pen reviews

Review: Tombow Ultra, Rollerball, 0.5mm

by Andrew

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The Tombow Ultra feels like a pen you’d whip out to write your personal number on the back of a business card. It’s a hefty, thick, and professional-looking pen. It exists to impress, but it isn’t just for show either. It’s durable and comfortable, and it comes stocked with an amazing rollerball ink.

The Ultra is in the 25-50 dollar price range, and for your money you get a good-quality metal and enamel pen. However, it does have a rubberized grip – it’s thick and comfortable, but it’s worth noting that it might wear down with heavier use.

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Still, the only major flaw in the Ultra is a plastic piece inside the cap that exists to create an airtight seal around the tip of the refill, preventing it from drying out. Unfortunately, this plastic piece is too thin and malleable. It frequently gets bent out of shape when attempting to cap the pen, making it necessary to bend it back in place before the cap can be properly secured. It’s a very annoying aspect of an otherwise nice pen.

Regardless, I do like the Ultra. It even comes inside a Tombow case, making it nicely giftable. And, as I mentioned, I am very impressed with its rollerball refill, which is clean, dark, and low smear. It’s possibly the smoothest rollerball I’ve ever used, and it even comes in tip sizes as small as 0.3mm. I can’t say I’ll be using the Tombow Ultra as much as I use my (similarly-priced) Retro 51 Tornado, but I’ll definitely be looking to put that Tombow rollerball refill into any pen that will accept it.

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Review: Pilot Juice, Gel Ink, 0.38mm

by Andrew

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Picture a Pilot G-2 with a spring-loaded clip, and you’ll have a good idea of what the Pilot Juice is all about. Like the G-2, the Juice has the clear-plastic body and black trim that looks like so many other pens you’ll find on most store shelves – I call it the “premium plastic” style. But that isn’t to say that the Juice is a bad pen, and, to the contrary, it’s probably a lot better than most of the other pens in its category.

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Compared to the G-2, the Juice’s ink is a bit smoother, the grip is a little softer, and the refill lacks that ugly brown gunk. And while these minor improvements might not make anyone go out of their way, the Juice’s aforementioned spring-loaded clip might. Never underestimate the usefulness of a good clip. Whether attaching it to a notebook or a pocket, it’s nice having a pen that knows how to stay put.

It’s easy to see that the Pilot Juice is a good gel-ink pen, but its competition can’t be ignored either. For my money, the Juice still doesn’t beat the nearly smear-free ink and the professional look of pens like the Pentel Energel and the uni-ball Signo 207. However, if the Juice’s spring-loaded clip speaks to you, it might be worth a try.

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Extra Links

  • A review at The Clicky Post says that the Juice delivers a top notch writing experience. He also notes that the tip-size and color options are “literally insane.”
  • Speaking of colors, you can see many of the Juice’s color options over at The Well Appointed Desk.
  • Another review at The Finer Point calls the Juice “middle of the park.” In particular she dislikes the cheap-looking barrel, and she describes the pen as best for taking shorter notes.

Review: Zebra F-301 Ultra, Ballpoint, 0.7mm

by Andrew

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I’ve covered many iterations of the popular Zebra F-301 pen on this blog, and it’s been quite a hodgepodge. For example, there’s the F-301 Compact, a redesign that managed to be even more uncomfortable than the original. There’s also the rollerball version of the F-301, creatively named the R-301, which made some positive and interesting changes, yet still failed at some of the basics. And then there’s the 301A, a version of the F-301 that made almost no changes, positive or negative, except that the barrel looks a little prettier.

But, finally, I’m happy to report that Zebra has an update of the F-301, called the F-301 Ultra, which really is a marked improvement.

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Within moments of using the F-301 Ultra, it’s clear that it is a much better pen than the original. There’s a couple small changes – a reinforced clip and a rounded-off knock mechanism – that contribute the overall improvement, but the most significant change is the grip. Rather than the hard-plastic of the original F-301, the F-301 Ultra has a softer, thicker grip. It’s impressive how this change makes the F-301 Ultra much more comfortable to write with than the original.

At around five dollars per pen, it’s about double the price of the original F-301, and depending on your personal use case, this softer grip will wear down eventually. But if you’re using your F-301 for more than jotting small notes here and there , then it’s definitely worth the upgrade to the Ultra. Now if Zebra could only improve its ballpoint ink refill to compete with something like the Pilot Acroball, this pen might really be a game-changer.

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Extra Links

  • A review from the Tiger Pens Blog. Apparently, it’s a good self-defense pen? I don’t know about that, but he also agrees that the ink is less than ideal.
  • A review on the Fountain Pen Network Forum by member s5s. Again, the main contention is the refill, which is a proprietary design. So don’t think you’ll be able to switch this refill out with any other.
  • The F-301 Ultra is carried by many retailers online, but I’ve never seen one in a store – even Zebra’s website doesn’t really mention the Ultra anywhere. Perhaps it has been discontinued already.

Review: Jot Roller-Tip, Rollerball Pen, 0.5mm

by Andrew

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Though it serves little other purpose, the Jot Roller-Tip rollerball is a good example of why people should care, at least a little, about purchasing a decent pen. After all, it’s the sort of pen that typically doesn’t warrant a second thought. It is very inexpensive, it looks nice enough, and it even has a relatively fine, 0.5mm tip . But even for the dollar or two I paid for a 3-pack, these pens are really just a waste of money.

The Jot Roller-Tip is probably one of the more inconsistent pens I’ve ever written with. Thick lines, thin lines, or no lines, you never know what you’re going to get when you put this pen to paper. It’s scratchy and rough to write with, the clip is flimsy, and the plastic end of the barrel even pops off when it clearly shouldn’t. Throw this pen in a backpack or purse at your own peril.

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Uh… I don’t think that’s supposed to just pop off like that.

On the positive side, the ink is quick-drying and, though it lacks a soft-grip section, it’s certainly comfortable enough for most uses. Still, it’s not enough to make a difference. The bottom line is that the Jot Roller-Tip is just not worth your money – no matter how little they’ll charge.

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Review: M&G R1, Gel Ink, 0.5mm

by Andrew

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If you have never heard of the company M&G, you’re not alone. This is my first time ever seeing a pen with its logo, but from my brief research, it seems to be a fairly large operation based in Shanghai, China. The company manufactures a ridiculous amount of pens, with its website listing 117 different types of gel-ink pens alone. One of these pens is the R1, which M&G claims is its best seller.

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The style of the R1 is pretty close to that of your typical “premium plastic” pen, like the Pilot G-2, albeit with gray-colored grip. By all measures, it’s a pretty good pen. It smears some, but otherwise produces consistent lines with dark ink. With its thick grip, it’s even quite comfortable to hold. It’s not hard to see why the R1 might be M&G’s best seller.

The R1 is inexpensive and a decent choice for the pen cup. The catch is that you’ll have to purchase it from an online seller, usually one from China through eBay. Oddly, these pens still tend to be less expensive than similar pens you’ll find on store shelves in the United States – even including the shipping costs, I paid less than one dollar per pen. Still, the R1 isn’t so great that it’s worth chasing after, but if you’re especially patient and frugal, they might at least be worth looking into.

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