The Tombow Airpress Apro is the little brother to the original Tombow Airpress, which I reviewed back in March. The original has become my car pen, with its ability to withstand the heat and write in all types of conditions. I keep it in my console attached to a Doane Paper Utility Notebook, and that combo has worked out great for me. The Airpress Apro came along a couple of months ago at JetPens, so I figured I would give it a spin as well.
While the original Airpress had a tough, rugged body style, the Apro is made for the indoor workforce. As JetPens mentions in its product description, the apron/lab coat community such as doctors, nurses, cooks, waitresses, etc. would find this new design much more to their liking. The barrel design has been slimmed down slightly, and has been smoothed down and shined up a bit. It also comes in more friendly body colors like this brown (lilac, gray, green, and pink are your other options).
From a writing standpoint, it performs similarly to the original Airpress, which means that while it it not going to compete with the Uni-Ball JetStream for smoothness or depth of ink color, it can handle its own. With the added bonus of the Airpress technology that is a pretty fair trade off in my book. If I am allowed one small gripe on this pen it is that I have never gotten used to quiet click mechanism on this or any pen. I like to hear that good, solid click when I press down, but that in no way impacts the functionality of the Apro. In fact, it is considered a feature.
Maybe the best feature about this pen is the price. The Original Airpress checks in at $9.00, while the Apro is on $5.70. A pretty good deal for a pretty good pen.
Click here for the XL review.
See also:
Review: Tombow AirPress Ballpoint Pen
Review: Fisher Space Pen X-Mark Bullet
Review: Uni-Ball Power Tank Smart Series High Grade Ballpoint Pen
Products used:
Tombow AirPress Apro Ballpoint Pen - 0.7 mm - Brown from JetPens
Writing Pad from Doane Paper
