Mildly Relevant Reviews – Pilot Plumix Fountain Pen
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Mildly Relevant Reviews – Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen 6mm
Review – Pilot BP-S Medium
For quite some time, pen companies have been trying to come out with the “superior” ink. And many succeed in varying ways. Every ink has its benefits and faults. The Pilot BP-S (which I can only assume stands for “better pen” as it uses the “better” refill) claims to have a “revolutionary” ink (perhaps when it was first made) that is very smooth and writes the first time. But all my quotation marks just make me a skeptic. Let’s look at the pen.
The body of the pen looks like a hyped-up Bic Cristal. It’s got a similar hexagonal shape, with a black end cap that screws off for easy refilling (with the Pilot better refills). The body is clear with a minor amount of information physically molded into it. It’s enough to tell you what you’re using. The grip is series of tiny ridges that lead all the way to the metal cone tip, and are surprisingly grippy compared to the rest of the pen. The refill in this model is medium, and it comes out a ways beyond the cone. The cap is nothing to write home about, though it does have a flat surface for easy removal, which is nice.
On to the writing. I can tell you for a fact that no pen that isn’t liquid ink will write the first time every time, but this one comes close. It does take some pressure to start, usually, and a more constant pressure to continue writing than a regular ballpoint, but the overall experience is smoother. With the right amount of pressure, the ink comes out in a consistent line, and with a little let up, a serviceable one with a few gaps. Neither of these options are more strain on the hand than a regular ballpoint. The ink is black, most of the time. Sometimes it’s more of a cool dark grey. And that’s fine for any office setting, though not really for art. It is also smudge-resistant and water-resistant, like most ballpoints, so it will survive a spill as long as the paper does.
Overall it’s a good pen. Perhaps it was better comparatively when it was first introduced. It is nothing terribly special, but it is superior to standard ballpoint offerings from most major companies. Again, just slightly. If a ballpoint is the perfect writing or art utensil for you, but it just isn’t quite smooth enough, these are probably worth a look. They certainly don’t cross over into the realm of feeling or acting like another type of pen, which unfortunately tends to happen with these “smooth” inks.
Review – Pilot Precise Colors, Green and Purple
I’ve taken a look at the Pilot Precise V5 pens before, and they’re pretty good pens in the standard compliment of black, red, and blue colors. But they also have a few other colors available, and in this little review I’ll take a look at the purple and green offerings.
First the purple, which is much darker and a much truer purple than most, which are more a fuchsia. The color is deep, but not deep enough to be washed out. It could still conceivably be used in an office setting, but might be pushing it. And while there are rarely truer purples, it doesn’t have a very natural look to it. Perhaps it exists in some deeps shades of flowers, but otherwise it is far too dark. Startup with this color is easy, and while it does fade with water, it is still readable.
And second, the green, which again is much darker and much truer than other greens. It is unmistakably green, but darker than what one would usually think of green as being. It doesn’t get close to a forest or hunter, but certainly is far from a light or lime. I couldn’t think of any office uses, unless you’re a teacher who doesn’t want to use red. It is just light enough to stand out and not look professional. In art, though, it is a wonderfully natural color, and it shades a little bit for interesting effects. It has a bit of a startup problem (or a drying out problem) and is the less water-resistant of the two, but it is still adequate.
Is it worth moving over to Pilot Precise pens just to get these colors? Unlikely, but they are great colors that add to an already nice lineup. I enjoy them, and very similar colors are hard to find in disposable rollerballs or gel pens. They might be worth a look.
Review – Pilot G-2 and G-2 Mini
There are some pens that everyone knows about, standby pens that we all recognize and know the performance of. These are pens that even pen snobs would use in a pinch. The Pilot G-2 and G-2 Mini perhaps are such pens. But do they really hold up to their reputation? Let’s take a look.
I’m not sure I really need to describe one of the most well-known pens ever, but I’ll start at the click button. It is simple and elongated, and there is nothing really special about it. Below it is a small section of colored plastic where the clip attaches. The clip has the basic pen info on it, though not much. It does its job well. It might be a bit loose, though the absence of a catch on it makes replacing it in and retrieving it from a pocket much easier. Down from this is a smooth, transparent, circular barrel. There is nothing exciting here, but I should note that the only differences between the regular and the mini are the cartridge size and the length of this barrel here. All other aspects of the pens are identical, which means the mini is a bit thick for its size. After the barrel comes a fairly distinctive grip with a small recessed and grooved area where ones fingers go. The grip style is good but the rubber is slick, so the net effect for me is that the grip is unnecessary. Below that there is a small plastic cone that leads to the retractable point on the pen.
Now, I’ve talked about as many Pilot G-2 ink colors as I could get my hands on in the past, so I’m not going to cover that here, but I will go over the overall writing experience. The pens are gel pens and are quite a bit smoother that standard ball points, though the smoothest of ballpoints will almost rival the cheaper gel pens like the G-2. The G-2 has quite a bit of feedback, which is something I do like when writing. Sometimes, though, it doesn’t feel like you’re putting down any ink and instead just scratching the paper. There are generally no blobs unless you’re looking at the more outlandish colors, but on cheaper paper the ink absorbs very fast and will quickly create dots anywhere you decided to stop. Really, there are very few problems if one just sticks to standard black. All other colors do tend to have unique effects to them. Long drying time is a problem with all of them, I’m afraid.
Overall I’d say the pen is still quite a good regular pen. Despite the many little flaws that it may have, it works, and it does the job of being a pen well. It isn’t the best pen, but it’s not very expensive and it’s far from the worst. It’s a pen everyone can use, but if you’re not a satisfied pen user and you’re looking for the best for you personally, you might want to try somewhere else.