Review: Tombow Airpress, Ballpoint Pen, 0.7mm

by Andrew

Tombow Airpress Orange

If there’s one pen that belongs on a construction site, it has to be the Tombow Airpress. With a rubber body and hard-plastic trim, it feels like this pen could take a five-story drop with minimal damage. It has a spring-loaded clip that clings tight. It’s shorter than your average pen, so it nicely fits in a pocket. And it has a thick barrel which makes it easy to grip. Though other colors are available, I find that the orange nicely completes the “construction site” look.

The main feature of the Airpress is the pressurized ballpoint ink cartridge. Each click of the pen compresses the ink, which allows it to write upside down and on dirty surfaces. There’s even a little window added to the barrel that will allow you to view the process. It’s a gimmick, but it makes for a cool conversation point – I like it.

Tombow Airpress Cartridge Size

The ink cartridge is small, though it has a good flow and feel. But don’t expect to get blown away by the writing experience. The Airpress isn’t the type of pen you’d use to journal or write a thank-you note. It is, however, a really great outdoor project pen or a take-anywhere pen.

Tombow Airpress Review

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Colors Review: Pilot G-2 Metallics (Blue and Gray)

by Andrew

IMG_3034Walk into any convenience store and you’re bound to find a plethora of color options for the popular Pilot G-2 line of gel pens, but the G-2 Metallics purport to be a bit different. According to the packaging this ink is “infused with micro-metallic pigments” that give it a “beautiful and unique shine.” In essence, they’re normal G-2 colors that have a bit of shimmer – which, as a matter of fact, do turn out to look pretty darn good.

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I picked up the 2-pack of metallic blue and gray, but a few different color options are available. They are great for doodling and coloring, as the ink really does seem to pop out of the page. They come in a 0.7mm tip size, so detail work might be out of the question, but they seem to fill an area fairly well.

These have the same basic design as the normal Pilot G-2 pen, so they are comfortable to hold, though a bit boring to look at. The ink does smear, but it didn’t seem to skip or stutter at all. Overall, the Metallics are a good addition to the G-2 line, and they are fun colors to own..

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Review: Pentel R.S.V.P., Ballpoint Pen, 0.7mm

by Andrew

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The Pentel R.S.V.P can probably best be described as a budget pen. It’s a step up from the cheap ballpoints often found in office supply closets but less expensive than more “premium” ballpoints like the uni-ball Jetstream or the Pilot Acroball. It mostly performs like a typical ballpoint pen – it’s not particularly smooth, the ink isn’t particularly dark or rich, and there’s also the occasional appearance of ink blobs, which love to smear themselves across the paper.

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To its credit, the R.S.V.P. provides a steady stream of ink. I never once had to scribble on scrap paper to reboot the ink flow, a common problem with ballpoints. You also get plenty of ink the cartridge, which lasts quite awhile. And Pentel has wisely included a rubber grip, an often missed feature for ballpoints, which typically require a firmer hand to write with.

Overall, the R.S.V.P. fills that “budget pen” space perfectly. It’s certainly a nice step up from a junky office pen, but you’d probably be better off throwing down an extra dollar or two to buy something that looks and performs a little bit better.

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Review: uni-ball Signo 207 (micro), Gel Ink Pen, 0.5mm

by Andrew

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At first glance, the uni-ball Signo 207 looks a lot like many other gel pens you’d find on the store shelves. It’s made mostly of plastic with black accents and metal trim, and the only thing that really stands out is its uniquely shaped clip, which does make it look a bit more classy and professional. But after using it for a couple days, I would definitely rank this unassuming gel ink pen among the best that I’ve used.

The Signo 207 has the basics down: it is comfortable to write with, and it draws clean, consistent lines. More than anything else, however, I am impressed at how smear-free the ink manages to be. I really had to try hard to get it to smear on standard papers, and that’s definitely not something you can say about most gel ink pens.

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The black ink doesn’t seem quite as rich and dark as other gel pens, but If you’re willing to accept this trade-off, I imagine the Signo 207 will become an instant favorite. For lefties looking for a low-smear pen, it’s definitely worth a try. For everybody who might be looking to resupply their pen cup, you won’t go wrong with the Signo 207.

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Colors Review: Pilot G-2 Mosaic Collection (blue, green, red, and purple)

by Andrew

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If nothing else, the Pilot G-2 Mosaic Collection improves upon the original G-2 design in at least one important way by hiding the ugly G-2 refill. The barrel is instead covered in a pattern of broken hexagons, mimicking mosaic artwork (hence the name), and each barrel matches the color of the ink inside.

In addition to black, there are four colors: blue, red, green, and purple – all of which are quite dark. The green, the lightest of the bunch, is something like a darker shade of aquamarine. The red is more of a “blood red,” and is actually a great color for standard writing.

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They write like typical Pilot G-2 pens, which is a mostly positive experience, and they come in a 0.7mm tip. There is some smearing, especially with the black ink, but I had no issues with the pens bleeding through the page. If you’re looking for darker colored gel ink pens, these are a pretty good choice – especially that beautiful dark red.

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