Review: Sharpie Ultra Fine Permanent Marker - Brown

I mentioned it in the written review above, but it bears repeating here - you can thank Chad Doane for this review.  I read in his recent "What's on Their Desk" interview at Office Supply Geek that his daily arsenal consists of the Sharpie Ultra Fine Permanent Marker in Black and his own Doane Paper Flap Jotter.  I had some black Sharpies laying around the house, but I figured I would order a few of the more non-traditional colors from JetPens since they recently started stocking them.

One of the things I have always enjoyed about the Sharpie Ultra Fine markers is how rich the colors are, and this brown is a perfect example.  The way it lays down on the page makes it look almost as if it were painted on.  That being said, you also know going into it that you are going to get some bleed through the page.  If that is acceptable to you, then you are looking at a marker that can accomplish a wide variety of tasks on a daily basis.  It's no wonder why Sharpies are the marker of choice for so many artists and designers around the world.

What do you use your Sharpies for?

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Lamy Balloon Roller Ball

Another one of the great new Lamy products from JetPens, the Lamy Balloon Roller Ball is a very cool pen.  The great looking translucent colored barrels sold me, but would the performance keep me around?  Would you expect anything else from Lamy?

The Balloon Roller feels great in the hand.  The plastic barrel is lightweight, but in traditional Lamy style, it also feels very sturdy.  This is no cheap plastic pen here for sure.  I love how it writes too, but I do have a couple of minor concerns that keep this pen from being perfect.  One, I am getting a little skipping from the ink cartridge.  Until I can order a new cartridge, I am chalking this up as a fluke.  I either need to give this refill a good writing workout, or try another one to compare.  I have marked on the review where you can see the skipping.  From past experience, this seems like an outlier.

Secondly, I love the look of the clip, but I wish it was a little tighter.  That is an extremely minor complaint, but being used to how snappy the clips are on the Safaris and AL-Stars, this one is a bit of a let down.  It is by no means a deal breaker though.  It's just if I was making the perfect pen I would make it tighter.

In the big picture, I like the Balloon Roller more than the AL-Star roller I reviewed recently.  It feels better, and I am enjoying the blue liquid ink more than the black.  It doesn't seem as wet, and if I can get past the skipping it will be great.

Click here for the XL review.

Products used:
Lamy Balloon Roller Ball Pen - Blue Body from JetPens
Writing Pad from Doane Paper

Giveaway: Doane Paper Daily Arsenal Kit

  

Now this is what I call a giveaway!  Chad Doane has graciously offered up an entire Doane Paper Daily Arsenal Kit to one lucky reader of The Pen Addict.  The Daily Arsenal Kit  includes every single stationery product of the Doane Paper grid + lines movement.  Here are the full kit contents:

Quantity 3 - Large Writing Pad

Quantity 3 - Small Writing Pad

Quantity 3 - Flap Jotter

Quantity 3 - Utility Notebook Black

Quantity 1 - Utility Notebook TL Series

Quantity 1 - Large Idea Journal

Quantity 1 - Small Idea Journal

Quantity 3 - Sharpie Fine Point Pen Black

Quantity 3 - Zebra No. 2 Pencil Black

The standard Pen Addict giveaway rules apply, with one exception this time: This giveaway is limited to U.S. Residents only.  Here are the rest of the rules:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Thursday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.  You are limited to one entry.  Feel free to link this giveaway on your blog, or share it with anyone you feel is a true pen addict.  If you have a blog, I would love a link back, but it is certainly not required for entry into the contest.

2. For this contest, I will pick one winner at random from the comments section of this post.  The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on.  The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winner.

3. The contest winner will be posted on Friday, August 6th.  The winner will have one week to email me at the address posted in the right sidebar.

4. This giveaway is limited to U.S. Residents only.

You can follow the Doane Paper movement on the web in the following places:

DoanePaper.com
Doane Paper Store
Twitter.com/doanepaper

Thanks again to Chad Doane for making this possible!