Posts filed under Gel

Zebra Sarasa SE Gel Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

To this day, gel pens continue to be one of the most accessible categories for exposing people to the wonders of pens. With so many options, it's difficult to imagine what else can be done in this space to innovate and provide something new and worthy of existence. In most cases, the easiest route of expansion is in offering more colors or more tip sizes. But, it's more rare to see offerings that focus on providing the same great gel pen experience with a dry time that's 85% faster than standard gel pens.

That's right — 85% faster. The Zebra Sarasa SE line of pens is similar to the regular Sarasa line in every way, except these things dry incredibly fast.

If you've never used a Zebra Sarasa pen before, you're missing out on one of the top five gel refills available today. They're available in several different sizes and configurations, but they all deliver vibrant colors, crisp lines, and a smooth feel. Add on super fast dry time, and you've got a seriously impressive pen refill.

I picked up several of these pens to try out, and in that batch I picked black, blue, red, green, and violet to test. Each of these colors is beautiful and vivid. Even the black is incredibly rich and dark — similar in richness and depth as the popular Pentel EnerGel series.

The body and grip of the SE pens are also similar to the other Sarasa lines, which is just fine. They're comfortable to use, the clips are nice and strong, and they perform great in that respect.

When I started writing, I was impressed by the crisp lines and bright colors. It wasn't until I moved my palm across the page to write somewhere else that I noticed that it didn't create any smudges. I was pleasantly surprised, so I started testing the dry times to see just how fast it was. In most cases, the ink was smudge-proof within 2 seconds. In every case, 3 seconds did the trick. This is incredible! Especially considering how wet these 0.7mm tips are. These aren't ultra-fine tips — there's a good amount of ink coming out when writing.

These pens are perfect for jotting notes when you're out. You don't have to worry about immediately closing your notebook because there won't be any excess ink on the opposite page. For left-handed users, this ink is fabulous. I'm mostly right-handed, but I'm working on training my left hand to write as well. When I was using these pens in my left hand, I never had any smudges on the page and there wasn't any ink on my palm when I was done.

I'm not sure how Zebra did this. There's normally a trade off if you market a pen as having an ultra-fast drying ink. In this case, the Sarasa SE line has smooth feel, vibrant colors, and incredibly fast dry times.

The Zebra Sarasa SE is fairly new, but there's already a nice selection of colorful inks. You're also limited to the 0.7mm tip size, so hopefully we see additional options soon. Pick some up the next time you make an order with JetPens! At under two bucks a pop, they're low risk experiments, and I'm willing to bet that you'll love them after writing with them.

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Posted on August 15, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Zebra, Sarasa, Gel, Pen Reviews.

Ohto Rays Flash Dry Gel Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

When it comes to products that skirt really closely to the knock-off line, it can tend to push some people away or make them uncomfortable with the product. Other times, it’s easy to forgive the likeness if the product offers its own unique take on the original. With the Ohto Rays Flash Dry gel pen (“Ohto Rays" from now on), I’m on the fence. On one hand, it looks very similar to the classic Parker Jotter, but, on the other hand, it includes a stellar gel refill that conveniently fits in any other pen that takes Parker-style refills.

Despite the obvious inspiration for the design of this pen, let’s take a look at how it all comes together as a writing instrument. The pen comes in at 5.5 inches long, which is a bit long for the Parker-style retractable genre. Still, it’s quite comfortable and balanced. The barrel can feel a bit skinny, but I don’t mind it. I’ve grown accustomed to this slim feel after using a Parker Jotter in the past. Unlike the Jotter, the grip section of this pen is mostly plastic, save the small tip. The upper body, clip, and nock are all metal.

The click mechanism has a nice feel and sound, and it’s been very reliable in my experience. I’ve noticed that with some cheap model retractable pens that the click mechanism can have issues. That’s not the case here. The metal clip is also the perfect level of strong — not too stiff to make it difficult to use, but not too soft to cause issues with falling off things.

In general, the pen feels really good in the hand, and the plastic grip warms up to your hand with use. The extra length overall adds a sense of balance to the pen that I welcome.

Now, on to the aspect of this pen that I’m excited about. Like the inspiration for the outside of the pen, Ohto also took that inspiration inside the pen with the refill they chose. The refill is an Ohto-branded gel refill that performs wonderfully. I was really surprised that it performed as well as it does when I first started using it. The ink is dark, smooth, and precise, and the line width is incredibly precise and clean. The fact that the refill tip is a "needle-point" style also makes it feel a tad more premium. I’m sure this style tip is helpful when using it with a straight-edge, but I can’t attest to that. I’ve really enjoyed using this refill and have had zero problems or complaints. It’s a fantastic refill that I’ll probably use in other pens due to the ubiquitous size and compatibility with other pens.

The only downside to this refill (and it’s a doozy) is that you only have one option: 5mm in black. In the gel refill world, this is almost a death sentence compared to the wide, wide array of tip sizes and colors available from other manufacturers. I’m holding out a little hope that Ohto has plans to expand their offerings, but I won’t hold out long. Still, as far as 0.5mm black refills go, this is at the top of my list right now.

The Ohto Rays pen comes in a variety of colors, like yellow (shown here), blue (looks like turquoise, though), black, white, pink, and red. At just under $4, these pens are a really good deal. If you’re only interested in the refill, those are just under $2. Good luck finding the pens or the refills in stock! They’ve been incredibly popular on JetPens since their initial release earlier this year.

If you can get past the design decisions, this is a solid pen with a fantastic refill.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on March 21, 2018 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Ohto, Gel, Pen Reviews.

Diplomat Magnum Asphalt Gel Pen Review

For me, a big reason that I like any pen is the color and type of material used in the body. In short, this is the aesthetic appeal of the pen, and I would guess that this also drives a majority of pen purchases for other people as well. But, the aesthetic appeal can only carry the pen so far — it also needs to function well as a writing instrument.

The Diplomat Magnum gel pen is a sleek and stylish click pen that features an asphalt gray finish. The finish is a sleek combination of dark gray material with silver flecks mixed in. It's a pretty material that I enjoy quite a bit.

The Magnum also uses a standard Parker-style refill, which is a really good thing since the included refill is quite an under-performer.

When I pick up a gel pen, I usually don't have any concerns about skipping, hard starts, or other issues that typically crop up with ballpoint refills. With the Diplomat, I was bound for disappointment in the refill area.

The gel refill in the Magnum is unlike any others I've used. Picking the pen up and writing with it isn't normally possible without doing a few seconds of scribbling on scratch paper to get the ink flowing. Once the ink starts flowing, the delivery is skippy and inconsistent. If you stop writing for more than 10 seconds, the ink has already dried up and requires more scribbling. All told, it's an incredibly frustrating refill.

The fact that this pen accepts all Parker-style refills really saves its bacon. This is a truly attractive pen that feels good in the hand, and it's also a pretty good value at $20. My only advice is that you need a replacement refill from the beginning if you choose to purchase this pen. There's a chance that the refill I have is a dud, but gel duds usually refuse to write altogether in my experience.

With all this in mind, it's hard to recommend this pen unless you're absolutely in love with the aesthetics. Like I said, it feels great in the hand and operates perfectly as long as you discount the refill performance. Replacing the refill is a must, and this is an extra cost if you don't already have some Parker-style refills lying around.

If you like the style of the Magnum, I suggest you take a look at the Retro 51 Tornado lineup. They're a tad more expensive, but they're better pens that also feature much better refills. Plus, with the wide variety of styles, you're bound to find one that matches your fancy.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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