The 2014 Atlanta Pen Show is scheduled for Friday, Apr 11th through Sunday, April 13th. This will mark my third year in attendance and I cannot wait! Are you going to be there? If so I would love to meet you. I plan on being at the show all day Saturday (10a-5p) and will have an informal Pen Addict meet up in the hotel bar from 5p-7p.
Feel free to leave a comment here or get in touch via Twitter for more specifics. See you there!
-- Lamy Safari Fountain Pen – Apple Green Body – M nib (No Pen Intended)
-- Field Notes: Retail Performance Art (Atramental Otaku)
-- Organics Studio Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass Review (Office Supply Geek)
-- Kokuyo Campus Wide Notebook – Review (Ed Jelley)
-- Caran d'Ache 849 Ballpoint (The Clicky Post)
-- Kokuyo NeoCritz Transformer pencil case review (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)
-- Pilot Capless - 1971 - C-400BS and C-400SS (Crónicas Estilográficas)
-- Ink Notes: Graf von Faber-Castell Garnet Red (Fountain Pen Quest)
-- Three minute hero: A Review of the F/C 03 ‘Iterum’ with Masuyama needlepoint nib (A fool with a pen)
-- Review: @Kaweco Calligraphy Pen Set - Black Body @JetPens (Gourmet Pens)
-- Post 004 Conklin Crescent Model 20 (My Antique Pens)
-- Pelikan M205 Yellow Demonstrator, M250 14K 0.9mm CI, inked with De Atramentis Indigo Blue (Just DaveyB)
-- Sunshine On My Sketchbook Makes Me Happy (Yippee Cahier!)
-- Review: Banditapple Carnet Notebooks (The Well-Appointed Desk)
-- My father-in-law’s old notebooks (Woodclinched)
-- A Girl Named Elastika: An Animated Adventure in Office Supplies (Colossal)
-- Review – Uni-ball Signo UM-151 – .38 mm (My Pen Needs Ink)
-- On My Desk: Field Notes Shelterwood Edition — (The Newsprint)
-- Energel vs. Vicuna (or Gel vs. Hybrid in general) (That One Pen)
-- I [heart] you: Pelikan M205 and Levenger Shiraz Ink (From the Pen Cup)
-- Cool, Blue Sun-Star Pencil Gear, Part I (Pencil Revolution)
-- Pelikan 400 Tortoise Shell Fountain Pen Review (Write to Me Often)
-- Diamond Ink Co. (Once New Vintage)
-- New Arrival: Rotring Trio Lava Multipen (My pencils draw worlds)
-- Inspiration So Pure So Smooth So Precious (Mere Blather)
-- Behind the Scenes: Making a Menlo Pump Filler (Edison Pen Company)
One of the latest releases at JetPens, the Zebra Fortia Ballpoint is a surprisingly good entrant in the less than $10 ballpoint category.
This is a classically designed pen. There is no show to be seen, no flair to be tossed around. The Fortia is all business because sometimes that is what you need. Rock your favorite Hello Kitty multi pen in your cube, but swap it out for the Fortia when you head into that meeting. Your boss doesn't understand the depths of your addiction, so no need to own it until the time is right. These are the things us addicts must consider.
The Fortia features a glossy plastic barrel with a metal inner sleeve to give it a nice weight when writing. The design of it reminds me of a wider Pilot Hi-Tec-C Cavalier. Like the Cavalier, the Fortia hides a refill worthy of excellent housing. No, it's not Hi-Tec-C quality, or even Jetstream quality, but for a standard ballpoint it is very good. Smooth, clean, and dark - can't really ask for much more. I generally enjoy Zebra's ballpoint refills and this is no exception.
Should you rush out and buy a Zebra Fortia? It falls into the situational use category for me. It's not game changer, but rather a solid offering if you have the need for this style of pen with a ballpoint refill. For only $8.50 I'd say it provides good value.
(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)
