Hello Kitty displaying the Limited Edition Pilot Hi-Tec-C .4mm Clear Blue Gel Pen
JetPens.com was offering this pen up for reviewers to write about, so I took the opportunity to be able to try one out. Thanks to Lily at JetPens for sending this over to me to try. It is important to note that this is only one pen from a 9 color set that includes black, green, pink, aqua blue, orange, clear blue, baby pink, apricot orange, and red. The pen reviewed here is the clear blue. The whole set is available from JetPens for $30.00 which automatically qualifies you for their free shipping on any order over $25.00. They also offer the same set in a .3mm version here for $30.00.
I feel like you can probably find ANYTHING branded with Sanrio and Hello Kitty, if you look at Amazon.com there are literally thousands of Hello Kitty items available there
Limited Edition Hello Kitty Pilot Hi-Tec-C with the Hello Kitty mouse charm removed.
The above picture shows the pen with the Hello Kitty charm (in this case it is a mouse character) removed and laying in the Rhodia notebook with the pen over there to the left. It is pretty easy to remove the charm and put it back on, and it feels pretty sturdy and solid when doing so…I dont get the impression that it would break very easily. The charms are interchangeable, so if you have a favorite one you can put it on the cap of your favorite Hi-Tec-C pen, although you might run into some charm/pen color combination that you dont like.
Pilot Hi-Tec-C limited edition hello kitty gel ink pen .4mm writing sample in a Rhodia notebook.
The two most noticeable characteristics about this pen (excluding the Sanrio Hello Kitty charms) are the very fine point, and the unique color. When you look at the point, it looks like a needle, which might lead you to believe that it is fragile or that you would have to be delicate when writing with it. Now I wouldnt suggest that you press as hard as you can with the pen, but I will say that at varying pressures I never once felt as if I was going to bend or snap the point. Regardless of looks, the points seem to be very sturdy, even for a heavy handed writer. The color of this pen, which is the clear blue is really nice, I was initially afraid that it might be a faint color that was hard to read and strained the eyes, but to the contrary it is very bright and easy to read.
Writing with this pen is very smooth. Sometimes with a point this fine, people worry that there is a noticeable drag or scratching when the pen moves across the paper, but that definitely is not the case when I tested this on the Rhodia, Levenger, Moleskine and Doane papers. In addition to writing smoothly, the pen has a nice balance to it when capped, and the plastic ridges on the grip keep the pen from sliding between your fingers when writing. I was surprised to see that not only does the cap of the pen snap into place when you close it, but also when you post the cap on the back. I guess this was surprising to me just because of the length of the cap and how deeply it sets itself onto the body of the pen.
Overall this is a really nice pen to write with in terms of smoothness, and comfort in the hand. The color of the ink is also very pleasing as a slight alternative to your standard dark blue that can get old pretty quick if you do a lot of writing. Also, you might look at the price for the set and think that $30 is a bit much for a set of pens, but for pens of this quality I think the price is just right since they only work out to about $.30 extra per pen as compared to buying the individual pens that dont have Hello Kitty charms on them. These would make a wonderful gift for any Hello Kitty fan in my opinion.
Thanks again to JetPens for the sample, I will be putting this up in my next giveaway, so if you like it, keep your eye out. If you just like the regular Hi-Tec-C pens and refills, JetPens also has those here in multiple versions, colors and sizes.
I’m not a Hello Kitty fan, but that particular charm is pretty dang adorable. And that blue is interesting—it almost looks like pencil. What’s cool is when the pen runs out, you still have the charm. Hmmmm. :::looks at budget:::
Diane – I myself am not a Hello Kitty fan either (the stuffed Hello Kitty in the pictures belongs to my girlfriend) but the concept is cool, if they came out with interchangeable charms for say sports teams or something I might be interested.
I was also thinking that for kids of the right age (ie. not of choking hazard age) these would be cool to put on cupcakes or birthday cakes.
Nice review. I was a little worried about the Hello Kitty doll until I read the comments. Phew! Nr
Yes, you can get Hello Kitty everything. If you can think of it, it exists. Which is both awesome and scary, because I’ve seen what the house of a Hello Kitty obsessed woman looks like. Let’s just say it could belong in an episode of Criminal Minds.
The pen is adorable, I’d buy the whole set right now if I could, despite already having quite a few of the colors.
Nr – Sorry to scare you like that. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and commenting, always nice good to hear from ya.
Nice photo op for Hello Kitty there ;). I wonder if your pen writes smoother than mine? Maybe just the paper? Great review too :D.
Nosferatuia: You got the 0.3mm, which is a lot scratchier than 0.4. I have both, and there’s a huge difference.
Marte – You are probably right, I can only imagine the overly decorated house of a Hello Kitty fanatic with lots of pink white and red everywhere you look, and tiny cat heads all over the place…scary! 🙂
Also, thanks for the additional info on the .3mm vs. the .4mm pens for Nosferatuia. I think that sometimes you can get more from a blogs comments than you can from the original post, so I appreciate you adding good info to the conversation here.
Nosferatuia – Glad you liked the photo, I know some people find the wooden hand creepy, so I was happy to mix things up a bit. Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for checking out my blog. Anyone reading this should check out Nosferatuia’s blog too, she has some great reviews going on over there.
Good call Marte! I didnt even notice the mm difference, I guess I need to wait and read blogs later in the day or after coffee/tea time ha ha! Yeah I agree with you, I usually find there to be a big difference between 0.3mm and 0.4mms.
There are Hello Kitty “toys.” And that’s all I’m saying.
Diane – I’m pretty sure I know what you mean, and I’m pretty sure thats disturbing. 🙂
Nice review. I gave my charm, Sugar, to Nosferatuia. I had no use for it. It would have gotten either lost or broken had I kept. Igor might even have gotten hold of it!!!
Oneloneman – Thanks, glad you liked the review. Ill probably just end up giving the whole pen away, but that was nice of you, as I am sure Nosferatuia probably had better use for it than you did. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
That is a really nice blue. I like your photo with the pen in Hello Kitty’s Obi. It looks like she has a sword.
Gentian – Thanks, glad you enjoyed the review and like the photo. I think it was Hello Kitty’s way of expressing that the pen is mightier than the sword. 😉
Are these charms still available? I have a few of them just because my co-worker’s mom still resides in Japan and used to send them to her. Can I get it anywhere online?
This was a funny review because I have two of these pens. I love them. They write a very fine line and although they have a very faint “scratchy” feel, it feels good in the hands. Now I find this funny: the only place in my city where I can find them is a Hello Kitty store! Is this pen intended to be sold with that brand’s accessories? Although it’s a fantastic ultra fine line pen, I feel a bit embarrassed to be the only man shopping in a store packed with teenage girls. But hey, if that’s what I have to do to get them, I’ll muster up my courage and walk inside for those pens!