Be a King for Father's Day - Retro 51 Giveaway

I found a big surprise in my mailbox last week from my good friends at JetPens: the Retro 51 Tornado Fit For A King Roller Ball Pen. Everyone knows I am a big fan of my orange Tornado and my podcast partner Myke is one step away from love letters to the manufacturer, so this is a great chance to try one for yourself, or to give as an awesome Father’s Day gift. How great looking is this pen?

Here is how to enter:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Wednesday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You are limited to one entry. This contest is limited to US residents only.

2. For this contest, I will pick one winner at random from the comments section of this post. The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on. The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winner.

3. The contest winner will be posted on Thursday, June 7th. The winner will have one week to email me via the Contact button at the top of the page.

Bonus: JetPens is giving away another Fit for a King roller ball on the JetPens Blog. Head on over for a second chance to win!

Thanks and good luck!

Retro 51 Tornado Roller Ball Video

Retro 51 Tornado Roller Ball from dowdyism on Vimeo.

I was so impressed with my Retro 51 Tornado Classic Lacquers Roller Ball that I wanted to give it the video treatment. From the packaging, to the design, to the performance, Retro 51 gets it right with this pen.

I love the orange body, but be sure to check out the 12 other colors available.

Retro 51 Tornado Classic Lacquers Roller Ball Pen Review

If you know me at all then you know that The Pen Addict was not created around 0.7 mm roller ball pens. It is sub 0.5 mm or bust around here, and the majority of pens I review that are 0.7 mm or wider are usually just that. Not this Retro 51 Tornado. I have seen the top of the mountain, and it is good.

I have known of Retro 51 pens and pencil for years, but until JetPens started carrying them I never had the opportunity to try one. Even then I was hesitant, but the classic barrel design drew me in. The Classic Lacquers Series feature a stainless steel body with a high gloss lacquer overlay. This makes all of the barrel colors in the series really pop. The knurled twist-top is the very definition of +1.

As beautiful as the barrel is, the quality of the refill is going to make or break the pen. I had zero expectations that it was going to work for me, but I am continually impressed by it. The tip is very smooth and, most importantly, the ink does not bleed like many 0.7 mm cartridges do. Is there some bleed? Sure, it is inevitable with this size tip and liquid ink. But compared to many other similar refills it is superior, at least in my non-scientific mind.

Does anyone else feel the same way about this refill and how this pen writes, or am I delusional? To me, it is better than any other similar refill I have tried. It is a telling sign that I keep my orange Retro 51 within arms reach among the jungle of 0.3 mm gel ink pens on my desk.