Staedtler Maxum 1.6 mm Ballpoint Pens in 8 Colors

I recently came across these Staedtler Maxum Ballpoint pens (via Amazon) and couldn’t resist picking them up due to their enormous 1.6mm tips.  I usually like to stick to pens that are .5mm or below, or Fine and Extra Fine fountain pens, so these are clearly out of my normal comfort range for writing with.  Not wanting to be too closed-minded, I figured Id give these definitely deserved a shot.

Staedtler Maxum 1.6 mm Ballpoint Body

The pens come in packs of 8 colors and some of the more basic colors like black, blue, and red are also individually available.  Each pen has a translucent body and cap that matches and indicates the color of the ink inside.  Down the length of the body of each pen, Staedtler has stamped the “Maxum” model name in an impossibly hard to miss shiny silver, just in case you forget  the name of your pen.

Staedtler Maxum 1.6 mm Ballpoint Grip

The grips on these pens are interesting, they have a  vase-like shape which I usually like, however they do not come down far enough on the barrel to make it as comfortable as it could be for me.  Usually I like to have my thumb and forefinger on the thinnest part of the grip shown above because it allows your fingers to rest with downward pressure on the wider tapered out part, which eases the pressure you need to exert squeezing  on the grip.  With the grip being slightly higher, it forces me to write in a little bit of an unnatural fashion, with my thumb on the tapered in part, and my forefinger closer to the tip, on the small section of plastic that you see after the end of the cushioned grip.

Staedtler Maxum 1.6 mm Ballpoint Writing Sample

As I said before, I don’t typically enjoy writing with pens that have a tip larger than .5mm, however I did actually enjoy writing with these Staedtler Maxum 1.6mm ballpoint pens.  Because of the larger than normal surface area of the tip, they glide across the paper in an incredibly smooth fashion.  There were some very minor issues with tiny skips here and there, but not a deal breaker as it can be with some ballpoint pens.  One thing though that was a bit of a nuisance was posting the cap.  The cap and body are a hard plastic, and when snapping the cap on and/or posting it, it requires much more pressure than you might expect.  Additionally, with the cap posted there is a great deal of rattling around that you get because it does not post tightly.  It never feels like it will fall off when posted, but just  very loose.

Overall I really did (and still do) enjoy writing with these pens, because of the super smooth feeling and the uniqueness of the bold 1.6mm tips.  I think that these would be great for any student or note taker because the green, orange, pink, and even red are great for marking up documents or books as you would with a highlighter.  My biggest issue was with the Staedtler Maxum was the rattling around of the posted cap while writing but that is easily solved by just not posting the cap.  Definitely check these out if you are looking for an interesting and new writing experience, the bright vivid colors alone are worth it as well.

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