Review: Uni-Ball Vision Elite 0.8mm Blue Black

Uni-Ball Vision EliteYou are a pen addict, right?  That's hopefully why you are here in the first place.  So, being the good pen addict that you are, when someone else asks you for a pen recommendation, what pen do you choose?  For any of us that have tried more than their fair share of pens, that is nearly an impossible question to answer.  What is the pen going to be used for?  What type of paper?  Type of ink?  How often?  Retractable?  So on and so on - the questions are really endless.  I run through all of these items with many of the people that email me looking for a recommendation, and that allows me to narrow it down quite a bit, but picking a pen is such a personal thing.

Why all of the rambling on this Uni-Ball Vision Elite review?  Because this pen tends to rate positively in pretty much every category across the board.  Let me list out a few things:

-- Great barrel design.  Classy for work, but functional anywhere.

-- Very smooth writer.  The liquid ink just glides across the page.

-- Good price point.  These can be found regularly in the $2-2.50 range.

-- Uni-Ball Super Ink technology?  Check.

-- Airplane safe?  Check.

-- Refillable?  Check.

Another big reason I recommend this pen a lot - it passed the mother-in-law test.  My mother-in-law is aware of my pen addiction and asked for a few pens recently.  I gave her all of the basics - Signo 207, Precise V5, G2, Jetstream, etc. - and the Vision Elite is the only one she asked for more of.  If that doesn't say something about the quality of this pen then I don't know what does.

Click here for the XL review.

Uni-Ball Vision Elite

Posted on July 8, 2010 and filed under Pen Reviews, Uni-Ball, Vision.

Review: Pilot Choose 0.7mm Silver

Pilot ChooseI hope everyone can make out the ink on the page at left, because I am really happy with how this silver gel ink Pilot Choose writes.  I reviewed my first Choose over two years ago (the 0.5mm black model), but I haven't gone back to it very much since then.  I liked it well enough, so I thought I would give another one a shot, and this silver ink looked worth trying out.

My expectations were tempered a bit, but as it turns out there are no worries at all with this pen.  What is most impressive is how solid the silver ink is on the page.  The lines were very bold, very clean, and the pen was impressively smooth to write with.  0.7mm is the perfect width for this type of pen.  The simplicity of the barrel is also a great selling point for me.  No bells, no whistles, just a crystal clear cylinder and a white pen cap with an ink colored logo.

This makes for back-to-back reviews of pens that cost only $1.50 each, which goes to show that you don't have to spend a ton of money to find a good, fun pen to write with.  Has anyone tried any of the brighter colored Pilot Choose pens?  If so, I would love to hear from you in the comments section.  You will help me narrow down my next purchase.

Click here for the XL review.

Pilot Choose

Posted on July 6, 2010 .