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Uniball Jetstream Premier 1mm

Ballpoint Pens Pen & Pencil Reviews — 26 August 2009
Uniball Jetstream Premier 1mm
The Uniball Jetstream Premier 1mm in its package

The Uniball Jetstream Premier 1mm in its package

Eventually you might get tired of coming to this site looking for cool office supplies only to find yet another review of a slightly different Uniball Jetstream, but I assure you that I think this may be one of the last Jetstream reviews for a while.  Not because I don’t like them anymore, but just because I think I’ve covered the majority of the Jetstream line.  This version is readily available from Amazon here for about $7.00 if you are interested.

Front view of the Uniball Jetstream Premier with its unique clip and black cushy grip

Front view of the Uniball Jetstream Premier with its unique clip and black cushy grip

Typically I prefer to use pens that are somewhere between a .25mm and .5mm tip, or I will use a fountain pen that is either a fine or extra fine nib, so when I saw that this Jetstream Premier was a 1mm tip, I was a bit reluctant to try it out, but since I already knew how these pens wrote in smaller tip sizes, I figured I would give this one a chance.  Quite honestly, the thing that grabbed my attention about this pen before I even noticed the 1mm tip size was the grip.  In a previous review of a Jetstream pen I remarked on how the Jetstream Alpha Gel Grip seemed to be a huge magnet for dirt and filth, and it lessened the writing experience for me having to always dust off the grip.  I could tell just from looking at the grip on the Premier, that it shouldnt have that same lint magnet characteristic to it, so I grabbed it off the shelf in hopes of finding another winner in the Jetstream line from Uniball.

Uniball Jetstream Premier 1mm Writing Sample on Clairefontaine 90g paper

Uniball Jetstream Premier 1mm Writing Sample on Clairefontaine 90g paper

I think in my previous Jetstream reviews I rambled on enough about how nice they write and how smooth and bold the line of ink is, so Ill skip over all of that this time.  For the most part, even though this is a 1mm tip that is much wider than I prefer, I do still enjoy writing with it.  On some occasions I think its probably nicer to write with a bolder tip, like signing or writing a short note to someone.  I also know that if I want to I can probably just order a refill cartridge from Jetpens and make this a .5 with hardly any effort at all, so again, the writing experience from the Jetstream cartridges is a clear winner in my mind.

Side view of the Uniball Jetstream Premier

Side view of the Uniball Jetstream Premier

As for the rest of this pen, I really like everything about it.  The clip has a unique design in that it moves up and down with the plunger when you press  down which is kind of cool, and the wide body gives you a nice big area to hold onto while writing.  Now the grip on this pen is where I was really focused when I first saw it, and to my delight I was correct, it was absolutely not a magnet for any dirt or filth. Having used the pen for a few days now, I have been able to lay it on any desk or table, shove it in any bag or even in a pocket and not have one bit of extra filth appear when I retrieved it from saidlocations.  The grip is not quite as cushy as the AlphaGel Jetstream, but I guess that the tradeoff here  is with how much you can live with in terms of squishy grip vs. lint.  For me, lint free is the much better option, but  I know that some people really prefer those other squishy grips, so it really comes down to a matter of personal preference.

© 2009 – 2011, OfficeSupplyGeek. All rights reserved.

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  • Renee

    This barrel design is my favorite in the JetStream line. The other barrels are too slick for me to get a good grip. My only complaint isn’t with the pen itself, but with the packaging. I’ve bought this model from both Jet Pens & Office Depot, and in both cases, the package lining was stuck to the grip part of the barrel, almost as if it were painted on. It took lots of scraping to get it off; in fact, I couldn’t remove it completely from one pen, so it still has a little white smudge that looks like paint or white-out on the grip. A minor quibble, though. UniBall’s Signo & JetStream are my favorite pens.

  • Veronica

    I really do like the Jetstream premier. I wonder though will the grim get yucky like the Sensa pens do. I liked the Sensa when it was new, but it was gross, kind of slimy after a few years.

  • http://fountainpensforsale.com/ Veronica

    I really do like the Jetstream premier. I wonder though will the grim get yucky like the Sensa pens do. I liked the Sensa when it was new, but it was gross, kind of slimy after a few years.
    PS: Forgot to add good post!

  • http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

    @Renee – Interesting, I had a similar issue with something on the grip, but I didnt notice it at first, so I wasnt sure if it was something I did after using it for a bit. It was a very small mark, but glad to know where it came from now, and hopefully the Uniball folks are reading and know that its an issue.

    @Veronica – I agree, I hate how the other one can get kind of nasty after a while. Ill keep my fingers crossed….let us know how it goes for you.

  • mary

    i was just wondering… is this pen metal or does it just look metal? i love the jet stream refills, but i need something with more heft to write with… and the alpha gel gets too gross too fast to use consistently.

    thanks!

  • http://www.officesupplygeek.com OfficeSupplyGeek

    @mary – It just looks metal, the majority of that pen is plastic, except for the clip. I totally agree with you on the Alpha Gel getting a little too gross and filthy.

  • Jimmy

    I’m a gigantic fan of the Jetstream line, and to be perfectly honest, the Premier is the only one I do not like.
    I love the way it looks, and I’m a fan of the larger tip, but I pretty much agree with everything in dowdyism’s review of it way back in November ’08: the soft clicking mechanism is interesting, but for me it really takes away the satisfaction of using a retractable clicking pen, if that makes any sense.
    Also, while the grip doesn’t pick up any lint or anything like the Alpha Gel, its rather stiff, and awkwardly shaped to the point where I’m not sure how I’m supposed to hold it. Of course, that could be just me.

  • Howard

    Just found your site and am thrilled to find fellow aficionados!

    I have all the Jetstreams I can find, including the AlphaGel which I DO like gripwise, but the Premier grip is the best cross between cushioned and not….and the ink is great (I am a BOLD line fan, so 1.0 is fine w/me).

    My gripes about the Premiers: 1) the plunger for the retract mechanism is quite variable across the pens (I have five Premiers). On some it’s barely dampened but on others it’s very sloooow; 2) bigger gripe: since they are NOT metal, they are NOT suitable for pants pockets, because the point where the grip meets the rest of the body is very fragile and I’ve had two break right at that seam in the middle, simply from walking around with them in a lower cargo pants pocket, where I thought they’d be safe.

    Also, by the way, I picked up the revised JetStream sport at Target the other day, and they’ve made it thinner and the refill is longer and thinner–and without the “bump/collar toward the point end. Seems OK so far, but at OSG said, you can’t swap the refills out anymore.

    Now if Pilot could make a softer grip for the G2 line (though the G2 Limited’s grip is better…) I could switch between the two and be happy for awhile!

    Howard