New at Kickstarter: Ti2 Pen and EiMIM Pen

The Pilot Hi-Tec-C refill has taken on a life of its own on Kickstarter, and I have to say I am thrilled. I have been asked for years about upgrades to the very simple plastic barrel the Hi-Tec-C uses and now I can point readers to at least a half-dozen different options to house their favorite pen.

The Ti2 Pen:

With the Ti2, titanium is the name of the game. The super strong metal is extremely durable and will last you a lifetime. Like they mention in one of their product videos, how many people do you know with a titanium pen?

Another interesting aspect of the Ti2 are the color-coded o-rings. Not only can they match the color of ink refill you are using, they also provide the tension needed to hold the pen cap on both ends of the pen.

Read more about the Ti2 Pen on Kickstarter

The EiMIM Pen:

The EiMIM pen is a sleek aluminum barrel for the Pilot Hi-Tec-C with and added bonus: Neodymium magnets. This allows the pen to not only be portable with a threaded-cap design, but also a desk pen by just standing the pen up vertically in the provided base.

Three different finishes are available on the EiMIM: machined, glass bead blasted, and powder coated. My explanations of all three won’t do it justice, so head over to the project page to see the options. The black powder coated model looks especially slick.

Read more about the EiMIM Pen on Kickstarter

I am working with both of these manufacturers on getting samples to review. Once I have them in hand I will post my thoughts asap. In the meantime, be sure to check out both projects if you are looking to upgrade your basic Pilot Hi-Tec-C barrel.

Uni-ball Insight 0.7 mm Rollerball Review

If you are anything like me, a trip to the store is not complete without a visit to the office supply aisle. The majority of the time there is nothing new, and on the rare occasions there is, it is coming home with me - for better, or for worse.

I was hoping the Uni-ball Insight would land in the “for better” category, but my expectation was it would fit squarely in the “for worse” bucket. At the risk of ruining the rest of the review I’ll go ahead and cop out right now: It is somewhere in the middle.

The good: Like most of Uni-ball’s products, the design and overall quality are top notch. I rarely have any issues with their pens and the Insight is no exception. The barrel is solid, lightweight, and comfortable to hold. It also uses Super Ink technology, which means the ink is archival quality.

The average: Shockingly, the Insight is also “refillable”. I use quotes around the term because one, I haven’t laid eyes on any refills, and two, like the Uni-Ball Vision Elite, you are replacing at least 50% of the entire pen (ink cartridge, grip, and tip) with each refill. I don’t see how that is good value.

The bad: While I do appreciate the Super Ink technology, the ink flow of the Insight is too heavy for me. In my book, this is a redesign of the base-level Uni-ball Vision, a pen that I don’t care for at all. It bleeds profusely on most standard papers, and is overall a messy writer. If you enjoy the standard Uni-ball Vision then you will like the Insight very much. But, if you are looking for a liquid ink Uni-ball pen that performs better than average, skip these and go straight for the Uni-Ball Vision Elite.

One pricing note: The black and blue dozens at Amazon run in the $15 range, but for some reason the red dozen is only $8. If you are a heavy red pen user that is an excellent deal. The Insight is certainly worth that.

Staedtler Triplus Mobile Office Set + Rhodia Pad Giveaway

You are heading out to your local coffee shop for a quick writing session, but how do you know what pens to take with you? Will you have everything you need? Staedtler has you covered with their Mobile Office Set.

One lucky winner will take home the Black Box Limited Edition which contains two Triplus Fineliners (one black, one blue), one Triplus Ballpoint, one Triplus Roller, one 0.5 mm Triplus Mechanical Pencil, and one Triplus Textsurfer Highlighter all stored neatly in a prop-up case.

To round out this portable writing kit I am also including one 6“ x 8.5” Rhodia Staple Bound Notepad which contains 80 sheet of graph paper goodness. Here is how to enter:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Wednesday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You are limited to one entry. This contest is limited to US residents only.
2. For this contest, I will pick one winner 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 winner.
3. The contest winner will be posted on Thursday, May 31st. The winner will have one week to email me at the address posted in the right sidebar.

Thanks and good luck!