Uniball Gel RT Micro .38mm Pen Review

Gel and Roller Ball Pens — 10 March 2010

An assortment of the Uniball Gel RT Micro .38 mm

I’ve reviewed a bunch of Uniball Signo pens in the past, but the majority of them have come from JetPens, and are not usually available at many places within the US, especially not at any major retail office supply stores. For that reason, I was excited when I learned that the Uniball Gel RT Micro .38 mm was available from OfficeMax, and also here from Amazon.com if you are so inclined.

Up Close with the Uniball Gel RT Micro .38mm

Most of my reviews of the Uniball Signo line have consisted of the .38 mm versions, which is one of my favorite pens to use other than fountain pens. I find that the line of the .38mm Signo DX pens are very clean, crisp, and solid…the Uniball Gel RT Micro is no exception. I was worried that this US version might be lacking something, but I realized that with the quality of product that Uniball puts out, it was a pretty silly thought. The Gel RT Micro, although only available in Black, Red, and Blue puts down a bright and solid line when you write with it and makes for an incredibly smooth and comfortable writing experience. I enjoy the simplicity of this pen because its not trying too hard to look flashy or offer too much, its just a good pen that writes well. I especially like the smooth rubberized grip with its subtle taper towards the bottom that flares back out slightly right before the plastic cone of the tip. This provides an area for your thumb and forefinger to nestle into comfortably.

Writing Sample of the Uniball Gel RT Micro .38

The above writing sample with the Uniball Gel RT Micro .38 was done in my Black n’ Red Notebook and I was really pleased with how it wrote on this paper. The paper typically does well with most of the inks that I’ve tried on it, however it does tend to take a little longer for many inks to dry on it. The interesting thing with the Uniball Gel RT Micro is that the ink dries much better on this paper than I thought it would. There are very slight streaks after a few seconds, but its not the wet and streaky/smudgy results I’ve had with other pens. If you look closely at the photo above you can see what I mean, the start and end points of some of the numbers show faint streaks, but nothing major.

I feel like I’m kind of just gushing over this pen rather than doing one of my usual reviews here, but its simplicity and fantastic performance really make the Uniball Gel RT Micro hard not to like and enjoy writing with.

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About Author

OfficeSupplyGeek

Iris

This has been my everyday pen of choice for some time. For a while it was hard to locate, but seems to be more available now than it was previously. For the quality and performance of this, you can’t beat the price.
http://www.notebookstories.com Notebook Stories

These have been my everyday pens for a while now too. I love the blue-black color but I guess only JetPens has that. I also order a lot of the refills to cut down on costs and waste of plastic.
I love the fine line and smoothness of these pens, I’d have to gush about them too!
http://www.thefryside.com Fry

I discovered this pen on a day off wandering through OfficeMax, and you’re right, it’s a gem. Between this for my journaling and other long-form writing, and a Jetstream .7 RT for everything else, I’m darn well covered at all times.
Pacenka

Thanks for highlighting these and other Uni-Ball Signo pens. 0.38 to 0.5 (207 micro series in USA) are good sizes for routine writing and technical sketching on good paper. As a southpaw I appreciate the fast drying of thin lines in this ink.
http://www.sandiegocubicles.com/blog/ San Diego Office Furniture

I’m currently using a BIC AI gel pen and it actually gets wider at that point on the grip where the Uniball gets smaller. Having a narrower contour where the thumb and fingers make contact makes more sense. I’m also having issues with smearing – sound like I need to get me a new pen when this one’s used up.

Daisy McCarty
Robert

I too am a big fan of these, though branded as straight-up Signo RT here in Asia. It’s a really decent pen and is roughly as good as the DX, which is my standard. If it weren’t for a few bad accidents involving depressed plungers and inky shirt pockets, combined with a distaste for pocket protectors, I’d probably use the RT instead of the DX.

Lavender black, emerald, and light blue are my favorites. I also wish they had a 0.28mm version of the RT.
http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

@Iris – I had a little bit of a hard time finding these, so hopefully you are right in that they are becoming more readily available. I feel like these should easily outsel something like the Pilot G@ for the price and quality you get. I just need to find myself somewhere that sells the refills now too.

@Notebookstories – I just checked the Jetpens site, but I didnt see any of the refills, just the pens. Ill have to keep searching.

@Fry – You mention one of my other favorites, the Jetstream. Its true, with those two pens you are pretty well set.

@Pacenka – No problem, glad you enjoy the reviews. I was surprised myself at how quick they dry.

@San Diego Office Furniture – Yeah, I have not had much luck with most any Bic

@Robert – The Signo DXs are another great pen, I use those pretty frequently as well.