Five Days, One Pen

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

When I'm getting ready for a trip, the first thing I think about is, which pens do I bring? And how many? Do I need petit pens for easy transport, high-capacity ink tanks for long writing sessions, a variety of colors for coding or outlining? Do I bring my favorite fancy pens or stick to the mid-range ones? Do I need something durable, or will something delicate be okay? There's so much to consider. And sometimes, once the variables are weighed, the answer is...none. I don't need any pens on this trip. No pens will be safe on this trip. I won't have time for pens on this trip. And sometimes that's a great thing. No, really.

Usually, I'm traveling for work or to visit family. For conferences, I need lots and lots of pens. All the pens, even! I don't hold back. Visiting family, I know I might have a little extra time to write while relatives entertain the kids. But last week, I went on my first ever family vacation. Just me, my hubby, and our two kiddos (ages 10 and 3) on a real just-for-fun trip to Clearwater Beach, Florida, courtesy of my husband's employer. No work allowed.

Traveling with kids is difficult. Especially young kids who need tons of gear--diapers and car seats and strollers and spare clothes and things to keep them from shrieking like banshees. I was not going to have room in my bag for all the pens or even a big notebook. I knew my own carry was going to have to be bare bones. I knew I wasn't going to have time to write or even sit, probably, and I was never going to have my hands free.

But I don't need a pen to sit on the beach, or at the pool, or watching dolphins at the aquarium. I don't need a pen to sip cocktails on a boat at sunset, or collect seashells. No pens for teaching my kids how to do a cannonball or snorkel or pet stingrays.

But I'm also a pen addict, so I couldn't bring NO pens. I let myself bring one, and I went for sheer practicality. I picked the Schon DSGN pocket pen with a Fisher Space Pen refill. Having taken the measure of my entire collection--this pen is apparently my desert island pen. It fits in a pocket, writes on anything, anywhere, and is indestructible. All important criteria when hopping from busses to trains to planes to boats all while loaded out like an alpaca in the Andes.

For notebooks, I brought a Doane Paper Grid + Lines where I'd done all of our trip planning. It's also where I stuffed all our receipts and tickets, and thought (hoped) I might have time to journal (I didn't).

I missed my pens. I missed writing. But not ALL the time, because we were having too much fun, and my kids were the number one focus for this trip. And I was happy with my carry choice. I only wrote two things the entire trip--our room service order on the back of a receipt and a thank you note to leave with the housekeeping tip. I never even wrote in the notebook, and the second thing I wrote with the hotel's freebie Bic pen.

We had the time of our lives. And we did it all without pens. Who would have thought that was possible, right? And it's good, when leaving paradise, to return to something you love. If I hadn't left my pens here on my desk, who knows if I'd have come back at all.

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Posted on March 22, 2018 by Sarah Read and filed under Doane Paper, Schon DSGN.

Ohto Rays Flash Dry Gel Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

When it comes to products that skirt really closely to the knock-off line, it can tend to push some people away or make them uncomfortable with the product. Other times, it’s easy to forgive the likeness if the product offers its own unique take on the original. With the Ohto Rays Flash Dry gel pen (“Ohto Rays" from now on), I’m on the fence. On one hand, it looks very similar to the classic Parker Jotter, but, on the other hand, it includes a stellar gel refill that conveniently fits in any other pen that takes Parker-style refills.

Despite the obvious inspiration for the design of this pen, let’s take a look at how it all comes together as a writing instrument. The pen comes in at 5.5 inches long, which is a bit long for the Parker-style retractable genre. Still, it’s quite comfortable and balanced. The barrel can feel a bit skinny, but I don’t mind it. I’ve grown accustomed to this slim feel after using a Parker Jotter in the past. Unlike the Jotter, the grip section of this pen is mostly plastic, save the small tip. The upper body, clip, and nock are all metal.

The click mechanism has a nice feel and sound, and it’s been very reliable in my experience. I’ve noticed that with some cheap model retractable pens that the click mechanism can have issues. That’s not the case here. The metal clip is also the perfect level of strong — not too stiff to make it difficult to use, but not too soft to cause issues with falling off things.

In general, the pen feels really good in the hand, and the plastic grip warms up to your hand with use. The extra length overall adds a sense of balance to the pen that I welcome.

Now, on to the aspect of this pen that I’m excited about. Like the inspiration for the outside of the pen, Ohto also took that inspiration inside the pen with the refill they chose. The refill is an Ohto-branded gel refill that performs wonderfully. I was really surprised that it performed as well as it does when I first started using it. The ink is dark, smooth, and precise, and the line width is incredibly precise and clean. The fact that the refill tip is a "needle-point" style also makes it feel a tad more premium. I’m sure this style tip is helpful when using it with a straight-edge, but I can’t attest to that. I’ve really enjoyed using this refill and have had zero problems or complaints. It’s a fantastic refill that I’ll probably use in other pens due to the ubiquitous size and compatibility with other pens.

The only downside to this refill (and it’s a doozy) is that you only have one option: 5mm in black. In the gel refill world, this is almost a death sentence compared to the wide, wide array of tip sizes and colors available from other manufacturers. I’m holding out a little hope that Ohto has plans to expand their offerings, but I won’t hold out long. Still, as far as 0.5mm black refills go, this is at the top of my list right now.

The Ohto Rays pen comes in a variety of colors, like yellow (shown here), blue (looks like turquoise, though), black, white, pink, and red. At just under $4, these pens are a really good deal. If you’re only interested in the refill, those are just under $2. Good luck finding the pens or the refills in stock! They’ve been incredibly popular on JetPens since their initial release earlier this year.

If you can get past the design decisions, this is a solid pen with a fantastic refill.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Ohto, Gel, Pen Reviews.

Kamiterior Japanese Paper Sampler Giveaway

I’m forever on the search for new and interesting stationery goods from Japan. Luckily for me, Vanness Pens has some very interesting paper products in stock, and I have a small paper pack to give away to one lucky winner.

This pack includes the Kamiterior Shuritto To Do List, a write-and-destroy to do list, the Kamiterior Memoterior Notepad, which contains five different paper types in one pad, and the Kamiterior Nocci, a slimline portable notebook.

These fun and functional goods are going to one winner, so read the rules and enter below!

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Giveaways, Kamiterior.