Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Online Switch Plus Fountain Pen Review

It's always great to learn about new companies that are producing stationery today, and Online is one of the newest ones I've encountered this year. Online was founded in 1991 by Thomas and Alexandra Batsch in Germany with a clear focus on youthful design and high-quality writing instruments. After perusing their offerings, it quickly became clear that they enjoy vibrant and modern designs that attract the younger audience.

The Online Switch Plus is no different. The bold petrol color that I have stands out on any desk and begs you to pick up. The name of the color is a bit peculiar since I normally associate petrol with a much darker shade, but regardless of the name, it's a striking turquoise with plenty of sparkle and shine. The color is just a tad darker than the recent Lamy Pacific Blue Al-Star that we reviewed last year. But, that color only appears on the body of the pen. The cap is a different material. The color of the cap is matte black, but it has a soft touch that I really like. I'm not sure what the material or paint is called, but I've seen it used in other pens. The cap also features a small accent of turquoise where the chrome clip is attached to the cap. It's a nice touch of color.

Once you uncap the pen, you notice immediately that the grip section is contoured in a similar fashion to the Lamy Safari or Al-Star. The black grip uses the same material as the cap, giving it a soft, smooth touch. The amount of contour used on the grip of the pen is almost too aggressive for my tastes, but that feeling fades shortly after a few strokes. The black nib looks a tad undersized compared to the rest of the pen, and I would bump it up one size if I had the choice.

I would be remiss if I chose to ignore the stylus on the end of the pen body, so I'll mention it briefly. It's a touchscreen stylus, and it works on touch screens just fine. Does it need to be there? Online seems to think so, although I disagree. Either way, it's there if you need it and it won't get in your way if you don't need it.

Writing with the pen is exactly what I expected based on the price range. It's a standard steel nib with a dependable ink flow and a steady line. As far as steel nibs go, it's extra stiff, even on the fine nib in my unit. I'm not able to get any flex out of it, but it does a good job at different angles at keeping the ink flowing. Nothing to write home about, but it worked great out of the box.

One interesting thing about the pen is the included ink cartridge. It looks similar to a Lamy cartridge, but it's not the exact same. You can actually use either end of the cartridge depending on what kind of pen you are using. If you're using a Lamy, plug in one end of the cartridge. If you're using a pen that uses international short cartridges, plug in the other end. It's a cool idea, but not one I see myself using all that often. At least there's a really good amount of ink included in these large cartridges. There are also several colors to choose from if you'd like to purchase a pack.

The Online Switch Plus is a great entry-level pen that features a unique aesthetic and solid performance. At the $20 range, it has plenty of competition, but it's still original enough to merit the purchase. Even better, there are plenty of color and nib choices. Each color is available in EF, F, or M nib sizes, and you can choose from Petrol (shown here), Violet, Black, Ruby, and Copper.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on June 27, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Online, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

EK Tools Journaling Pen Review

One of the things that has fallen off my radar in the past several years is keeping tabs on what’s happening on retail store shelves, at least for stores in my general area. I can’t remember the last time I’ve gone out of my way to see what Staples has in stock, or what Michael’s is into these days. If I had, I might have seen these EK Tools Journaling Pens (Amazon affiliate link) before now.

The only reason I saw them is because I know a guy that now works as a designer for the brand, and that guy’s name is Chad Doane. Yes, that Chad Doane. Chad sent me a pack to see what I think about them and how they stack up to the competition in the art/drawing pen category.

Short version: Solid, but not spectacular.

These are good art pens, and I’ve enjoyed writing with them. Any plastic tip pen makes my handwriting look awesome, and these are no exception. I especially like the barrel shape, which is tapered from the center of the barrel upward towards each end of the pen. That does two things: Gives the pen a comfortable, flared-out grip area, and a cap that allows you to stand the pen up on its end. Ok, that last point isn’t the most important part of this pen, but it sure is fun to set them up and watch them come cascading down as you bump your desk.

Performance wise, the EK Tools pens are mixed bag. This pack comes with five sizes: 0.2 mm, 0.25 mm, 0.35 mm, 0.45 mm, and 0.65 mm. For journaling, crafting, scrapbooking, etc., that is a good range of sizes. That’s what these are made for after all. For my purposes, which is mostly writing, I enjoyed only two of the sizes: the 0.25 and 0.45. Oddly enough, the middle sized 0.35 felt different than the other four. The tip was softer, and the line wasn’t as clean and sharp. The 0.25 was fantastic to write with (which is what you see in the review), and the 0.45 had the firmness I wanted to see out of the 0.35.

For the price - approximately $1.80 per pen on Amazon as I write this - I reiterate what I said earlier, in similar terms: Good, not great. For my money, I’d pay the $2.50 per pen for the Sakura Pigma Micron, considered the best in class for this type of pen, or my favorite, the Kuretake Zig Mangaka, for $2.00.

Drawing pens are a well-established category in the stationery world, and tough to break into. While I like the EK Tools Journaling Pens, they fall just short of many of the other top-tier options in this group.

(EK Tools provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on June 25, 2018 by Brad Dowdy and filed under EK Tools, Drawing Pen, Pen Reviews.

Pentel Fitline Highlighter Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

The Pentel Fitline set of highlighters includes the standard basics--yellow, pink, orange, green, and blue. They're double-ended, with the classic chisel tip at one end and a 1 mm bullet felt tip at the other. They're designed to work both for highlighting and quick note taking, though that always baffles me a bit. Generally, ink bright enough to highlight is terrible for reading notes, and ink dark enough to read is terrible for highlighting. Still, the design persists across a number of brands, so maybe I'm missing something.

These are, in nearly every way, just your standard highlighters. They've set themselves apart with two features, though. One is a notched neck which allows the chisel tip to flex a bit for easier highlighting over curved pages. It's an interesting feature in theory, but I didn't see much flex in my samples. In order to get any bending, I had to press hard enough that the tip was getting squished and there was a risk of ink bleeding. It's possible they'd become more flexible with use. And due to their other unique feature--they are refillable--it is actually worthwhile to break them in. The refill is for pigment only and does not include a replacement tip, so eventually the tip will move past the broken-in phase and become worn out--at which point the whole pen will have to be replaced.

These are on the pricier side for a standard highlighter at $1.75 apiece. And refills are $1.40--quite high for pigment alone. That cost would make sense if you were getting a replacement tip, and I wonder if the felt tips will last more than a few fillings.

The tips do write smoothly and well. The ink distributes evenly and there are no issues with bleeding or show-through, even on cheap printer paper. There was some slight smearing on rollerball and gel pen ink, but surprisingly none with fountain pen ink. It also did well over pencil, ballpoint, and printer ink.

The clips are sturdy and have enough space between them and the body to be clipped to a book cover. The caps snap securely and both can be posted to the other, but the fine-point end caps are very small--so be careful not to lose them.

Overall, I think these are a good quality school supply, if a bit on the pricier side. They work very well, but fall short of being anything particularly innovative. For highlighters, though, my only real expectation is that they be practical, and these do that very well.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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