I'm sure many of you will too. The long, dreary winter months are ahead of us, and these pens are a great way to boost your spirits when you're stuck inside the house.

My only serious complaint is that this set doesn't include a blue! I think Zebra really missed an opportunity by not including a blue. It wouldn't have been difficult to make this a 6-pen set!

The 5-pen set only sets you back eight bucks, and I think that's a great value for the amount of cheer these colors provide. If you're only in the mood for certain colors instead of the full set, you can purchase them separately as well (green, orange, pink, purple, yellow).

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

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Posted on November 6, 2019 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Zebra, Sarasa, Pen Reviews.

Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Vintage Colors 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. And check out her first novel, The Bone Weaver’s Orchard, now available where books are sold!)

I've reviewed Zebra Sarasa Push Clip pens a few times, so it's no secret that I love them. It's difficult to pick a favorite one (who can compete with a Sarasa that smells like cake???) but these Zebra Sarasa Vintage sets are by far my favorites in terms of color selection. I love the muted tones that still come across as a bold autumn color palette.

Set one includes the colors: dark blue, blue gray, green black, brown gray, and red black. Set two has: sepia black, dark gray, bordeaux purple, cassis black, camel yellow. Each set runs about $7.50, which is a great deal compared to the open stock price of $1.75. The pens are also refillable, though the refills cost almost as much as a new pen and I haven't been able to track down refills in the vintage colors.

The pens are built well, with solid plastic in the color of the ink, which is handy for easy identification in pen cases. They have nice clicky-buttons to extend the tip, though one of mine is a bit defective and doesn't retract completely. The grip section is cased in firm rubber, which makes for good traction, though it does collect dust. They also have the signature push clip with the brand labeled in a vintage gold color.

Both these sets have 0.5 mm tips on the refills, which makes a very nice fine line. The ink flows incredibly well with no signs of skipping. It looks wet, but dries quickly and shows no feathering or bleed-through. The ink is water-based pigment, and it is waterproof. The gel ink does run out quickly if you're writing a lot, as is the way with any gel pen.

The colors are perfect for adding a bit of excitement when you still need a professional looking document, or for color-coding class notes. They're fine enough to use in coloring books, too, particularly if you're coloring pictures of fall leaves or Victorian fashion plates. These are everyday pens for me, and remain on a perpetual reorder list.

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

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Posted on October 17, 2019 by Sarah Read and filed under Zebra, Sarasa, Pen Reviews.

Zebra DelGuard Limited Edition Mechanical Pencil Review

The Zebra DelGuard mechanism is pretty effective and ingenious, and I can't figure out why they've put it on an otherwise sub-par pencil. The trick of the mechanism is that there are springs inside that will retract the lead if too much vertical pressure is applied, or extend the nose tip if too much diagonal pressure is applied. This is meant to reduce lead breakage. I tried to break the lead on this pencil and couldn't do it. If you're a heavy-handed pencil user and frequent lead-breaker, this pencil may solve your problems.

The pencil body is made of lightweight plastic. The bottom third of it is clear, and the top two thirds are decorated with a pretty limited edition color gradient. There are other color gradients available, as well as some more plain colors, and some adorable Ghibli character prints, like Totoro and Kiki. I fully admit I would use a Totoro pencil no matter what the quality of the build, but in general this model has enough strikes against it for me that I don't see it finding a spot in my rotation.

My primary issue with the pencil is the uncomfortable grip. It has a lot of inexplicable bumps and grooves and I can't find a spot on it where it feels like my fingers should rest. The plastic is also slippery, and the ridges--numerous though they are--don't aid in grip at all. It's the worst of both worlds.

Another issue is the itty bitty eraser that also doesn't do a very good job erasing. I don't care for the minuscule erasers that seem to top so many mechanical pencils. And what's with the wee metal hat for it? I'm amazed I managed to keep track of that piece for the duration of the review period. I'm sure I'll soon lose it, but perhaps not before I run out of this sliver of eraser.

The lead that comes with this pencil is quite hard and draws a very pale line. It takes quite a bit of pressure to make a darker line, which works okay, since the lead hasn't ever broken for me. I'd be curious to try this mechanism with a softer lead. It can take any .5mm lead, so it should always be easy and convenient to find refills for it.

One nice thing about the build is that it has a sturdy but flexible clip. It can easily clip onto a stack of pages and it doesn't feel like it's going to snap or warp.

For me, for $8, this pencil isn't quite worth the cost. There are other models of the DelGuard that have cushioned grips that might be worth further inspection, though they're also a bit more expensive. I think the overall idea is fantastic, I just don't think it has been effectively executed. Which does not dissuade me in any way from ordering the Totoro one.

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

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