Review: Uni-Ball Signo 207 Micro Needle Tip

vaporware - Anything (usually software, but can be anything) that is promoted and marketed without ever actually being produced.  (via Urban Dictionary)

I had only heard of this pen once previously.  A Pen Addict reader mentioned some time after my Uni-Ball Signo 207 0.7mm Needle Tip review last year that they had a Micro Needle Tip, and thus my search began.  It wasn't listed on the Uni-Ball site, but the 0.7mm version which some stores carry wasn't either.  I got no response via Tweet to Uni-Ball, but I imagine that can get lost in the shuffle.  Every time I made it to an office supply store, I'd flip through all of the Signo 207 packages just to see if a Micro Needle snuck in there.

At least I can admit I have a problem.  That is the first step, right?

At this point, I'm thinking this pen is vaporware, but a couple of months back, a reader generously offered to send me some Muji Gel pen refills.  Included in the package - much to my surprise - were two of the Micro Needle Tip 207s, one in blue, one in black.  That was about as excited as I have been to get new pens in a long time.

I put them to good use right away, especially the black one.  The blue one, which is the one I chose to review above, isn't as great.  One issue I always had with the original, conical Micro tip 207 is the blue did not write as well as the black, and I am finding that is the case with the needle tip.  The blue ink writes drier and thinner, making it a little more scratchy as it moves across the page.  I am all in on the black ink model though - it is a great writing pen.

Has anyone else been able to find these exact pens on the store shelf?  They are available on Amazon.com (I found out that is where mine came from), but I have never seen or heard of them in a store.  I'd be interested to know.

Click here for the XL review.

(*NOTE: I have added an affiliate link to Amazon.  I have never really done that before, so 1. I wanted to make everyone aware, and 2. I want to know everyones opinions on affiliate links and if they are an issue for you.)

Giveaway: The Lani Loot!

My good pen friend Lani was kind enough to offer up a bunch of pen and paper goodies for me to giveaway here at the Pen Addict.  Not only has she been a reader for a long time, she also blogs at Travelite.org, and has the illustrious honor of being the lone Pen Addict reader to have my World of Warcraft Real ID.  So when she contacted me to send a package my way I was very excited.  The box was loaded with some of my favorites, and while they didn't work out for Lani, she wanted to make sure they made it into the good hands of other Pen Addict readers like herself.  I made a quick video of the loot:

 
The full list is as follows:
(3) Doane Paper Utility Notebooks - Stoplight Series
(6) Uni-Ball Jetstream Basic Series 0.5mm
(4) Pilot G2 Metallic Gel
(3) Uni-Ball Jetstream Color Series 0.5mm
(2) Zebra Surari 0.5mm
(1) Pilot Acroball 0.7mm
(1) Pilot G2 Limited Edition

Thanks so much Lani!

What I am going to do for this giveaway is break it up into three as equal as possible prize packages and ship them out to three winners.  Here is all you need to do:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Thursday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.  You are limited to one entry.  Feel free to link this giveaway on your blog, or share it with anyone you feel is a true pen addict.  If you have a blog, I would love a link back, but it is certainly not required for entry into the contest.

2. For this contest, I will pick three winners at random from the comments section of this post.  The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on.  The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winners.

3. The contest winners will be posted on Friday, January 21st.  The winners will have one week to email me at the address posted in the "About" section on the right sidebar.

4. I will ship internationally.  I know there are many international readers and fans of The Pen Addict, and I will gladly ship to you at my expense.

Thanks again to Lani for sending all of these pens and paper, and good luck to everyone who enters!

Review: Muji Aluminum Retractable Pen Case (with 0.38mm gel refill)

This review is done by Amy, a university student in Los Angeles, California.

Two Muji Aluminum Pen Cases with green-black and red refills.

Back in October, I went to New York City for a conference of an organization I am involved in. This meant a mandatory stop at Muji, a Japanese lifestyle brand, as they only have US stores in NYC. I really adore Muji because of their simple yet wonderful designs, in addition to the fact that they preach being a "no-brand" brand. While I stocked up on many of their stationery items at Muji SoHo, I was really there to buy the Aluminum pen case they have as a part of their "Make Your Own Pen" area of their store. One of my friends has this pen body and it just had a very solid feel and nice weight to it - I just wanted it. And then now I can submit to my wants.

The Muji Aluminum Pen Case with green-black refill dissected.

What is absolutely fantastic about any item that is a part of the "Make Your Own Pen" station in the store is that they really consider the fact that you're going to be removing and replacing pen refills every so often. This translates to the parts of the pen being very minimal and stable, and there are no unnecessary parts. For example, the pen refills for the gel pens all come with a cap at the end (which if you don't know, isn't normal for pen refills). However, as frivolous as it may initially seem to be, this cap has the purpose of securing the pen refill inside the pen case and is quite integral to the function of the pen.

The pen clip and the pen tip.

Back to the Aluminum pen case, the case really consists of three parts: the "cap," the body, and the tip area (with a spring). The spring frankly can't be removed, unless you want it to be removed, and is really stuck there. (I take a part retractable pens a lot when I'm bored, and subsequently have springs flying everywhere.) The pen case is solid and the clip that is a part of it is really stiff and can keep things clipped. The ONLY problem is the "cap". I didn't know this before, but the cap is not aluminum -- it's plastic. I found out about this after seeing a crack in it. I just hope it doesn't break on me and become useless. However, it figures that this cap actually doesn't contribute to the function of the pen, except for the aesthetic appeal to bring the metallic design of the pen to the tip. This "cap," as opposed to the cap of the pen refill, has no real function at all.

The cracked pen cap and the spring of the pen tip.

The writing experience of the pen is as wonderful as it is with any other Muji retractable gel pen (see writing sample on left). The aluminum pen case definitely adds a more substantial feel to the pen with it's smooth surface. The weight is light, but not as weightless as the plastic bodies. It's just quite different grabbing the pen that is cool to the touch. If you haven't tried a Muji retractable gel pen yet, you really have to get one - it writes quite smoothly and enough ink leaks out to make it quite satisfying. I think it really depends on the refill though -- some tend to be more inky than others. But really, you have to try it if you haven't. Whenever my friends look at my pens (or rather I force them to look at them), they always say that the Muji retractable gel pen is their most favorite out of all of them (and I have quite a variety). Of course, as with other gel pens, these pens do have the problem with the pin getting loose at the tip and ink going everywhere (or the pen becoming more inky) - I've had this problem with the black ink refill (on multiple occasions).

These Aluminum pen cases run for $5.75 and can be purchased from the US online Muji store here. The pen refills for the case are $0.99 each in a variety of colors, and can also be found at the online Muji store here. The regular Muji retractable gel pen with the plastic body is also available here for only $1.50! A great deal for a wonderful pen.