Review: Pentel Oh! 0.7mm Gel

I didn't mean for it to be Pentel week here at The Pen Addict, but it looks like it is shaping up that way so far.  Monday brought a pleasant surprise in the Pentel Selfit ballpoint, and today brings the somewhat disappointing Pentel Oh! gel ink pen.  It isn't a terrible pen by any stretch, but I am having a hard time deciding why this pen exists with the similar yet vastly superior Energel on the shelves.

The best reason I can come up with it that is is a strong back to school push by Pentel.  The price point - right around $1.00 per pen - is very good, and the barrel has a funky design that many students will like, but as I hold this pen and write with it, all I can think about is that this is a cheap Energel.  Normally, that would be a good thing, but it feels cheap in design.  The grip is no great shakes, and the pen clip is super thin and probably prone to easy bending.  The clip on one of mine even had a small spot of rust right out of the package.

Like I said, this isn't a bad pen, but I don't really see the point.  Everything about the Energel looks, feels, and performs better, albeit at a slighty higher price.  Is there such a thing as a gateway pen?

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Pentel Selfit 0.7mm Ballpoint

It isn't very often that I get caught offguard by a pen, but the perfomance of the Pentel Selfit really took my by surprise.  Being just an afterthouhgt in a recent JetPens order, the Selfit has jumped up near the top of the list as far as traditional ballpoint pens go, and not just because of its very cool grip.

The grip itself is the main selling point of this pen.  I hesitate buying a pen for just the grip technology - I want it to write well too - but Pentel did a nice job here.  The grip feels like a tight silcone that molds to your fingers as you shuffle them around the grip.  It is acually made up of thousands of tiny gel beads, making it feels soft and comfortable without being overly squishy.

As nice as the grip is, what I am really enjoying about this pen is how well the 0.7mm black ballpoint refill writes.  I was taken aback by how neat, clean, and consistenly this pen writes.  Be sure to expand the XL picture below and tell me if you have one that writes this nice.  While the specialty ink ballpoints - Uni-Ball JetStream, Pilot Acroball, Zebra Surari - still reign supreme in my pen arsenal, this is about the best traditional ballpoint I can recall using.

Click here for the XL review.

Products used:

Pentel Selfit Silicone Gel Grip Ballpoint Pen - 0.7 mm - Sky Blue Grip from JetPens

Writing Pad from Doane Paper

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