pen reviews

Review: Sakura Gelly Roll, Gel Ink, 0.6mm

by Andrew

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As an elementary school student during the 1990s, I’m very nostalgic toward the Sakura Gelly Roll pen. Gel ink was a fairly new invention back then, created as an alternative to oil-based ballpoint ink and water-based rollerball ink. One advantage to this new gel ink was that it could use color pigments instead of dyes – yes, apparently there’s a difference – which allow for many more colorful ink options.

At the time, these bright and shiny new colors were hugely popular for back-to-school shopping in the U.S., but at around $1 per pen, only the luckiest of my fellow students owned more than a few.

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Lots of colors! (via Sakura’s website)

Today, the Gelly Roll still looks and feels exactly like the pen I remember from my childhood. In the years since, however, gel pens have become much more common, and as a standard black writing pen, the Gelly Roll is a bit out of date. The barrel, cap, and clip all feel very cheap, and though the ink has that iconic gel richness, it smears more than it should.

The price of a Sakura Gelly Roll has continued to hover around $1 per pen for decades, which isn’t bad considering inflation. Still, it’s hard to justify when higher quality gel ink pens exist for nearly the same price, such as the Pentel Energel or the uni-ball Signo 207. That isn’t to say I’d want the Gelly Roll to change – it’s a great nostalgia trip for me, even though I don’t plan on visiting it too often.
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Extra Links

Review: uni-ball Fanthom, Erasable Ink, 0.5mm

by Andrew

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I should probably begin this review with the obvious: “Fanthom” is a terrible product name. As uni-ball’s erasable pen, I understand that it’s meant to be a play on the word “phantom,” but as far as purposeful misspellings go, it’s pretty bad. On the other hand, the same criticism might be made of Pilot’s erasable pen, the Frixion,  but it never mattered in that case because that Frixion works incredibly well. But even looking past the name, the uni-ball Fanthom has a lot of problems.

On the positive side, the Fanthom does what it purports to do; it erases very well. Using heat-activated ink technology similar to that of the Pilot Frixion, rubbing the the cap against the page makes the Fanthom’s ink disappear without leaving any smears or eraser residue behind. Unfortunately, uni-ball’s erasable ink looks very dull and is much closer to gray than black. It’s also difficult to re-write over previously erased areas, which is certainly an annoyance.

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I’m not a fan of the barrel design either. The grip area is a little slippery, the rubbery cap feels a bit cheap, and the dull gray aesthetic reminds me of the BIC Triumph 537R. Perhaps uni-ball will improve upon its erasable pen in the future, but for now you’re a lot better off sticking with the Pilot Frixion.

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Extra Links

  • Well Appointed Desk has a nice post reviewing the Fanthom and Frixion pens. Lots of pictures. She saw some residue from the eraser of the Fanthom, which looks more like residue from the erased ink to my eye.
  • A review from No Pen Intended, which she says is overall on par with the Frixion. My favorite sentence from this review: “For those of you looking to build up your writer’s callous, look no further.”
  • A review from Pen Addict. He also had trouble re-writing over previously erased areas. The Frixion has this issue too (see above picture), but not nearly to the same extent.

Review: SKB V6, Gel Ink, 0.5mm

by Andrew

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While SKB’s Soft Ink and Click Ball pens showed some promise, SKB’s V6 gel pen mostly gave me trouble. With a classic silver-on-black color scheme, its design is nice enough. The cap secures and posts very well, and the clip is sturdy enough for daily use.  And though it lacks a soft grip, it still manages to be somewhat comfortable to hold.

That’s all for nothing, unfortunately, when the pen has a bad refill. The V6 tends to skip out quite frequently, and it is one of the roughest writing experiences I’ve had – it feels like I’m scratching the paper with every stroke. And while the ink doesn’t seem to bleed at all, smearing is still a problem.

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In Taiwan – where SKB primarily sells their pens – the V6 costs 15 Yuen (about $2.35 US dollars) for a 12-pack (or about 20 cents per pen). So in Taiwan, you get what you pay for. In the U.S., however, I paid $3 for a 3-pack, which is overpriced considering almost any other gel pen will give you a much better writing experience.

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Review: Staedtler Triplus Fineliner, Porous Point, 0.3mm

by Andrew

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The Staedtler Triplus Fineliner is a porous point pen, similar to the Sharpie Pen or the Monami Plus Pen 3000, but the most interesting thing about the Triuplus Fineliner is its shape. Instead of a standard round barrel, the body is more of a rounded-off triangle. According to Staedtler’s website, this shape is meant for “relaxed and easy writing,” which I’m not so sure about, but it definitely prevents the pen from rolling off my desk.

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As with most porous-point pens, the Triplus Fineliner produces those consistent and clean lines that make all handwriting look a little neater. Compared to the Sharpie Pen, one of my top five pens, the ink appears a tiny bit darker and smears a tiny bit less, but those differences are trivial. The big difference comes down to the barrel: which one is more comfortable?

I still prefer the slightly wider barrel of the Sharpie Pen, which I personally find a lot more comfortable to grip. However, I can see how the Triplus Fineliner might be a better fit for others. So if you’re a fan of the Sharpie Pen, it might be worth testing out the Triplus Fineliner to see if it’s right for you.

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Extra Links

  • Steven Combs has a great comparison of Sharpie Pens and Staedtler Triplus Fineliners. He shows that the Triplus Fineliners bleed very slightly, but not enough to be problematic. He also doesn’t like the thin barrel of the Triplus Fineliners.
  • Review at Pen Addict. Apparently, you can leave then pen uncapped for days without it drying out.
  • Review at Journaling Arts. She didn’t like the barrel either, particularly the soft-angled edges.

Review: BIC Triumph 537RT, Gel Ink, 0.5mm

by Andrew

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When I first saw the BIC Triumph 537RT, I assumed that BIC just took its Triumph 537R pen, added a retracting mechanism, tacked a “T” onto the end of the name, and called it a day. After all, it would have still been an improvement because the worst part about the 537R was its cap.

However, when I got my hands on the Triumph 537RT, I realized that not only is it retractable, but BIC also added a grip, removed a bit of the dull gray color, and replaced the rollerball ink with gel ink. It’s practically a different pen altogether, and, luckily, all these changes make it much better.

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That isn’t to say the Triumph 537RT is a great pen – all said and done, it’s an average gel ink pen. It has a satisfyingly dark ink and it writes reliably, but it also smears fairly easily. It’s adequately comfortable with a sturdy clip, but the remaining gray on the plastic barrel still looks a little cheap. It’s not the worst gel ink pen on my desk, but it’s not the best either. At least BIC is heading in the right direction.

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