Yasutomo Y&C Stylist Marker Pen Review

As a purveyor of plastic tipped pens I like to think I know what I like in pens similar to the Yasutomo Y&C Stylist Marker Pen. Sharp lines are key, which goes hand in hand with a firm plastic tip. Color brightness and comfort are secondary, but still important. The Yasutomo Stylist Marker covers all of that with surprising ease.

I almost didn't add this pen to my cart at JetPens, considering the poor perfomance of the Yasutomo Stylist Gel. It was a scratchy writer and is poorly designed in the grip area. While the Stylist Marker has some barrel design concerns (which I will get to in a moment), the writing performance is so good I am willing to overlook them.

You cannot make a plastic tip pen too firm in my opinion. To give you a baseline, the Kuretake Zig Cartoonist Mangaka is very firm, while the Marvy LePen is very soft. The Sakura Pigma Micron is right in the middle. The Stylist Marker is right up there with the Kuretake.

Looking at the writing sample, the edges of my lines are very sharp, which I love. That is what a firm plastic tip will give you. In no way did I expect to find performance like this from this pen. The only thing left to determine is durability, which will come with time and use.

It's not all roses for this pen though. The barrel design could use some improvement, especially regarding the clip. Mine fell right off after receiving it and I tried to shove it back on as you can see in the image below. That didn't work, so I just trashed the clip. It is comfortable to hold and write with otherwise.

I don't normally have good luck with unknown brand name pens but the Yasutomo Y&C Stylist Marker Pen is a keeper.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Yasutomo Y&C Stylist Gel Ink Pen Review

Yasutomo was a brand I was not familiar with until JetPens started stocking a few of their pens last year. They originally started out in the 1950's as an importer/exporter of Japanese and American goods between the two countries and later got in to designing their own products, such as this Y&C Stylist Gel.

While the Violet gel ink color looks nice on the page, there aren't too many other positives to be taken away from this pen. The design leans very much towards the Pentel R.S.V.P. and is right in the same price range. That's not a knock on the Stylist Gel per se, but if you are looking for innovation you are going to have to look elsewhere.

The writing experience is poor as well. The tip is scratchy and there is a persistent clicking sound when writing. There is also a sharp plastic ridge near the grip area of the pen. If you grip too low it will dig into your fingers and become uncomfortable.

You aren't going to go broke trying the Y&C Stylist Gel but I would pass and go for that extra cup of coffee the next time you are out.