Review: Zebra R-301, Rollerball Pen, 0.7mm

by Andrew

IMG_3317

You have to give credit to the Zebra Pen Corporation. Its F-301 ballpoint is probably the most popular stainless steel pen in the United States, and any other company might put all its energy into maintaining that status quo. Zebra, on the other hand, continuously makes an effort to innovate and improve the F-301, even when most of those attempts fall flat (see: Zebra’s G-301, 301A, and F-301 Compact). Most recently I picked up the Zebra R-301, which is ostensibly the rollerball version of the F-301, but aside from the black and silver aesthetic, it’s really an entirely different pen.

To start on a positive note, I love the R-301’s barrel size, which is thicker than the F-301, making it a much more comfortable pen to hold. The R-301 also uses a cartridge refill, which is essentially a disposable ink receptacle (instead of a typical refill that also replaces the pen’s tip). This is a fairly unique feature for a pen commonly found in convenience stores, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the average consumer were a bit put-off by it. Although, there’s really no reason for concern, as it turns out to be a fairly simple system.

IMG_3316

The R-301’s rollerball ink is noticeably darker and writes much smoother than the F-301’s ballpoint ink. Unfortunately, the 0.7mm tip is far too big on the R-301, allowing the ink to flow much too heavy and making bleed-through a major problem. In addition, the F-301’s retracting mechanism has been replaced with a standard cap, which is fine except for the rattling that occurs when the cap is posted to the end of the pen.

Tightening the cap and giving the R-301 a finer tip are probably easy changes for Zebra to put in place, yet fixing these problems would make the R-301 a substantially better pen. In fact, without these changes, it’s hard for me to recommend the R-301. Instead, you’d be better off sticking with a rollerball like the Pilot Precise V5 RT or, if you’re willing to spend a bit more money, a Retro 51 Tornado.

IMG_3318

Extra Links

  • A review at Office Supply Geek was mostly positive, though he mentioned the issue with the cap wiggling and rattling while posted. He also mentioned that the ink is quick to dry, which it is – smearing and smudging is minimal.
  • A review at Pen Addict also mentions that the cap posts loosely. I’m glad I’m not the only person annoyed by this.
  • A review by Rhonda Eudaly. She mentions that the ink takes awhile to get flowing the first time you pop the cartridge in. In fact, I remember thinking this pen was a dud when I first used it because I was scribbling for a full minute before the ink started flowing.

Review: Parker 1M, Ballpoint, 1.0mm

by Andrew

IMG_3295

The Parker Pen Company has been making click-style ballpoint pens for more than 60 years, and this 1M model proves they know what they’re doing. It looks and feels good to hold, it’s balanced well, and the thickness makes for a comfortable writing experience. However, there’s one major problem with the 1M ballpoint; the refill is atrocious.

While using the Parker 1M, I have to keep a scratch pad nearby because it takes a few pen strokes to get going. Even then it occasionally skips out in the middle of a sentence, and it always feels a bit sluggish against the paper. I didn’t notice many issues with ink blobs and smearing, but this wasn’t enough to make up for its deficits.

IMG_3296

I really do like everything else about the Parker 1M ballpoint. It even has the same hardy retracting mechanism as the Parker Jotter, which I love to “click” incessantly whenever I use it. If you’re willing to spend a little extra money, Parker has a lot of other refill options available. Hopefully I’ll find one that works better than the one included here.

IMG_3294

Colors Review: Zebra Sarasa, Gel Ink, Ten Assorted Colors

by Andrew

IMG_3279

When I reviewed the standard black Zebra Sarasa, I called it a pen that failed to stand out alongside a sea of similar options, and I felt very similar when I cracked open this 10-pack of Sarasa colors. Included in the pack is a black pen plus three shades of blue, two shades of green, a red, a pink, a violet, and a brown. Oddly, orange and yellow – standard colors in larger sets – are absent.

IMG_3280

I quite like the aquatic hue of the light blue and the reddish tinge of the brown, but none of the other colors stand out as anything special. The pens are relatively comfortable to hold, and the ink is relatively smooth. The Zebra website also touts its “rapid dry ink technology,” though the pens still manage to smear somewhat.

If you already have a stash of colored gel-ink pens, you aren’t likely to find much new here. However, these will do fine as a standard set of color pens. At the very least, that brown ink will look good in my notebooks.

IMG_3277

Review: Pentel Energel Alloy RT, Gel Ink, 0.7mm

by Andrew

IMG_3313

The Pentel Energel Alloy RT is meant to be the “durable” version of the Energel Deluxe RTX. The design of the two pens is nearly identical. They share length, width, and general aesthetic features, with the only major difference being that the body of the Alloy RT is entirely made of aluminum (hence its name). In any other pen I might consider this a lazy cash grab – “let’s cast the pen in aluminum and charge five times the price!” – but the Energel refill is so good that I think the Energel Alloy RT might actually be a bargain.

IMG_3314

Aside from some rattling in the tip, the Energel Alloy RT feels like a high quality pen. It’s nicely balanced, has a sturdy “click” mechanism, and given that there’s no padding on the grip section, manages to be fairly comfortable. If Pentel removed all its branding, I’m convinced they could sell this pen at a specialty shop for 20 dollars or more. As is, however, it’s easy to find the Alloy RT for 10 dollars or less.

For fans of the Energel Deluxe RTX (or just the dark, smooth ink in its refill), the Alloy RT is a great pen to have. For those frugal enough, it might be possible to save money by simply refilling the Alloy RT (rather than buying a box of Deluxe RTX pens for 20 dollars or more). But personally, I like the Alloy RT because it feels like a high-quality pen, and it uses a great refill.

IMG_3312

Extra Links

  • Review at No Pen Intended. Overall it seems to be very positive review, though it sounds like she had some minor smudging issues. Despite the awesomeness of the Energel refill, I did notice that the 0.7mm version (that comes with this pen) tends to smear. I plan on replacing it with the 0.3mm version, which barely smeared at all.
  • Review at Pen Addict. He had issues with the tip of the pen rattling. I noticed this too, depending on the angle I was writing, but it didn’t give me much trouble.
  • Review at Gentlemen Stationer. Boy, that chrome version looks nice. I believe they also come in blue, pink, and gold options.

Review: Sakura Gelly Roll, Gel Ink, 0.6mm

by Andrew

IMG_3237

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.

GellyRollMegaDisplay2014
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.
IMG_3236
Extra Links