Airfoil Click Pen Review

The Airfoil Click Pen is not Grant Takara's first Kickstarter rodeo. He has lived the ups and downs of funding with his previous project, the original Airfoil, and is back with a pen design that has already proven to be a winner.

This model differs from its predecessor in two major ways. The first is obvious: This is a click pen instead of a twist pen. It uses the popular Schmidt mechanism that many Kickstarter projects before it have used. It is a solid, simple, attractive, and an excellent choice for any machined pen.

The second major change, and the most important, is the reshaping of the barrel. The original Airfoil had a fin-based barrel, which, while extremely beautiful, was not functional for longer writing sessions. Early reviewers of the original model (I was not one of them) repeatedly made note of how uncomfortable it became and Grant took that feedback to heart when designing the Airfoil Click.

To steal directly from the product page, the barrel has been streamlined. The fins are gone, replaced by a smooth barrel with cutouts on each side that fulfills Grants vision of aircraft geometry as part of the pen, and also serves to reduce the overall weight. My first reaction when I saw this pen was to think of the Uni-ball Jetstream barrel cutout and now I wonder with if that is an aviation based pen too. It is named Jetstream after all.

I'm really impressed with the prototype Grant sent me. If I was forced to pick nits I would like to see the barrel seam connect more flush between the two halves, and the edges on the grip ridges could be softened just a bit, but overall this is a solid product.

The Airfoil Click is available in aluminum (natural or anodized in several striking colors) and titanium. There is even the ability to pick the finish on your clip bolts and push mechanism, which I don't think I have seen anyone offer before.

Thanks again to Grant Takara for sending me this prototype for review and be sure to check out the Airfoil Click Kickstarter project.

Uni Style Fit Meister 3 Color Multi Pen Review

Image via JetPens

My Top 5 gel ink multi pen list doesn’t change very often. The Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto is entrenched at #1, with the Uni Style Fit a solid #2. The Uni Style Fit Meister is the newest barrel in Uni-ball’s gel multi pen lineup and I’m not sure it will crack the list at all.

On the surface, the Meister is a great looking pen. The lightweight metal barrel is an upgrade over the standard plastic barrel and the clean lines make this a pen people will notice. The Signo DX refills are excellent too. While you can choose Jetstream or pencil cartridges, I generally stick with the gels. It’s hard to beat the DX for smoothness and color vibrancy, although I believe the lines are a bit sharper from the standard single cartridge DX as opposed to the multi pen refills.

There are two annoyances with the Meister that keep me from heaping full praise on it. One, it uses a twist-deploy method for the ink cartridges. Some pens get this right, but not the Meister. The twist from station to station is quick from 1-2-3 and 3-2-1 but the second you go past slot one on the way back the barrel starts to unscrew. There is no buffer between that station and taking the pen apart.

Secondly, and this is something that may only annoy me, but the entire top section of the pen is able to be pressed down about a quarter of an inch for no good reason. Looking at the pen, you can depress the top of the pen like it is retractable and it covers most of the ink window in the middle of the pen. It serves no purpose other than to make me fidget with it and drive me insane. What can I say, I’m weird. (UPDATE: As my Twitter followers quickly let me know, I'm an idiot. What is my annoyance is others pencil click mechanism. Maybe I should try that component sometime?)

The Uni Style Fit is an excellent gel ink multi pen but stick with the entry level plastic body for one-fifth of the price. It is a no frills, knock-type multi pen that uses the same refills and gets the job done in a simple, efficient manner.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

ATELEIA Craft + Design Brass Pen Review And Giveaway

I first noticed Chris Williams’ work when Mike Dudek got his hands on a very early prototype of what has become the ATELEIA Craft + Design Brass Pen and Leather Journal Kickstarter project. Chris reached out to me a few months back and sent a couple of prototypes my way to check out and I’m excited to see his project finally launch because this is a great pen.

The ATELEIA Brass Pen is an excercise in minimal design and quality craftmanship. The brass cylindrical barrel is a sight to behold. The clean lines are striking and the weight and feel of the pen are spot on. I use a Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.25 mm blue black refill in mine, with other refill options possible such as the Pilot G2, Fisher Space Pen, and Schmidt 5888. More refill options are part of a stretch goal to add a new threaded insert which will fit the Uni-ball Signo lineup and more.

The shape of the pen makes it perfect for pocket carry, sliding in and out of your tightest hipster jeans with ease. Seeing the age and wear on mine after repeated use gives it a real sense of ownership and beauty too. This pen is an experience.

The only downside I can find with this pen is you will need a wrench or pliers to change the refill. And be careful too because the brass is soft and you don’t want to leave teeth marks. I recommend using a soft cloth between the pleirs and the nib. Luckily, this isn’t a dance you need to do very often.

Chris was nice enough to send me an extra pen and leather sleeve to give away to a reader of The Pen Addict. Here is how to get your own ATELEIA Brass Pen prototype before the Kickstarter wraps.

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Monday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You are limited to one entry. This contest is open to US and International readers.

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 Tuesday, September 23rd. The winner will have one week to email me via the Contact link at the top of the page.

Thank you to Chris for doing this and be sure to check his project out. Only 27 shopping days left!