Review: Pentel Hybrid Technica 0.5mm Black

I wrote this review many months ago, and somehow it got lost in the shuffle of my Flickr page (by the way, for new readers of The Pen Addict, you can find all of my photos right here).  The Pentel Hybrid Technica is what I like to classify unscientifically as a basic pen.  No fancy features, no Super Ink, nothing other than a good working pen that you can break out and just go to town with.  The Pilot G-2 falls into this category for example, as does the Pilot VBall RT.  What I look for in a pen like this is really just ease of use.  Can it get the job done without annoying me in some way?  The Hybrid Technica comes thisclose, but there is one minor issue I can't overlook - the grip.

The issue here is that the grip is not attached to the pen, via adhesive, or any other way.  I know other pens do this as well, but this one seems especially slick, so much so that the grip actually rotates as I write.  It is like I am at one of those rotating restaurants at the top of a fancy downtown hotel or office building.  Here comes the pen clip...and there it goes again.  Big Ben, Parliament.  It is a really odd felling.  I'm sure I could add some super glue myself if I were so inclined, but I have enough other pens to choose from thank you very much.  It's too bad really, because this pen writes very nicely and I would love to use it more.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Uni-Ball Signo DX 0.28mm Blue Black

I think I have mentioned it recently either on this blog or in my Twitter feed that I am going to work on reviewing some of the more standard pens that I have never gotten around to posting.  Kind of a "Back to Basics" series.  There are many pens I use on a daily or weekly basis that are of the more standard variety: mostly base colors like black, blue, and blue black, and varying from 0.28mm to 0.7mm in tip size.  The Uni-Ball Signo DX Blue Black is one of these pens that gets lots of use.

This is mostly a note taking pen for me, getting a lot of action when I am at work.  I've shown a few examples of my notes in the past, and I like to write small and use multiple colors of the same pen to mark up any notes I have taken.  This Blue Black is one of my base note taking pens, and I often pair it with a Lime Green Signo DX 0.28mm.  The 0.38mm Signo DX is one of the pens I recommend to new readers the most, but if you are looking for something very fine and sharp (and yes, scratchier), then take a look at the 0.28mm Signo DX.  It is a fantastic pen.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Tombow AirPress Ballpoint Pen

The Tombow AirPress falls into the increasingly popular write anywhere, anyhow, and on anything category of pens, made popular by the Fisher Space Pen (which I have yet to review), and followed up by the Uni-Ball Power Tank series.  These types of pens are made to work in the toughest of conditions, such as writing on wet paper, or upside down, so it is probably a disservice that I wrote this review in a coffee shop.  Maybe I should spill my coffee on my Doane Writing Pad next time?

The AirPress gets a good dose of cool points for it's design.  It looks and feels like a sturdy durable pen - which it is - but it is surprisingly lightweight.  The rubber barrel and raised ridges in the grip area make the pen easy to hold on to, and the clip hinges open very wide so that it can clamp on to a wide variety of items.  The only part of the barrel that I didn't care for was the loop on the backside, only because it hit my hand in the wrong spot when writing.  But with this type of pen, I understand why it is there.

Here is the full description of the pen from JetPens:

The Tombow AirPress leverages energy from each push of the cap to inject air pressure into the ink cartridge, allowing the pen to write on challenging surfaces. The pen is excellent for people involved in construction or outdoor work since it can write at extreme angles, upside down, on wet paper, and in cold weather. The rubber body is also easy to hold with wet hands or gloves. The AirPress is similar to the Uni-ball Power Tank Ballpoint Pen, except that this pen ingeniously uses the retraction method to pressurize the ink cartridge.

The AirPress has a strong, wire pocket clip and features a loop that allows you to attach it to lanyards and key chains. Multiple body colors as well as black, blue, green and red ink refills available.

The one item I have a hard time coming to grips with for this category of pen is writing performance.  It really isn't fair to compare them directly to other non-extreme condition pens.  The ink is made to withstand some tough stuff, so if you are looking for a Jetstream type performance, you aren't going to find it here.  What you will find is a nice, more traditional ballpoint pen performance, which is pretty good compared to all that this pen is capable of doing.

At $9.00, it is about three times the cost of the Uni-Ball Power Tank, but half that of a regular Fisher Space Pen, so you have a lot of choices if you need to write your way out of the Great Snowpocalypse of 2010.

Click here for the XL review.