One piece of information I wish were more readily available is the year a pen was introduced. Very few people care about this other than me, but I think it is useful. I’m guessing this Uni-ball Roller Grip has been around for at least a decade and I would love to say “Introduced in 1998,”.
Why do I care about this all of a sudden? Because this is a pretty darn good pen, and it seems to have been lost in the shuffle over the years. I have been asked to review it several times in the past but it wasn’t until Carmen grabbed me one in Spain that I had one available to review. How funny is that? A great American pen that had to travel across the Atlantic to get reviewed.
It’s not that it is impossible to find in the States, it’s that it is just a pen. From Uni-ball’s perspective, it’s not going to get the same marketing push as the Jetstream or the 207, and therefore isn’t going to be on retail shelves everywhere. It is more of a buy it by the dozen office supply cabinet workhorse.
What I like about the Roller Grip is the ink. It is a liquid ink, but it is not too wet. As long as you don’t hold the tip on the page excessively the bleed is minimal. Uni-ball seems to have improved the overall ink quality over the years as well. It is listed as a pigment based ink that is archival, acid-free, and water-resistant. I had no idea until I read the specs when typing up this post.
Has and old standby become a new favorite? Well, I had a little grin on my face when I was writing this review, sort of a “I can’t believe it is this good” smirk. I think a dozen black are in my future.
