Review: Zebra Clip-On Slim 3 Color 0.7 mm Ballpoint Multi Pen

I think I need to back off a bit on the ballpoint multi pens.  Aside from nearly the entire Jetstream line (and you can argue if it is a true ballpoint or not) I am hard pressed to come up with a ballpoint pen I like to use on a day to day basis.  A.G. Spalding makes a really nice one, and the Zebra Techno Line is cool in small doses, but you are rarely going to get a "yay ballpoint!" from me.  But that is why writing this blog is so cool.  For every pen I like or dislike, there are always several readers on the other side of the fence.  Pens are a very personal thing, and the smallest nitpicky thing that may annoy me may be the best feature in the world for you.  I love getting that kind of feedback, and I am always learning something new with every post - you readers and commentors are the best!

Wow - that got off into a bit of a rant didn't it?  Sorry about that.  Back to the Zebra Clip-On Slim ballpoint multi pen.  The awesome design of this pen sucked me in, not to mention the very reasonable $4.50 price point (at JetPens), but I don't handle the ballpoint thing very well.  It writes just fine, but not well enough for me to take it out of the drawer more than to reminisce how nice it looks and I wish I liked it better.  Ballpoint fans will enjoy this pen immensely I think, especially since it crams four colors of ink in a reasonably sized barrel.  Maybe this would make a nice giveaway in the near future?

Review: Pentel Slicci 0.7mm Orange

My affection for the Pentel Slicci runs deep, but not deep enough to allow the 0.7mm model into the family.  It writes really smooth and the orange color is great, but for picky types like myself, there are some things I just can't get past.  In this case, it is the shape of the tip.  The design is very blunt, like you are writing with a sawed off log.  In my infinite wisdom, I didn't take an extreme close-up for comparison, and I don't have the pen with me this morning, but hopefully you can make out the difference between the 0.7mm Slicci on the left, and the 0.3mm Slicci on the right.

Most pens that have a wide range of widths at least keep the design the same, like the Pilot G-2 and Uni-Ball Signo lines for example, but in this case there has to be something with the engineering of the tip that is preventing that.  I will be sticking with my 0.3mm and 0.4mm Pentel Sliccis for now, and that suits me just fine.

Review: Pilot Hi-Tec-C Couleur 0.4mm

The latest and greatest from the Pilot Hi-Tec-C line, the Couleur is marketed as a portable, thin gel ink pen.  The size lends itself to throwing it in a purse or a pocket and hitting the street, but I just couldn't get comfortable writing with it.  The barrel is much too thin for me, and the finish of the pen makes it slide around a bit in my dry fingertips.  This made for tough writing - I really had to try hard to write well, and that is not a good thing.  It is unfortunate that I could never get locked in holding it because this is a very well made pen.  If you have ever used the Hi-Tec-C Cavalier model (which I love), it is like a mini-model of that pen.  It has a good weight to it and feels sturdy for such a small package.  I think in the right hands, this would be a very good option, but it isn't for me.