Sharpie | Pen.

I finally was able to get my hands on a Sharpie | Pen. and it's great, I spent about 5 years without using that type of pens (fineliners / markers / felt tip pens / whatever you call them). I've been using them in both 15 lb and 20 lb paper and they are great. Bleeding is not an issue, the Uni Vision Needle get more bleeding than the Sharpie, and I don't write double sided, so I'm not really affected by bleeding.

The downside of felt tip pens is that they do offer some resistance to roll (well, to slide, since they don't roll), and it gets hard to write fast, so I only use them in low speed situations (like math class). I frequently find myself taking fast notes and then copying them again at a slower pace, resulting in neater handwriting and overall nicer look of the notes, and there I can use them, and the results are really nice.

Some people have complained about the blue one being too soft. It does feel soft, at least compared to other blue pens, but tolerable. I write on yellow paper most of the time, so it also gets a different look. If I do happen to stumble across a darker copy, I'll probably talk to Sanford and see if they can exchange them, but other than that, I'm fine.

I don't know about overall life since I haven't used as much as I use my Pilot V5 RT, which I'm guessing will reach the end of its useful life this week or the next one.

Stay tuned for pictures

Bic Select Fountain Pen

The Bic Select pens finally arrived to Panama. I saw these on sale at Amsterdam Airport back in January, however, they didn't reach Panama until August.
This is a cheap fountain pen, about $3 or so, it's a refillable disposable, I'll explain later why.
The writing part itself is good, it might not compare to some higher-end pens, but it writes good when compared to the Pilot VPen/Varsity for example.
The build quality is HORRIBLE, to be honest, even the cheaper Crystal and Round Stic (which are like $1/dz) are better. The plastic looks cheap, has some rough edges and so does the grip. The pen is extremely light, so it also feels really fragile, and well, feels cheap too.
I read in some forum that the pen was made of metal, I'm not sure if that used to be the case or that's the case for the US or Europe.
I think this is my first negative review, but to be honest, for $3 there are better pens like the VPen. The Bic is refillable, and I believe takes universal cartridges, but I doubt that the pen will last more than one cartridge.