Pentel EnerGel Euro Needle Points in 1mm, .5mm, and .35mm
After being impressed with my previous Pentel EnerGel pens, I was happy to see these new Pentel EnerGel Euro Needle Points on JetPens. I will be reviewing the 1mm, .5mm, and .35mm versions in blue, although there is a .7mm available but its hard to review a pen that you have lost so you wont see that one here.
From Left to Right, a 1mm, .5mm, and .35mm
The grip on these Euro needle points are a smooth rubber material with a wavy textured groove that runs around them making for a very comfortable writing experience. On the red version of these pens, you will find that the plastic cone beyond the grip is a translucent red rather than the translucent blue that you see here. The caps on the Pentel Energel Euro posts nicely on the back of the pen with nice firm snap and don’t ever rattle or feel loose.
Pentel EnerGel Euro Needle Point Writing Sample in a Doane Paper Idea Journal
Writing with the Pentel EnerGel Euro Needle Point was beyond smooth, there was no skipping scratching or any other annoyance. The tips of each size glided across the paper effortlessly, and of course the 1mm was a little smoother than the smaller versions, but even the .5mm and .35mm wrote very smoothly. From a drying perspective, these pens do fairly well. I probably wouldn’t recommend the 1mm or .5mm version for left handed writers because it took almost four full seconds to dry, however the .35mm version dried much more quickly.
Pentel EnerGel Euro Needle Point Clip
Pentel EnerGel Euro Needle-Point Summary.
I do have one somewhat bothersome issue with this pen though. The way that the clip is designed leaves some slightly sharp edges on the bottom corners that tend to brush up against the area around my lowest knuckle on my index finger. Now it isn’t a very sharp edge, but it is harsh enough that after a few minutes of writing with it I decided to unpost the cap and continue writing without it up there. I think simply rounding the end of the clip or making it about 1/4″ of an inch shorter would solve the problem. You could probably avoid the situation on your own if you don’t rotate your pen while you write though by positioning it so the clip faces forward.
In the end I am a little mixed on this pen because it writes so nicely, but the clip issue kind of just ruins that for me. If you don’t write with the cap posted, or if you maybe aren’t as much of a sissy as me, then maybe this pen would be fine for you. In fact, you can check out Brad’s review over at The Pen Addict to see that he doesn’t seem to have this issue, so maybe it is just me.
Picked up some for 50 cents each at the local art store. The newer colors were $3.00 or so. Great writing pen. You are right on. The ink is very smooth and leaves a great line.
I was lucky enough to get the 0.35mm before they sold out at JetPens. I’m writing with it today and I love it.
You know, I haven’t noticed the cip thing, and I have been using it a bunch. Now I need to go check….
These are the best pens I’ve found. They’re hard to find around here in the stores–I can only find the clickable versions and, since I carry these in my pockets, nope. Good thing there’s an Internet!
Love the 1 mm … I am apparently alone or near alone in liking the broader lines….yet, these seem to be a retread of the silver capped Pentel Energels; writes the same to me…color of barrel and texture of grip are different of course.
@HowardNJ – I do like the way that the 1 mm writes, I mean it doesnt get any smoother. I just write way too small for a pen with that large of a tip.
How do you perform the ink drying test? how do you determine the drying speed as you write? do you write and them run a finger across the ink? How does this work?
@Tom – Its just a finger smudge test. I write the number, count to the equivalent number of seconds and then run my finger over it.