Uni-Ball Vision Needle Fine

A new addition to Uniball's lineup. It is available as Fine and Micro and in a variety of colors.

Contrary to what The Pen Addict did, I have to say that it is a really good pen, no bleed, almost no feathering and good feeling. The key is in the paper, it will perform miserably if you use 15/16lb regular paper, it will be barely decent with 20lb bond paper, and the best performance so far is in the Staples Eco-Easy Paper Pads, probably because of the paper composition (it's mainly a cellulose obtained from sugarcane bagasse), the only problem is that the ink doesn't dry out very fast, so you can have disastrous results (lefties, don't even try it).

I got a 4 pack of black ones at Walmart, and yes, the performance was bad at first, until I tried the Staples paper, which gave really good results.

The pen itself is a normal Vision, just that the graphics are different, the needle tip of course, and the end cap is from the UB Boxy, the Asia-Pacific version of the eye/Vision. The large cap with the clip is a new design.

Staples Eco-Friendly Writing Pads

Well, during a trip to Staples yesterday I stopped at the writing pads section and found a new product, some Staples brand Eco-Friendly Writing Pads, while taking a closer look the paper looked good quality, so I decided to get a 2-pack, after all, at $1.99+tax, $1/pad is decent.

After arriving home I decided to open one and check it, well, the paper is really good. Even though it feels as light as 15/16 lb paper, pens glide like it were 20 lb, and feathering is almost nonexistant. It has a slight bright and smooth texture which makes it feel so good.

The big deal in these pads is that the paper is made from sugarcane waste (bagasse), which is rich in cellulose, it is not recycled paper itself, just made from waste, and for being made out of waste, it is good. I assume that because of this material the paper looks different, I might be wrong though, but I don't care much for that.

Also, I find myself taking notes in class very often and then re-copying them neatly, because while you are rushing in class, everything is scratched, rewritten, fast drawings, etc, so the idea of spending $1 in a pad that might end up in the recycle can doesn't seem that bad, unlike throwing away a $3 Doane Paper pad for example. The only bad thing is that the back of the pad is thin cardboard, unlike many pads that have thick, rigid backs.

The pad has 50 sheets and comes in both letter size and a smaller one.

Here's the page for the letter size one http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/p4__253774_Business_Supplies_0_10051_SC1:CG10:CL140569 the website only has it in a 12-pack, so if you don't want 12, then stop by a Staples.

I finally have pictures for the blog, they will be up soon, together with 4 reviews.

Sanford Penguin

Well, not the usual pen review.

The Penguin was a marker made by Sanford years ago, it was marketed as a marker that could be used to mark stuff that was going to be frozen (hence the name). It is essentially a Sharpie that withstands freezing temperatures.

I managed to get one last week, brand new and it's great.

Even though I don't need a marker for frozen stuff, I got it more for it's historical/sentimental value. A Penguin was my first permanent marker, well, I borrowed it from my mom, but that was the first one, then a black sharpie came, then a blue one and then a red one. That was I'd guess around 93-94, and the marker has been missing for a long time, apparently, she gave it to my grandma, or she threw hers away and got one for my grandma , I have no idea. I know there's one in my grandma's kitchen, and I had been considering replacing it with a brand new Sharpie, just to keep it, but now I have a new one, so I'm fine.

I might not even use it a lot, since I have 2 black Twin Tip Sharpies and 3 Fine Industrial ones (plus a large stock of assorted Sharpie and Signal markers down in Panama, stock that will find it's way here).

BREAKING NEWS

First of all, The Pen Addict has moved from http://penaddiction.blogspot.com to www.penaddict.com , so please update your bookmarks.


Second, I'm hoping to have some pictures this week for new reviews, and I'm trying to play catch up. This is what I currently have pending

-Bic Round Stic Med
-Paper Mate Eagle Med
-Pilot VBall RT
-Pilot V5 / V5RT
-Pilot V7
-Pilot G2
-UB Vision Needle Micro / Fine
-Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip Fine / Med // believe it or not, these $2/dz pens are wonderful [and I got them for $0.99/dz this weekend]

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.

An update

Well, I moved last week for college to Arizona. I'll now have access to pens that aren't sold down there. I will be reviewing them soon, but without pictures (temporarily) since I'm stuck with a big DSLR and a camera phone that shoots like 100x100 or somehting like that, so while I get a better phone (which I should be ordering soon) or a small P&S, no pictures.

My current collection has
Pilot VBall RT
Pilot Precise V5
UB Vision Needle Fine
UB Vision Needle Micro
Pilot Precise V5RT
Sharpie | Pen

Recently added
UB Vision RT
Pilot Precise V5RT

And some marketing pens (hotels, banks and the Natl Guard)

I'll have some soon