Zebra Zensations Sarasa Fineliner Review

(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.)

Who can resist the allure of a pack of brightly colored fineliner pens? Not me. Probably not a lot of you. Honestly, why try? Especially when they're from Zebra.

This pack of 12 fineliners is part of the Zebra Zensations line--art and coloring tools perfect for zentangles or other relaxing ink crafts. I've played with a lot of fineliners and have a decent stash of them already, so I'd planned to pass this pack off to the kids after the review. But I like them so much they snuck right back into my pen cup. They're now among my favorites.

The pen body is sturdy black plastic with a colorful wrap that shows the color of the ink. The clip is also the ink color, so it's easy to tell what you're reaching for. The clip is fantastic. It's strong but flexible and has enough room that it can clip to a book cover or a nice chunk of pages. The grip section is also in coordinated colored plastic. It's slim and tapers a bit, so there may be some slipping if you're using the pen for longer periods. I found it very comfortable to hold, though.

The tip is a .8 mm "needle point" felt tip. I've been a bit spoiled by insanely fine tips, so calling this a fine/needle point seems off to me. I'd consider this to be a fairly broad fineliner, but its lines are very crisp and precise.

The ink is water resistant, acid free, and archival quality. The colors are very rich and vibrant, and the tip provides excellent coverage. I think they're fantastic for coloring and journaling and I suspect artists would get good use from them as well.

Despite all this awesomeness, they're at the low end of the price range for fineliners. It's $1.75 apiece for open stock, or this pack of 12 costs $19.

If you need to get some colorful zen into your life, I'd snap these up.

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

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Posted on August 9, 2018 by Sarah Read and filed under Zebra, Fineliner, Pen Reviews.

Kyokuto F.O.B. COOP To Do List Sticky Notes Review

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

If there's one thing I always wish there were more of, it's high-quality sticky notes. The brand that made sticky notes famous doesn't use the highest quality paper, which is a bummer. There are a few other companies that strive to make sticky notes that work with more than just standard ballpoints and gel pens, but they are few and far between.

I recently discovered the Kyokuto F.O.B. COOP To Do List Sticky Notes (what a name, right? I'll refer to them as Kyokuto sticky notes from now on.), which has renewed my interest in this category. The Kyokuto sticky notes come in three variations: To Do List, Daily, and Weekly. Each sticky pad has 30 one-sided sheets and measures in at 2 x 5.5 inches. This is a perfect size for attaching these small notes to the margin of another notebook, planner, or calendar.

The to do list variant has 15 lines with check boxes included. The Daily version has hourly markers starting at 9 and ending at 22. Finally, the weekly version includes all seven days of the week along with three small check boxes for each day next to the date section.

Each sticky note pad has a translucent protective cover that looks really cool. Yeah, it has some branding and example scribbles on the cover, but I like the frosty translucent look.

In use, I've found it easier to remove a sticky note and apply it to another surface before I start jotting down notes, but it works fine while still in the pad. Your mileage may vary.

On the surface, these sticky pads seem to do a great job of filling their utilitarian purpose. In practice, I think it will come down to personal preference and how small you can write. In every variation, I don't have a comfortable amount of room to write out my tasks, agenda, or events. I don't enjoy writing small, but I also don't think I write that large in the first place. 2x5.5" is a convenient size, but I'd love to see a 2.5x7" or something similar so I have a little extra room to breathe.

The quality of these little pads is top notch. The printing is sharp, the shading on different rows in the daily planner is great, and the idea is fantastic. The paper quality is great, but not resilient against certain fountain pen/ink combinations. In my practice, fine nibs with inks that have anti-bleed tendencies are best with these sticky pads. That said, these pads are only meant to be written on the top side, which makes bleed-through irrelevant as long as the bleed doesn't soak into the next page. I haven't had that happen, but I'm sure some inks are up to the challenge.

Gel pens, rollerballs, and ballpoints work great with this paper. It's a smooth, glossy texture that's pleasant to use. The top inch of the paper has an adhesive backing, so sticking these notes onto other surfaces is easy and secure. I haven't had any issues with corners pulling up or notes falling out of notebooks, so that's a good sign that Kyokuto have used a good adhesive in these pads. That said, the notes are still easy to remove or move around without any degraded adhesive performance.

I think my favorite of the three is the generic to do list variant. It's the most versatile of the bunch, but I like all three. They're a perfect companion to your favorite notebook, planner, or paper calendar.

The Kyokuto F.O.B COOP to do list sticky notes are $5.50 a piece, which means you'll spent over $15 for all three. At 30 sheets, this seems like a premium price, but they are well made. If these were closer to the three-dollar mark, it would be an easier sell, but the price still feels fair if you plan on using these every now and then instead of one or two per day.

You'll probably know from looking at the pictures here or on JetPens whether or not these will be something that you splurge on. If you pick some up, you certainly won't be disappointed by the quality! These cute planner assistants are a lot of fun and do the job well.

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

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Posted on August 8, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Kyokuto, Sticky Notes, Notebook Reviews.