Revisiting the Vivo Triple Gel

Not too long ago, I reviewed the Vivo Triple Gel Ink Pen, and it did not fare so well when I did my usual writing samples with it.  I was lucky enough to be contacted shortly after that by one of the representatives from Vivo, who explained what he thought might have been the reason for my poor writing experience with the pens.  By looking at the photo from my original review (see below) he was able to determine that the small wax ball that is usually found on the tip of a gel ink pen was probably either missing, or damaged on the pens that I originally purchased.  The way he was able to tell this was that the ink in the barrel was actually much lower than it should have been, leading him to believe that it had evaporated and probably started to dry up inside the pen.

Notice how low the ink is inside the barrel of the pen compared to the photo above.

Notice how low the ink is in the photo above as compared to the first photo.  The proper ink level should be just below the end of the clip as it is in the first photo.  Once the folks at Vivo explained this to me, I was open to giving the pens another shot, and they were kind enough to send over some for me to try out.  The pen in the first photo is one of the many they sent over to me, and you can really see the difference between the ink level on that one, and the photo just above that is one of the pens from my original review.

Old and New Writing Sample of the Vivo Triple Gel Ink Pen

The top half of the writing sample above is actually from my original review, and the bottom half was written with the new pen.  I think the difference is pretty clear, showing that the new pen really writes well and does not show any of the splotchy skipping tendencies that the old one did.  After using the pen for a few weeks on and off, I was impressed by how different it was from my original test pen, and in a very good way.  I think this is probably my first official reversal of opinion on a product that I’ve tested here, and I think that for the price, this pen definitely is a good option, so have a look at it here on Amazon.com if you are looking for some new pens.

As for the giveaway, I’ll keep it pretty simple, there will be two winners who will each get two packs of two pens, for a total of 4 pens for two different people.  This will be open to U.S.residents only, and here is how you can have two chances to enter and win:

1. Leave a comment on this post for your first entry.

2. Sign up for the OfficeSupplyGeek newsletter and monthly giveaway.  Once you do that (dont forget that you will get an email with a link that you have to click on to confirm you have signed up) come back here and leave a second comment to let us know you are signed up for the newsletter.  If you are already signed up, just leave a second comment stating that you are already signed up.

You will have until 11:59 PM Eastern on September 10th to leave your two comments

I will pick the winner using the Random.org random number generator, and the winner will be announced on the morning of September 12th.

Thanks, and good luck!

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

Zebra Surari Emulsion Ink Pens

There is a brand new pen from Zebra over at JetPens, the Zebra Surari Emulsion Ink Pen, which you may have also seen over at our friends blog, The PenAddict.  According to the product description over at JetPens, the ink in the Zebra Surari combines the smoothness of an oil-based ballpoint pen, with the vibrant colors of a gel ink pen.  The first thing that came to mind as a comparison for these was the popular Uniball Jetstream line which is also a very smooth writing line of pens that is a mix between a ballpoint and gel ink pen.

Zebra Surari Emulsion Ink Pens

When I loaded up my cart with these at JetPens, I grabbed a majority of .5mm and .7mm and also grabbed on 1.0mm version.  I didn’t go nuts with the color options, but there are plenty to choose from.  In addition to the lineup that I selected which you can see in the photo above, I couldn’t resist grabbing one of the black on black versions, called the Dark Black.  For some reason I’ve had a thing for all black pens, whether its my Monteverde Stealth Fountain Pen, or my Uniball Jetstream Sport, I’ve now got a third pen to add to that subset of my collection.

Close up of Zebra Surari Emulsion Ink Pen

From a design perspective, the Zebra Surari is what I’d consider a “bright n’ shiny” type pen with lots of color accents, and a glossy finish.  The short clips are made of the plastic that is a bit more stiff that makes that sort of high-pitched “plink” noise if you pull on it and release it quickly.  The grip on the Zebra Surari is rather understated, but very effective and comfortable.  It has a soft smooth rubbery feel with a few grooves laid into the rubber for additional traction.

Zebra Surari emulsion ink pen writing sample - click to enlarge

When I started writing with these pens, I was pretty impressed with how smooth they wrote, even the .5mm point which is usually one of my favorites.  They lay down a nice crisp, clean, and consistent line, much like I would expect, and I would say that they are on par with the quality writing experience of the aforementioned Uniball Jetstream.  The writing sample above was done with my Whitelines graph paper notebook, which is always great for these types of comparison writing samples.

If push comes to shove, there are some minor differences between the writing experience with the Zebra Surari and Uniball Jetstream pens, and a close look by clicking on the writing sample above shows what I think is the biggest difference.  When you click on the larger photo of the writing sample and look towards the end of the page, you will see that there seems to be a pattern where the Zebra has the very minor and very occasional ink splotch.  Conversely, if you look at the Jetstream, there is a very minor hint of some white space where the line is not 100% solid.  On the other side of the coin, you don’t seem to get any white streaks in the line with the Zebra Surari, while you do get some very minor ones with the Jetstream.  So in summary, the hugely over critical comparison shows some minor ink splotches with the Zebra, but a very consistent and solid line.

Personally I don’t think you can go wrong with either pen, it might just come down to your preference for looks and style or your loyalty to one of the two pen manufacturers.  At only $1.50 each, they are definitely worth picking up from Jetpens next time you place an order.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

Pilot FriXion Erasable Gel Ink Pen Capped. Note the white nub on the end of the pen, thats the eraser.

Every time I check out the list of top selling gel ink pens on Amazon.com, I see the Pilot FriXion Gel Ink pens near the top 5 but I’ve never actually tried any out until recently.  I’ve seen lots of reviews (here and here) of these around online, so I know this might not be new to many of you.  You will notice that in my link to Amazon above, that is for the assorted color pack, however I was feeling cheap and I only picked up a two pack of the black.

Pilot FriXion Erasable Gel Ink Pen Cap Posted

For starters, I’m not really a big fan of the design of the Pilot FriXion.  Between the overly aggressive branding on just the cap alone, and the super busy body of the pen, it kind of looks like Guy Fieri was the lead designer on this thing.  Even if you like the visual design of the Pilot FriXion, I personally find the placement of the eraser to be inconvenient.  If you look in the picture above, you don’t even see the eraser, which is kind of my point…its under the cap.  So if you are a cap poster when you write, this could be a bit of a pain for you when you want to erase.   All of this is rather unfortunate because the pen itself is quite comfortable to write with.  The grip is a simple, yet comfortable rubber material, and the overall weight and balance of the pen are great.

Pilot FriXion Gel Ink Erasable Pen Writing Sample

I was hoping that after my picking apart of the design of the pen, I would be pleasantly surprised by the writing performance and the functionality of the eraser.  When I started writing with the Pilot FriXion, I was shocked to see that the ink was pretty much a watery gray instead of black.  If there is one thing I’ve come to expect from gel ink pens, it is a very solid and vibrant color for the ink.  The ink in the Pilot FriXion definitely does not measure up in terms of color, however the smoothness of the point gliding across the paper is fantastic.  After doing some writing with it, I figured it was time to test out the erasability (pretty sure that is a made up word on my part) of the FriXion.  Sure enough, in erasing my line of ink, it went pretty smoothly…after a few quick and firm passes my line was now gone, just as advertised.  You can also see from the photo above, I did a test for the dry time, and as you can see, it takes quite a bit of time to dry on my Doane Paper Idea Pad.

Personally I don’t find much value in an erasable pen, however if this is something you need, the Pilot FriXion ($5 for 2 on Amazon) is a decent choice with its smooth writing and comfortable grip.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

Uniball Jetstream RT Bold

I was doing some office supply shopping recently and I came across the Uniball Jetstream RT in a Bold 1.0 mm (via Amazon).  Although I don’t typically like a point that big, I thought it would be fun to try out a pen that is literally twice as big as the .5mm that I usually like to use.

Uniball Jetstream RT Bold Body

Before I even get into the writing experience with the Uniball Jetstream RT 1.0mm, it is worth discussing the body of the pen.  It has a unique smooth rubber grip that actually extends the entire length of the barrel.  The bottom of the barrel also has a series of dimples for a bit of added grip on this thicker than normal barrel.  The rest of the pen has nice chrome accents (none of which are actual metal though) that really stand out nicely against the flat black surface of the pen.

Uniball Jetstream RT 1.omm Bold Writing Sample and Comparison to .7mm

I know I’ve done a ton of Jetstream reviews here, but it’s just because they are really nice to write with, and this 1.0mm version is no exception.  With the wider tip, the writing experience only gets better, the super smooth and consistent lines lay down the reliable ink that I’ve come to expect from the Jetstream line from Uniball.  In the above writing sample I also did a side by side comparison to the Jetstream .7mm just to let you see the difference between the line sizes.  Below that you can see that there is a drying time test in which the Jetstream ink dries in about 2 seconds on the paper in my Black n Red notebook.  Overall I like the larger grip and body on this pen, along with the nice texture of the grip and body, and you can’t beat the impressive Uniball Jetstream smooth and consistent writing experience.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

The Pilot Envelope Address Writing Gel Ink Pen

The Pilot Envelope Address Writing Pen (From JetPens) sounded kind of like a strange idea to me at first when I read about it over at The Pen Addict, but now that I had the chance to pick one up from JetPens, I have a little bit of a different opinion.

Pilot Envelope Address Writing Gel Ink Pen Tip

The version I picked up was the Extra Fine, and although I seems to write a tiny bit thicker than I thought it would, it’s still pretty fantastic.  The line is really quite dark, and the pen doesn’t even think about skipping while it lays down its super smooth line.  I tried it out on a few different envelopes, including one that was made 100% of bubble wrap, so it was a bit of a slick surface, but surprisingly it still wrote with a nice bold line, and didn’t smear.  After the experience with the bubble wrap, I also tried it out to see if it would work on the signature panel of a credit card, and as long as you write slow with it, it works really well.

Pilot Envelope Address Writing Gel Ink Pen Writing Sample

Now although the Pilot Envelope Address Writing Pen is not designed for every day writing, I still couldn’t help but try it out on my Black n Red Notebook.  Again, the writing experience was fantastic, it writes with a bold black ink that is super smooth and doesn’t skip.  This might even be a good pen for some of you left-handed writers to try out.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

TUL Gel Ink Retractable Pens by OfficeMax

My friends over at OfficeMax are doing their best to spoil all of my great readers here by providing some of their TUL Gel Ink Retractable Pens for a review, and more importantly for you, a giveaway.  After you finish reading the review below, continue on reading to see how 3 lucky Office Supply Geek readers will win a set of 6 of these TUL Gel Ink Retractable Pens.

TUL Gel Ink Pen Retractable Grip

The first time I heard about the TUL line of pens was when  my good friend Brad over at the Pen Addict reviewed them.  As usual he was ahead of the curve on finding some really good pens, hence his name, so check out his review of these pens if you want a second (and possibly more qualified) opinion.  One thing I noted from Brad’s review of the TUL pens is that he did not like the grip, which I can understand, but personally I do like it.  The grip on these pens are pretty simple and no frills, but I kind of like that, they are just a smooth, flat rubber like material that has 16 dimples that cover it giving you a bit of extra traction.  One of the other things I really like about this pen is the plunger, which is usually a second thought when I’m using a pen, however in the case of the TUL, it has a slightly larger than normal plunger that provides a very solid feel when you click it to expose or retract the tip of the pen.  I would equate it to the feeling of a good firm handshake when you click this pen, you can almost sense a certain amount of quality that is built into it.

TUL Gel Ink Retractable Ink Pen Clip

The clip on the TUL Gel Ink pens is also pretty simple and understated, but in a classy and business-like fashion.  Nobody is going to stop dead in their tracks to stare at this pen because its outlandish and flashy, but on the otherhand, nobody is going to look at this pen and think that you got them by the case load at the dollar store.  All of the design elements of the TUL Gel Ink Pen, from the stylish clip to the demure grip and the nice paint job on the body give it a slightly modern and very professional look.

TUL Gel Ink Retractable Pen Writing Sample

When it comes to writing with the TUL Gel Ink Pen, I was very impressed.  It lays down a very consistent and vivid line while providing an exceptionally smooth writing experience.  The ink did not feather, bleed through, or show through on the paper in my trusty Black n Red notebook.  I would have to say that this is one of the best Gel Ink pens that I’ve used in quite some time, and it was honestly a surprise to me that a pen that was not from one of the major brands would perform so well.  It is certainly in the same class as many of those other big names and favorites that you are used to, so you should absolutely give the TUL Gel Ink Pens a try next time you are looking for a good pen.  If you cant wait to win some of these via the contest below, just head down to your local OfficeMax to buy some, or if you are like me and dont have a local OfficeMax, you can order online here.

Just an additional bit of info on ordering from OfficeMax.com, I’ve done it in the past and was thrilled with the experience.  They had a $50 minimum to get free shipping, which was not hard to hit (see the link to the Black n’ Red notebook above, that should help ) AND since I was not home when the delivery attempt was made, they actually called my cell phone to see if it would be OK to leave the package at my front door.  This was a MUCH better than FedEx or UPS leaving that sticky note on my door and telling me “we’ll be back tomorrow when you arent here again to leave another sticky note” which is not helpful at all.  Thanks to OfficeMax for making their home delivery so much more convenient to get my home office supplies.

THE GIVEAWAY:

So here is the part you are probably really interested in now that you have read the review of the TUL Gel Ink Pens.  Like my previous giveaways I am going to give you up to 3 entries entries to win.  You will be entering to win a total of 6 of these fantastic gel ink pens, you will get 3 each of the black and blue medium points.  Each entry will require an individual comment, so read below to see how you can get all  three of your chances to win.

Entry #1:

Just leave a comment.

Entry #2:

Follow  @OfficeSupplyGee and @OfficeMax on Twitter, Tweet the text below, and come back to leave a new comment with a link to the status update showing your tweet.

“Enter to win some nice gel ink pens sponsored by @OfficeMax http://bit.ly/czggOk #giveaway @officesupplygee”

Entry #3:

Become a fan of OfficeSupplyGeek and OfficeMax on FaceBook and share a link to the contest there.  Come back and leave a new comment with your name to verify that you are now a fan.  If you are already a fan, thats fine too, just make sure to share the link to the contest and leave the 3rd comment here.

You will have until 11:59 PM on May 10th to leave your 3 comment entries, and the winners will be selected by the random number generator at Random.org.  I will ship internationally.

Winners will be announced on Tuesday, May 11th, so if you think you might forget to come back to check if you won, you should sign up for the Office Supply Geek RSS feed.

Good luck to everyone, these will make a great addition to your stash of home office supplies!

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

The Body of the Zebra Airfit

The Zebra Airfit Jell is a pen that has been around for a while, its been reviewed by some of my fellow pen friends like over at PenAddict and Inkthusiasm in the past, so this will be a short review.  This version that I am writing about today came from Mohan, one of my friendly readers who offered it up in a pen trade with me.

The grip of the Zebra Airfit Jell

The Zebra Airfit Jell is a unique pen because of the interesting grip that provides a bit of cushioning, but also allows some air to flow around the grip while you are writing to keep the grip area from getting too warm.  This is probably good for anyone who gets a little bit of a sweaty hand while writing, or anyone who writes in warmer temperatures.  I find the grip to be very comfortable, although I do wish that it came to more of a tapered end where it meets the metal.  Its got a little bit of a rough edge there, which takes away a little bit from the comfortable writing experience.

Zebra Airfit Jell Writing Sample

Although I found the grip of the Zebra Airfit Jell to be quite unique, the way that the pen wrote is what really impressed me.  The pen writes REALLY smooth, and the gel ink in it is incredibly dark and consistent.  It dosent seem to bleed or feather, and it also dries relatively quickly.  This is just one of those basic work horse type pens that you really cant go wrong with.  If you are looking for an every day pen that is comfortable and a little on the stylish looking side, the Zebra Airfit Jell is a great option.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

The Amazon.com Top Selling Vivo Triple Gel Ink Pen

In a previous post, I listed out the top Gel Ink Pens based on sales at Amazon.com, and I was surprised by some of the entries, as were you from some of the comments that were left.  When I wrote that post, I had already picked up some of the Vivo Triple Gel Ink Pens in black since I had never heard of or tried them, and they were a top seller on Amazon.

The Vivo Triple Gel Ink Pen, standard looking body and grip

The design of the Vivo Triple Gel Ink pen is pretty simple, nothing flashy, but certainly does its job.  The grip is comfortable, and works as expected at making the writing experience comfortable and easy as well.   The clip is a little on the short and stubby side compared to what I am used to, however that is a fairly minor issue compared to my other issue with the pen.

Although the pen claims to be “check safe” and fade proof and water proof, I really don’t think Ill ever bother finding gout about either of those.  Unfortunately, the pen writes so poorly that I cant imagine using it long enough to want to write on anything important with it.  The writing sample can be seen below, this is after a good deal of writing with it where it did nothing but skip and leave weak lines behind.

Vivo Triple Gel Writing Sample

Overall, I was just really disappointed with this pen, especially with its high ranking on Amazon.  I have no idea how it got 3 votes of 5 stars unless I just got really unlucky and got two bad pens in the pack.  I cant imagine that this pen continues to stay on top of the list if my experience is the normal for this pen, and I would actually expect a lot of complaints and returns for Amazon to deal with.  There are plenty of other gel ink pens out there that can be had that wont be a total waste of your money like these Vivo brand pens were for me.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

I was checking out Amazon.com for the top selling gel ink pens and here is what I found in order of popularity:

1. Uniball 207

2. Pilot G2

3. Pilo FriXion

4. Vivo Triple

5.  Zebra Jimnie

So I’m just curious, which of these 5 are your top pens to use?  Personally I have a few in this list that I use, but its surprising to me that this is the list of the top 5 gel ink pens on Amazon, so share eyour feedback with me because I’d be thrilled to hear your comments and get to understand whats going on here.

Just a quick reminder that I’ve been compiling an Amazon store with all of the items I’ve liked and reviewed so it is easier for you to find them if you are doing some office supply shopping.  Hopefully you will find this a helpful way to find some cool home office supplies to stock your supply cabinet with.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

The EzGrip Pen for Ergonomic Writing

The People from Dexterity Technologies who make the EzGrip Ergonomic pen were kind enough to send over a sample of their new writing tool for me to take a look at and review.  The pen was designed to reduce writing pain, and to be helpful for those with conditions like arthritis who have more serious and permanent conditions that make writing difficult.

Close up of the EzGrip Pen Grip

The thing that makes this pen unique is that it has a rubber grip that has somewhat of a ledge that lets you rest your finger on it while you write, creating the downward pressure required to reduce the overall grip pressure you need to apply to a normal writing implement.  Through clinical testing of the pen by its manufacturers, they were able to determine that the unique grip design up to 57% less pressure when writing, significantly reducing the possibility of writers cramp.

My personal writing style didn’t work so well with this pen because I tend to turn the pen in my hand while I write and/or move my hand up and down the grip section as well.  With this pen, what you need to do is keep your hand and fingers positioned in one of three different ways, with either your thumb, knuckle or finger tip resting on the ledge.  I tend to get uncomfortable if I need to keep my hands and fingers in the same position, however I can imagine that someone with writing pain might have some very specific positions like this where it reduces the pain, and is more comfortable.

The EzGrip Pen Writing Sample

Although this pen is not ideal for my writing grip and style, I do have to say that the line it lays down and the way it writes is very impressive.  It is a gel pen, and the black ink in it is very bold and very consistent when writing with it.  It is a little bit wider than what I typically write with, it appears to be a .7mm or possibly even a 1.0mm tip.  One other nice thing about the design of this pen is that it has quite a large and easy to use plunger on top, which I would imagine is great for someone who has limited dexterity.

The EzGrip Added to a Pentel Slicci

Another nice thing about the EzGrip is that you can buy the rubber grip itself for adding to other pens if you have  a preferred pen you would rather use it with.  For me, the Pentel Slicci was always too thin to write comfortable with, so I figured I would give the EzGrip a try on there.  The EzGrip did certainly help make the pen much more comfortable to write with, however I still had the same issues with my tendency to continually reposition the pen that didn’t allow for a perfect writing experience.

Overall, although these didn’t work for me just because of my writing style, I think they have the potential to be very helpful to those who experience writing pain, or have other issues related to their ability to use their hands and fingers for tasks such as writing.  For the price you can’t at least not try this pen out if you have any writing issues, so check them out here and see if they can help you.

© 2010, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.