zebra

Nib Novice, Part 2 – The Zebra V-301

by Andrew

This is the second part of a series in which I’m learning to use fountain pens. For Part 1, click here.

img_3894

These days, fountain pens are no longer marketed to the general public.  If you want to buy one, there are very few options besides specialty shops and online stores – big box retailers simply don’t carry them. So, I was a surprised awhile back when I noticed this Zebra V-301 fountain pen at corner store a few blocks away from my apartment, where it was hanging between Pilot G-2s and BIC Stics. I bought it for about $4, and it became my second fountain pen.

The V-301 is based on the popular Zebra F-301, mimicking its stainless steel body and plastic, black trim, but as a fountain pen, it’s obviously much different. It uses what’s called a disposable, “cartridge-style” refill, which is basically just a small tube of ink. With some fountain pens, these cartridges are refillable, but disposable cartridges seem to be recommended to fountain pen newbies because they are very straight forward. You just pop the cartridge inside, and the ink starts flowing. At least, that’s what’s supposed to happen.

img_3901
The V-301’s ink cartridge

With this Zebra V-301, it took a lot of work to actually get the ink running. I spent at least 5 minutes scratching paper with the nib until I finally became frustrated enough to shake and bang the pen on the table. But when the ink eventually started to flow, my experience with this pen didn’t get any better.

When you look for reviews of this pen, not many people have good things to say. Azizah at Gourmet Pens calls it her “current most disliked fountain pen ever,” and the review at No Pen Intended calls it a “trainwreck of metal and ink.” And, having used it for a couple days, I fully understand their complaints.

img_3897

The V-301 is very finicky about the angle at which you write. You have to hold it at a very high angle, else the ink flow cuts in and out. Oddly, the ink actually flows a lot better when holding the nib upside-down with the feed facing up, and this seems to be a common complaint. Even Zebra’s product page for the V-301 has half a dozen customer complaints about this problem, and, for what it’s worth, Zebra’s customer outreach has said that the pen will soon be fixed.

If nothing else, Zebra deserves credit for being a company that dares to try something different. Still, it’s a shame that the V-301 is such a disappointment. As one of the very few mass marketed fountain pens, it’s likely to wind up in the hands of beginners who might be so turned off as to never try another fountain pen. I, on the other hand, will persist on. And, next time, I’ll be sure to try something that works better.

img_3895

Review: Zebra F-402, Ballpoint, 0.7mm

by Andrew

img_3546

If the Zebra F-301 Ultra is an upgrade from the original Zebra F-301, then the Zebra F-402 is like a double-upgrade. It’s noticeably heavier, the barrel is a little bit longer, and all of the plastic has been replaced with stainless steel. But best of all, the F-402 is thicker and, like the F-301 Ultra, the hard grip section has been improved with a comfortable, rubberized material.

img_3547

The only thing that hasn’t been upgraded between these three iterations – the F-301, the F-301 Ultra, and the F-402 – is the 0.7mm ballpoint refill. That’s not to suggest that it’s a bad refill, just mediocre when compared to the smoothness of the Pilot Acroball or the usefulness of the Fisher Space Pen refill. While the extra heft of the F-402 gives some gravity-assist to what is normally a cramp-inducing writing experience, the pen would still be much better with a higher quality refill.

But if you are a fan of the F-301, then the F-402 is worth trying. At 2 or 3 dollars per pen, it doesn’t cost a much more than the F-301. Yet it’s a more substantial, nicer pen overall. And, more importantly, the F-402 is a lot more comfortable to write with.

img_3545

Extra Links

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

by Andrew

img_3502

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.

img_3503

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.

img_3501

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: 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.

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