Uniball Power Tank Smart Series in Yellow
I love any review where I get to start by saying “DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!” With the Uniball Power Tank Smart Series (see it here from JetPens)there are certain things about it that just beg for some extreme testing, like the claims that it is a great cold weather pen and also a great hot weather pen as well as being able to write upside down and on wet paper. The first half of the review will be the usual stuff, but the last half will be the more fun stuff that YOU SHOULD NOT TRY AT HOME. 🙂
Uniball Power Tank Smart Series Label
Before we get to the fun stuff, there are some differences between this Power Tank and the old version of the Uniball Power Tank pen that I reviewed a while ago. Visually, it is a much different looking pen, the body is one width all the way down the length of the barrel, the grip is not rubberized, and the body is not translucent. In my opinion I think its a step down in terms of the comfort and looks of the pen because I really liked the rugged look of the old version and the solid feel of the chunky rubber grip. Overall though its a still a great looking pen that is comfortable to write with, just in comparison to the old, I prefer the old version for my extreme writing needs…not that I have many.
Uniball Power Tank Smart Series Removable Label
One thing that has bothered me in the past on some pens is that the UPC and other pen information was painted directly on the barrel, so before I got a close look at the Uniball Power Tank Smart Series, I thought that was going to be the case here. Upon closer inspection, I saw that there seemed to be a set of perforations that would allow me to peel that label right off, and lucky for me that was the case.
Uniball Power Tank Smart Series No Label
The above photo shows the Power Tank stripped of it’s label, which I happen to like much better. Something about all of the clutter of the UPC and the other info that just clutter up the pen and makes it “noisy” to me. Now the pen can show off the nice yellow / green color, the rugged looking ridged look (although completely smooth) and clean lines.
Uniball Power Tank Smart Series Frozen
So here we are at the good stuff. So since this pen is advertised to be good for writing in extreme conditions, I figured I really needed to test those claims out again like I did in my last 2 part review of the old version of the pen. I started off on the cold side of things by freezing the pen in a bag full of water. The photo above might look like the top of the pen is sticking out of the ice, but you will have to take my word that it is completely submerged and 100% frozen over. I let this sit in the freezer for a little more than two days just to make sure that it froze solid. There is a writing sample below done right after the freezing, but there is one other test to document before showing that.
Out of the Freezer, and into the Oven
Now here is the part that (if you missed it before) you should not try at home! Having just come out of the freezer and melting the ice with hot water, it was time to stick this sucker in the oven.
Uniball Power Tank Smart Series 205 Degrees
I pre-heated the oven up to about 170 degrees Fahrenheit, made a little tin foil tray, and put it in there with my fingers crossed. After about 5 minutes of not looking like anything horrifying was happening, I decided to crank it up a bit and eventually got the oven up to about 210 degrees. I didn’t get a picture of the temperature gauge at 210 because at that point I was keeping a very close eye on the pen, to make sure things didn’t turn ugly.
From the research I did, it looks like an outdoor temperature of about 90 degrees Fahrenheit can result in the inside of your car getting up to a little over 140 degrees, so I think my test probably goes a little overboard. I think it goes to prove the point though, that this pen can stand up to being left in your car in hot temperatures, and cold temperatures for that matter as well, even if you drive into a frozen lake. I was quite pleasantly surprised that not one part of the pen even seemed to soften up after spending a little over 20 minutes cooking at up to 210 degrees…very impressive.
Uniball Power Tank Smart Series Writing Sample
With both extreme tests documented above, you can have a look at the writing samples to show just hoe durable this pen is. The top third of the writing sample was done before I decided to abuse my Power Tank. The next two samples were done right after I thawed out the pen, and right after I took the pen out of the oven. In both instances the pen wrote fantastic, other than the surface being either really hot or really cold, you would never have guessed that anything had been done to the pen to push it to its limits.
Overall, you really can’t go wrong with this pen if you think you might want to keep a pen in your car during the winter or summer months where the temperatures can get pretty extreme…or if you just think that you might go backpacking in the Sahara or the Tundra, I’m fairly confident that this pen will not let you down. No doubt that this would be my “go to” extreme weather pen. And one last thing…please don’t try cooking your pens at home.
Great review. I actually like the new look, especially the bright colors for the barrel that are available. Having dropped the original version of this pen in leaves during backpacking trips, I will appreciate having a florescent yellow barrel to make it easier to find.
Wow, kinda cool! 😉
Sounds like an awesome pen! I usually have bad luck with uniballs in that they skip when writing… but this one looks nice and smooth!!! I may have to add it to my collection. 😀
Any way of testing it’s performance when put in checked luggage on an airplane? I’m fighting with my Uniroller Micros always loosing their balls on airplanes (yes, literally the ball pops out and gets lost).
I was nervous for you reading the oven part. 🙂 Nice job!
Alright, now I need to order a couple of these. 🙂
Is JetPens the best place to find them? Any chance of finding them at Staples or OfficeMax?
Great review! Loved the experiments. 🙂
Great review and experiment. Glad to know that someone is holding these claims accountable! What I would love to see is how a standard disposable ballpoint pen, or maybe another pen that does not claim to have these freeze/heat extreme durability would stand up to your test. Consider it a “control” to your experiment.
@Steve – That is a good point, the bright colors are probably much easier to find in a situation like that.
@Speedmaster – Glad you liked. JetPens is the only place I know to get these new versions, but you can pick up the original version with the different body style at OfficeMax, not at Staples that I know of though.
@Monica – That is pretty shocking, Uniballs are usually VERY consistent with little to no skipping from my experience, you should definitely give these a shot.
@Addibeth – I wont be doing any flying until mid and late October, but I can try to remember to pack one away if I check any luggage.
@dowdyism – You would have been even more nervous for me had you heard what my girlfriend said to me about what would happen if I ruined the oven, ruined her thermometer, or filled the place with smoke. 🙂
@Martie – Glad you enjoyed, it was fun! 🙂
@Tom – Actually in one of my earlier reviews I froze a Pilot G2 and Pilot Varsity fountain pen along with the Power Tank, it was a multi-part review:
–Part 1
–Part 2
–Part 3
Great review, OSG. Thanks.
I think these pens look better on the whole then the old PTs, but the grip on the old ones is definitely better.
For me, the main selling point of the pressurized refill isn’t the extreme temps but rather the ability to write at unusual angles. It does come in handy now and then.
I actually keep the little stickers/sleeves on the barrel. All the writing in Japanese makes it interesting and exotic. What I don’t like is the permanent writing on the clip. The little ‘uni’ at the top and on the side is a wonderful detail and enough permanent branding.
@Der Bingle – Thanks so much, I’m glad you liked the review. Thats a good point about being able to write at different angles, I didnt focus much on that in this review, so thanks for mentioning it.
I guess Im more of a “plain” kinda guy, for some reason all of the extra labels and such on the pen bug me.
@SDOF – Thanks for the heads up on the actual color name. I dont know if I could pull off the bottom of the ocean test though. 🙂
Thx for this review and sharing the “extreme” results with us.
I’ve been looking for a pen to leave in the car (I live practically on the equator, 1.03 deg N) and this is it. Various ball point pens have all expired prematurely, one by one.
@dracodoc – No problem, Im confident that this one will do the trick for you, but if it doesnt, let us know!
Thank you! I was looking for exactly this — a pen that will always write in my car. Thank god there is someone who likes pens like I like pens.
Late to the party as usual, but I’ve been looking at this pen again after losing my trusty, and very expensive to replace, Fisher Trekker Space pen..
I bought a couple of the Power Tank Smart pens from Jetpens back in December 2010 and I came across a comment I had written on a forum post about the pens VERY cold temperature performance.
Here is the comment;
“I have not been able to find the temperature range specifications for the Power Tank Smart pens, but I can say that they do not work at -28°C/-18°F.
I tried one this morning when I got in the car and it would not write at all.”