Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Zebra Zensations Sarasa Fineliner 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.)

Who can resist the allure of a pack of brightly colored fineliner pens? Not me. Probably not a lot of you. Honestly, why try? Especially when they're from Zebra.

This pack of 12 fineliners is part of the Zebra Zensations line--art and coloring tools perfect for zentangles or other relaxing ink crafts. I've played with a lot of fineliners and have a decent stash of them already, so I'd planned to pass this pack off to the kids after the review. But I like them so much they snuck right back into my pen cup. They're now among my favorites.

The pen body is sturdy black plastic with a colorful wrap that shows the color of the ink. The clip is also the ink color, so it's easy to tell what you're reaching for. The clip is fantastic. It's strong but flexible and has enough room that it can clip to a book cover or a nice chunk of pages. The grip section is also in coordinated colored plastic. It's slim and tapers a bit, so there may be some slipping if you're using the pen for longer periods. I found it very comfortable to hold, though.

The tip is a .8 mm "needle point" felt tip. I've been a bit spoiled by insanely fine tips, so calling this a fine/needle point seems off to me. I'd consider this to be a fairly broad fineliner, but its lines are very crisp and precise.

The ink is water resistant, acid free, and archival quality. The colors are very rich and vibrant, and the tip provides excellent coverage. I think they're fantastic for coloring and journaling and I suspect artists would get good use from them as well.

Despite all this awesomeness, they're at the low end of the price range for fineliners. It's $1.75 apiece for open stock, or this pack of 12 costs $19.

If you need to get some colorful zen into your life, I'd snap these up.

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

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Posted on August 9, 2018 by Sarah Read and filed under Zebra, Fineliner, Pen Reviews.

Parker Vector Fountain Pen 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.)

Parker is undoubtedly one of the great legacy penmakers, so it makes sense that they should have their own entry-level fountain pen. The Vector has been around for a long time, and some fresh new colors have brought it back into the spotlight. It's fun and inexpensive and functional--but I don't think it stands up very well against its competitors. There are a lot of good quality affordable fountain pens, now. We're in a golden age of pens and it's easy to be spoiled for choice.

The Vector is a slim, lightweight fountain pen with a plastic body and metal accents. The grip section and bottom cap where the pen posts are a brushed gunmetal color, and the clip is chrome in the shape of the classic Parker arrow. The grip section is long and slim. The nib is plain stainless steel over a smooth feed.

My first thought, when I lifted the pen from its box, was, "Is this a disposable fountain pen?" That's not a good sign, probably, because, no--it's not. But the plastic it's made of feels like it is. Maybe it's the snap cap with a lack of cap band, but it reminds me a bit of a Crayola marker. It feels like it's not meant to last. For a $12 pen I'm not expecting an heirloom, of course, but it wasn't a good first impression.

The $12 price tag is a little misleading, as well, because the pen doesn't come with a converter. That's a separate $9.25. So, $21.25 is closer to the real cost. When compared with other beginner pens that come with converters, this feels like it's priced a bit high for this quality.

The writing experience hasn't been very impressive, either. It does write, and the Parker blue ink it comes with is beautiful and well behaved, but I'd want to buy a bottle and put it in a different pen. The nib isn't too scratchy, but I had some drying issues and the feed seemed to struggle to keep the flow going when writing for longer periods. The grip section is also uncomfortable. It isn't shaped at all and it's slick, so I was constantly having to readjust my grip. The plastic edge where the body meets the section is also quite sharp. There's no smoothing or band there, so it's just raw plastic.

All told, there isn't much about this pen that would move me to recommend it, even for a beginner. The Pilot Metropolitan is ultimately less expensive and much better quality. Parker makes some really fantastic fountain pens, but this one doesn't seem to fit the brand. Perhaps my expectations are playing a role in my disappointment here, but I don't see myself reaching for this pen.

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Posted on August 2, 2018 by Sarah Read and filed under Parker, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Ohto Horizon EU Ballpoint Pen Review

Do you ever dream about making your own pen? If you are reading this blog, you have probably at least considered the thought. I think about it too. And I’m not even talking about this from the perfect pen standpoint, but rather something fun and functional that I would like to use every day. The Ohto Horizon EU Ballpoint is nearly that pen.

From the moment I unboxed it I loved it. The design, in particular, stood out to me. The yellow barrel pops, and the hex design gives it that added bit of coolness. When I held it to write with, I noticed the hex barrel morphs down into an almost-round grip section. There are a few light ridges you can see and barely feel when writing, but they don’t get in the way. They don’t necessarily help with grippiness though, as it could get slick if your fingers are wet.

The refill is engaged by pushing down the knock on the back of pen, then retracted by pressing the button on the side of the barrel. It is snappy and fun. Like, too much fun. Click. Snap. Click. Snap. Click … you get the picture! And the clip is as nice as the rest of the pen. It’s strong, and keeps a low profile.

With all of my raving about it, why is it only nearly perfect? You guessed it - the refill. It’s merely good, and if I wasn’t spoiled by better refills, I might even think it is excellent. My immediate thought was “I hope I can swap this out for something better,” then I unscrewed the tip of the barrel, pulled out the refill to see what it was, and let out an “Ugh!”

This is a weird refill shape and size. Heck, I don’t even know what you would call it. It’s small and skinny, close to multi pen size, and has tiny wings on the side of the barrel. I didn’t think there was any way I could find a better refill to put into it.

And I was wrong!

Turns out, there are other Japanese pens that take this style of refill, and both Pilot and Uni make ones that match. There is even a Hi-Tec-C model, which I have subsequently ordered two of (black and blue 0.4 mm) for my Ohto Horizon. Maybe it can be my perfect pen after all.

I must not be the only one who thinks that, because at the time of writing they are sold out at JetPens. And they should be. The barrel colors look fantastic, the pen feels great, and it’s only $8.50. I think you are going to be seeing a lot of this pen, especially in my pocket.

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