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Review – Zebra Sarasa Gel Pen
Every pen brand has its own main gel pen model, and Zebra is no exception. The Zebra Sarasa is Zebra’s main gel pen, and likely their most-recognized pen behind their steel line. How do they hold up? Let’s see.
The Sarasa starts with a very classic push button. Below that is a unique clip that holds tightly but is easy enough to get out of your pocket without a problem. Some information about the pen is printed on the clip, and nowhere else on the pen. The barrel is clear and round, down to the grip. The grip section is rubber and hard. It has a slight hourglass taper so that your fingers want to rest in the middle, and it’s harder for them to slip off. It also has several quite annoying stripes that don’t aid your grip, but instead simply make your fingers feel uncomfortable. After that is a transparent cone leading the the metal tip of the roller-ball. It’s a fairly simple and standard design, but effective.
The ink goes on the paper nicely and smoothly. It is not particularly quick to dry and can smudge easily. It is advertised as archival quality and acid-free, which I believe but haven’t tested. And while it certainly isn’t water-proof, it is water resistant. The line is medium (0.7) and the black color is quite black, and a cold black, very nice. It does absorb a bit more into cheaper paper making it harder to write in a way that looks nice, but it does preform well.
Overall, the Zebra Sarasa is an alright pen. It works well, but not as well as some other brands. If you really don’t like the grip on the Pilot G-2, or the expense of some better gel pens, then you might want to try this one out. The pocket clip is notably better, but not so much better that it’s worth getting the rest of the pen. Fortunately, it does come in a variety of colors that some other brands might not have and may come in handy.
Review – Kikkerland Retro Ballpoint and Stylus
A while ago, I reviewed the Bic Tech Ballpoint and Stylus pen. That was one of the first pen/stylus combinations I encountered that were actually purchasable for me (I live in the middle of nowhere). Recently another of the same type of pen was given to me: the Kikkerland Retro Ballpoint and Stylus. And I like these types of pens, so let’s see how this one preforms.
The style of the pen is “retro” and it comes in three color combinations, two of which I wouldn’t consider using, while I think the third, red and grey, looks quite nice. The pen is fairly torpedo shaped, with both ends tapering down and the widest point being in the center, where there is a small center ring that divides the two body colors and metal sections. There is an almost unusably tight clip that says Kikkerland near the top, followed by a small ring with the smallish stylus point on top. Beyond that, there is no information or other markings on the pen. The paint is plain and smooth, slick enough that it almost slides out of the hand at times, but durable.
The mechanism is a twist one. It is quite smooth, almost too smooth, as pushing too hard on the pen may reverse the action. The default refill is a Cross type in medium, I’d likely buy Cross refills myself. The pen writes rather smoothly and has little in the way of startup problems, but a bit in the way of blobbing problems. It is good for short notes, but for longer writing likes to smudge and blob. It is, like most ballpoint inks, fairly water resistant.
Flipping the pen around gets you to the stylus which is a bit smaller and more precise than the Bic one mentioned earlier. It is still slightly mushy and I think these smaller styluses need work before I will thoroughly enjoy using one, but this is the most responsive one I’ve tried. Again, there are a few problems, but I have no difficulties using this to operate my phone, and carrying it around to jot down ideas in Adobe Ideas.
Overall, the pen is on par and the stylus is slightly above-average. I’d make sure the colors and styles work for you before getting it, and replace the cartridge with a Cross refill. After that, it should easily serve well. The metal in the body is sturdy and the paint resists chipping, though it does chip near the tip. It isn’t the greatest pen ever, and it won’t last forever, but it is certainly better than much of the competition for not a bad price.
Review – Bic Atlantis Ballpoint and 0.7mm Pencil
Bic is one of the most prominent manufacturers of cheap pens and pencils (and other necessary cheap plastic things). They have several lines of pens and pencils, some as expensive as a dime and some a bit more. The Bic Atlantis is a set of pencils and pens in various colors, which happen to be called the same thing. Today I’ll be taking a look at the Blue ballpoint and the 0.7mm mechanical pencil.
Despite sharing a name, the pen and pencil don’t share bodies. They do have similar styling that can be described in the same way, with the pencil being slightly thicker and a bit longer. Starting from the tip, there is a small cone, metal on the pencil, plastic on the pen. This is followed by a thin, hard rubber grip which is all right, but might as well not be there, in my opinion. Within the grip it is a clear plastic wave in the pen, while the wave is impressed into the grip of the pencil. The barrel is relatively smooth and has all necessary information. Neither have a way to twist open the barrel, but around the clip both can be opened and the insides removed (the pen is glued). Above that is the clip, which is quite different on each. The pen is a very firm, stiff piece of metal, while the pencil is much more loose and is wrapped over into the plastic body. On the top is a clicking mechanism. The pen is surprisingly quiet and unsatisfying. You’d never know it clicked if you closed your eyes, but it works well. The pencil has an eraser and a cap on it, the eraser can be removed to allow the pencil to be refilled, and the clicking works well. So both are quite different, but they are similar enough to be in the same category.
The pen gives a very fine line, which is quite smooth. However like most “smooth” ballpoints it tends to blob often and pick up paper fibers. The color is also, like most ballpoints, quite waterproof, meaning it won’t run without being completely and utterly soaked. The pens can technically be refilled, but they aren’t supposed to be. The pencil is standard 0.7 and HB, meaning it is smooth but not too smooth. They also have a retractable metal tip to prevent the inside of pockets and bags from being torn, and there is a spring which prevents the lead from breaking due to excessive pressure. I honestly think that HB (#2) is a bit too soft, but for most writing and sketching purposes it does quite well.
Overall the Bic Atlantis set is very lopsided. The pen is standard fare and not really worth much. It doesn’t do anything better than anything else in the price range, though they are quite cheap. The pencils are twice as expensive, at least, but are much more worth it. They come with extra lead and erasers, and the spring and cover mechanisms for saving the eraser and lead are almost unique for the price. It’s a great little thing that I quite enjoy using. And it might become a sketching mainstay.
Review – Uni-Ball Vision Elite Bold Black, Blue, and Red
When looking at the Pilot Precise two weeks ago, it occurred to me that there might be people who don’t have Pilot pens available, or don’t like them, so I looked into a different set of pens that have similar features. And I found the Uni-Ball Vision Elite Bold, in Black, Red, and Blue.
The body and cap are simple and smooth, with a nice white-to-grey fade, a conical top, and a rounded bottom. The clip is metal with a few divots and is very tight. The top of the cap has the color of the ink and there are a few windows below to allow you to see the feed. On the barrel, the brand is stated twice and the model once, but there is no size information. Removing the cap exposes a transparent yet grip-covered feed, and the conical tip to a standard metal roller-ball point.
The three inks aren’t too special in properties. The black is a thick, nice color. It is a warm black, fairly formal, etc. The bold line on all of these pens is enough to bleed through on cheaper copier paper, but the ink dries surprisingly fast. The blue is a dark blue, again fairly formal. It’s almost a navy or a blue-black color and it works well in most situations. I’d say it’d even work well for some artistic endeavors. The red is fairly bright and red, but it isn’t eye-hurting. It is a very deep, nice color, but it could still be considered aggressive. It is also good enough to have some artistic potential.
The point is nice, and it writes smoothly, especially in the bold I have here. There is a lot of line variation, though, meaning drawing is a bit harder (or easier, depending on how you look at it). Like I said, there is some bleed-through, but not much. The writing is dry almost instantly from when I pick up the pen, which is amazing and leads to a much smoother writing experience.
Overall, the Uni-Ball Vision Elite is a great little roller-ball with quite a few office applications. The colors are nice without being overbearing, and the writing experience is fast and clean. Artistically they are limited, having little line consistency, but on the color side they have potential. They’re a nice set of pens.