Zebra Sarasa Clip Viridian Green 0.3mm Review

This post is by Lou Rinaldi, who can also be found at cfug.org and on Twitter @LouRinaldi.

There must be something I’m missing when it comes to Micro Tip Gel Ink pens. The Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.3mm feels good in the hand, but it seems like it will take some time for me to get used to. This is definitely the finest point I€'ve ever used for writing, and there€'s undoubtedly going to be an adjustment period. They seem to be well-loved by aficionados, so I'€™m being very patient and giving it a chance.

Every stroke is like sandpaper across the desert. And I can hear it, too. For my writing style, at least, it’s quite fatiguing. Nor is it a smooth writing experience. Perhaps this was a poor choice with which to begin my journey, but if nothing else this will give me a valuable sense of perspective as I continue to explore different options.

Love the push clip design, and I suspect I’d love the whole package a lot more in a 0.5mm or 0.7mm tip. The Viridian Green ink is gorgeous in color. I don't usually give much consideration to color when writing, but this ink€™s vibrancy made me take notice.

Maybe I’m just not ready for the 0.3mm yet. It's too scratchy for my inexperienced hand. I’ll have to revisit this down the road. I'm not ready to pass final judgment, but for now, this isn't a pen I'€™ll be returning to on a regular basis.

Pen: Zebra Sarasa Clip 0.3mm, Viridian Green (furnished by JetPens)

Paper: Ampad Envirotec Recycled Steno Book # 25774

Zebra Sarasa Clip 1.0mm Review

It is a well known fact that I am a Zebra Sarasa Clip fan. From placing the 0.3mm at number one on my personal Top 5 Pens list, to ranking the 0.4mm as one of my Top 5 Micro Tip Gel Ink Pens to recommend to new users, it’s pretty clear that I like the pen. The Zebra Sarasa Clip 1.0mm is a little bit out of my range for every day use, but I know many readers are fans of 0.7mm tips and greater, so let’s take a look.

If there is one thing that is consistent across all of Zebras product lines it is how vibrant their ink colors are. All of the colors really pop on the page, and the black is a very deep black. The red ink of the Sarasa is especially nice, and for some reason, I thought the red pen performed better when writing than the blue or black inks. I felt it gave a sharper, cleaner line, but it could just be an illusion.

Another thing that is consistent across all of Zebras products is that their gel ink cartridges run out quickly compared to other gel pens. This has been the case ever since I became a heavy Zebra user over 15 years ago, and still holds true to this day. Based on my experiences with the 0.3mm and 0.4mm models, my initial thought was I am going to blow through the ink on these 1.0mm pens at an epic rate, but Zebra has a little trick up their sleeve. The 1.0mm cartridges have more ink in them than the smaller tip sizes.

I guess this is done so that a 1.0mm cartridge will last approximately as long as an 0.3mm or 0.4mm cartridge, but I sure would like to see this wider ink reservoir in the smaller tip sizes. You can see the differences in the photos - the 0.3mm cartridge has a thicker plastic wall than the 1.0mm. Again, my guess is Zebra doesn’t want the 1.0mm to run out so fast, but I would love to see the 0.3mm last longer.

Ink cartridges be damned, this is still a good pen. And the 1.0mm is refillable in the three colors shown here, so you can always have a backup on hand if needed.

Pen Hack: Zebra Sarasa Clip to Pilot Hi-Tec-C Cavalier

Pen Addict reader Quinn was messing around last week and came across this near perfect match for a pen hack. I'll let him share the good news:

AWESOME PEN HACK: Sarasa Clip Refill + Hi-Tec-C Cavalier Body = Perfection! This may be common knowledge, but I was just playing around and had to share this discovery. I had always been underwhelmed with the Sarasa Clip body, but not anymore.

I was pretty excited myself to verify this since I love the Cavalier barrel, and sure enough, it is essentially a perfect match.

I swapped the Zebra Sarasa Clip ink cartridge into the Pilot Hi-Tec-C Cavalier barrel with no issues (the cartridges do not go the other way around fyi). I started writing away, and the results were impressively solid. The cartridge was a perfect fit length wise, and the only tiny issue I saw was that the tip of the cartridge isn't fully flush with the barrel opening. It is so close though that it actually took me about five minutes to even notice it. That is something that could be tightened up extremely easily if it bothers you.

Sorry for the poor quality on that last picture - I didn't have my real camera handy. If anyone wants to see a better close-up just let me know and I'll take a new one this weekend. Thanks for the great tip Quinn!