Moleskine fans have been clamoring for accessories such as pens and pencils to match their favorite black notebooks for years and Moleskine finally delivered. I personally wasn’t too anxious to try them since I am not a big Moleskine user but the Classic Roller Pen is a very nice addition to the product line.
I had low expectations of this pen prior to reviewing it but it has turned out to be one of the best writing pens I own. The big red flag for many is the rectangular shape of the barrel. It doesn’t look like it would be comfortable to hold, especially for any length of time. When I first picked up the pen it felt odd but after a few lines I didn’t notice it was different from any other pen. Granted, I have a standard writing grip and you might find the barrel design a deal breaker depending on how you hold the pen.
The thing that made me forget about the rectangular barrel is how nice the gel ink cartridge is. I haven’t used a pen this smooth and consistent since I don’t know when. The 0.5 mm tip is a pleasure to write with. It is on par with the Pentel EnerGel for smoothness and is not as wet. As I was writing I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop but it never did. Impressive performance.
The unique pen clip is designed to attach to the cover of your Moleskine, but it will work on other hard cover notebooks as well. It is the lone metal piece of the barrel, with the remainder being a lightweight plastic. I would have preferred a little more weight to the barrel but it is fine overall.
At $14.95 this is not a throwaway pen so you will need to decide if it is going to suit your writing style. There are two 0.5 mm refills and six 0.7 mm refills so there are additional options to choose from down the line if you want to switch it up. I enjoy writing with mine and plan to make it a major part of my writing arsenal.
For another look at the Moleskine Classic Roller check out Brian’s review at Office Supply Geek.
