Review: Pilot BPS-GP Extra Broad Ballpoint Pen - 1.6 mm - Black

The Pilot BPS-GP ballpoint was a random pen I tossed in the cart on a recent JetPens order.  I really just wanted to see what a 1.6mm ballpoint pen writes like, and I have to say it was pretty interesting.  The BPS obviously isn't going to lay down those nice, clean lines that I like in my gel pens, but just take a look at the written review to the left.  Not to shabby of a performance, huh?

As you can imagine with a pen tip like this, it is going to be a smooth writer just due to the sheer size of it.  I assumed the ink flow would be pretty messy, but that really wasn't the case.  There were a few instances of the ink clumping up, and a little spidering between the letters, but based on what I was expecting it wasn't all that bad.  The barrel is long and sports a rubber grip, making it very similar in style to the Pentel RSVP, and equally as comfortable.

I'd be lying if I said I was going to use this pen on an everyday basis, but it is definitely fun to play around with a bit.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Uni-Ball Vision Needle 0.5mm Black

Back before I was the full bore pen addict that I am now, the Uni-Ball Vision was always one of those pens that I flocked to.  It came in an 0.5mm tip size - which is always what I used before discovering the real micro tips - and the ink flow was like no other.  I really enjoyed using it, but as I amassed more and more pens, the Vision was pushed to the side.  This new Uni-Ball Vision Needle jumped into the fray recently though, and has pulled me back into Uni-Ball Vision land.

You would be hard pressed to find a better looking pen on the store shelf right now.  This new design is really sleek with the black body and silver racing stripes, and it all just flows down to a perfectly designed tip.  The ink flow is great, but I did find that the lines weren't quite as crisp as I like.  I think I summed it up perfectly in the written review:  in a vacuum, this pen is off the charts awesome, but it is not going to break into my rotation of Pilot Hi-Tec-C's and Uni-Ball Signo DX's and the like.  My wife is in love with it though, which in all  honesty, that's what I think Uni-Ball is going for here.  They need to appeal to the masses in the big box retail and office supply world, not just some niche pen nerd, and this pen does a great job of that.

Click here for the XL review.

The 2nd Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper

The Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper is a traveling monthly collection of the best blog posts about notebooks, pens, pencils, paper products and anything else deemed relevant by the editors. The Carnival appears the first Tuesday of every month, with the second carnival set to publish on September 8th, 2009 here at The Pen Addict. It will feature product reviews, photos of users’ collections, sketchbook art and doodles, and more!

You can find information about the carnival here. If you’re unfamiliar with blog carnivals, they’re a great way to build community and awareness among blogs that share similar subject matter. Bloggers and hosts can get more exposure for their posts, and readers enjoy an edited collection of posts and can discover new blogs they might not be aware of.

Submission guidelines:

Submit your post using this form no later than 5pm EST on the first Sunday of the month. Submissions must relate to the subject matter of the Carnival. One submission per blog per Carnival. All posts are included at the editor’s discretion and any considered inappropriate, off-topic, or of sub-par quality may be rejected.

All participants whose posts are selected for must post a link back to that edition of the Carnival within one week of its publication, also including a link to the Carnival home page at http://www.notebookstories.com/carnival-of-pen-and-paper/.

The Carnival will rotate to different hosts. Contact the organizer at carnival@notebookstories.com if you would like to host a future carnival. Hosting will be restricted to active, on-topic blogs at the discretion of the organizer.