The Inc R-2 rollerball pen has a thick, sturdy look about it, and it feels like a permanent marker in the hand. It’s fully disposable, yet seems durable enough to hold up to the abuse of banging around in a backpack. I was excited to use the R-2, but when I finally had a reason to pull one out and write, I was quickly disappointed.
The R-2 has a decent grip, making it fairly comfortable to hold, but it delivers neither the smoothest nor the cleanest lines. It has a really nice dark ink, but it bleeds through the page. Worst of all, the flow is just no good – there is no consistency in line width, and the ink frequently skips out.
The R-2 is an inexpensive pen – I bought a 2-pack for one dollar – but they’re still not worth the trouble. The writing is so inconsistent that they’ll only frustrate you. Instead, spend an extra dollar or two to get something at least a little better.
Extra Links
- Ni Carnahan, who does some amazing art, had the exact opposite experience as me with the R-2. This review is worth reading – maybe I got a bad batch?
- Review at One Pen a Day. He had issues with bleeding, inconsistency, and smearing with the R-2, but he still thinks its worth checking out for its low cost.
- The official Inc website at Peachtree Playthings. It’s pretty bare-bones.
Pens and Junk 
I, personally, like this pen and go out of my way to get it. The only pen for which I can remember doing so.
LikeLike
It’s possible that I got a couple of duds.
LikeLike
My Retriever got ahold of the Black Rollerball and decided to use it as a chew toy. What gets that ink out of a carpet? Graham
LikeLike
Yikes – that’s not easy. Ink is made to be permanent. Bleach, maybe, if your carpet is white. Otherwise ammonia and soap, might do an okay job.
LikeLike
Hello,
My name is Key Austin and I’m a faithful user of the R2 Blast pens. I like the boldness of the colors, and yes, I’ve been disappointed at times on the skipping, & some of them just didn’t perform at at all, especially the orange ones.
I’m seriously disappointed that I can no longer find the color ones at dollar tree. They seem to stock only the blue and the black. I need my colors please!
LikeLike
I freaking love the feel of the r2 pens; the scratchiness of when writing, and just the feel/size of the pen. The blast orange pink purple and light blue are available in my local dollar tree, but they recently stopped selling the .5mm version of the standard black/blue. I think the finer point ones had more consistent inking and less bleed through, at least with normal writing. I’m down to my last two or three 😦
LikeLike
I’ve only tried the .7mm version. Maybe I would have liked a .5mm better.
LikeLike
As someone who has had surgery years ago on the wrist tunnel just below the carpal tunnel, I need a pen with just a bit of heft or weight or my wrist and grip will shake all over the place. I HATE this R2 .7 mm pen because it is virtually weightless and my wrist shakes as I write, and I get little squiggles before each beginning letter. I’m going back to my previous pen choice that had just a bit of weight to it.
LikeLike
Yeah. it seems like a lot of people like the R-2, and, honestly, I still don’t understand it. By the way – have you tried the Pilot Dr. Grip? That’s still kind of a lighter pen, but it’s supposed to be good for people with carpal tunnel.
LikeLike
The ONLY reason that people like the R2 is because they’ve never used the FAR superior Inc.Gel Pen known as the MagnaTank, They stopped making it because it cost just a few pennies more than the R2 to make, and we’re either stuck with it or on a search for a pen superior to the R2. By the way, GEL ink does NOT bleed through paper like the R2 DOES…that’s WHY they call it GEL You people must think we’re morons. I’ve been searching the Internet to find a suitable replacement for the MagnaTank. Having to deal with forced inflation as a result of pushing inferior replacement products upon us simply pisses me off Get with it Inc! Either bring back the MagnaTank WITH the ORIGINAL formula gel, OR get out of the business. I can’t stand being forced to accept what you think you can get away with. .
LikeLike
Interesting. I’ve never seen or heard of the Magna Tank. From what I can find, it looks like they were available back in 2012… too bad. I’d have liked to try one.
LikeLike