Posts filed under Uni-Ball

Uni-ball One F Gel Pen 0.5 mm Earth Texture Color Series Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)

Uni-ball has some of the best gel ink around, especially if you like your colors bold. The pigmented gel in the Uni-ball One is formulated to sit on top of the paper, so there's no bleeding or feathering, and you get the full effect of the color. It also has a fast dry time and doesn't smudge, making it great for lefties or swift writers. That also makes it ideal for quick notes, like planner appointments, class notes, or meeting notes. Or anything? I mean, really, this is just good ink.

So if you have an excellent ink and you want to take things up a level, what do you do? You put that great ink in a cool new pen body. The Earth Texture Color Series from Uni does this very well. These speckle-patterned special editions come in six colors: grey, white, brown, pink, green, and blue. This is the Grassland Green version, which is a lovely pale shade of green with grey and tan speckles on it. It's just a color effect--the word "texture" in the name is somewhat misleading, as the finish on these pens is a smooth matte. The speckle effect is worked through the plastic, so it shows some dimension. It's a lovely finish that looks almost like natural stone.

The plastic body feels very good in the hand, and it's a sturdy, well-made pen. It is deliberately weighted toward the tip, and the pen body is wider than a standard size, which makes it extra comfortable for long writing sessions. It does not, however, have a grip section, or any grippy texture at all, so some slipping can happen.

The pen has Uni's levered clip, which opens very wide, like a baby crocodile, to hold onto book covers or even a whole stack of paper. The click mechanism is very sturdy and satisfying. One of my favorite things about the Uni clicks is that the spring is attached inside the pen, so when you unscrew the body to change the cartridge, the wee spring does not go shooting into the air, or fall out and get lost. And this is definitely a pen worth refilling.

So, a great ink in a nice, refillable, attractive and ergonomic pen body. Awesome. I don't know what you'd expect to pay for such a thing, but I bet it's more than $4.95. I would have guessed at least twice that, if not three times. And if you pick a Uni-Ball One F from the standard series instead of the Earth series, it's only $4.50. I think that's a stellar deal.

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

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Posted on May 2, 2024 by Sarah Read and filed under Uni-Ball, Gel, Pen Reviews.

Uni Jetstream 4&1 Metal Multi Pen Review

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

This multi pen from Uni might not have the most catchy name, but it's still a fantastic pen. The Uni Jetstream 4&1 Metal 4-color 0.5mm ballpoint multi pen and 0.5mm pencil is a sleek package that packs 5 different writing implements. Unlike other Jetstream multi pens, this one also features a knurled metal grip section.

The Uni Jetstream 4&1 Metal in the dark green colorway is a favorite of mine. I've always loved multi pens, and I'm a fan of the Jetstream ink formulation and their line of quirky and utilitarian multi pens. This latest variant to cross my desk is unique enough to grab my attention, but also incredibly useful due to the different writing options nestled inside.

Like many other Jetstream multi pens, this one relies on individual sliding latch mechanisms to select and retract the refill you want to use. There are four slides around the top of the pen body, and they have small color indicators at the top to let you know which color is which. The 0.5mm mechanical pencil option pulls double duty with the pen clip. Pushing the clip down the body extends the pencil refill, and pushing further down on the clip also advances the lead. It's a great system that works well and also keeps the pen sleek. To retract any of the extended refills, just push down on another tab.

Many of the Jetstream multi pens I already have use a soft, grippy rubber-like material on the grip section. It's firm, comfortable, and provides lots of tactile grip when writing. This pen is different in that it has a knurled metal grip section, and it's much better (for me, anyway) than the rubber material version.

That's right — this Jetstream is a mixture of metal and plastic parts. The grip section, nose cone, eraser cap, and clip are all made of metal. The body and refill slides are plastic, but the finishes on all these materials match each other so well that it's difficult to tell that only part of the pen is metal.

It's easy to see a difference in the color between the grip section and the plastic body, but the color difference is complementary instead of being distracting or making the pen look/feel cheaper than it is. I understand why the entire pen isn't made of metal — this is still a fairly cheap multi pen, and using metal for everything would have increased the price and weight. But, I'm glad that the colors work so well together and aren't distracting. It's a bummer for me when you can obviously tell that one part of a pen is one material while the rest is something cheaper. That's not the case here!

Hidden under the top of the pen is a tiny eraser that can be deployed in emergency situations. Unlike most mechanical pencils with a tiny eraser, this isn't where you refill the pencil lead. The little eraser is replaceable, but there's no hole to the lead reservoir underneath it. To replace the lead, you unscrew the grip section from body, pull out the pencil refill, and insert the fresh pencil lead into the refill. Since these refill are so small, it doesn't hold many pieces of lead, but that's an acceptable trade-off for all the additional refill options it packs.

The eraser cap is a small piece that I worry will be easy to lose. Thankfully, Uni made this piece fit really snug on the top of the pen. It takes a good deal of precise effort to remove it when you want to use the eraser. It won't come off by accident, and I'm glad for it.

Writing with this pen is a great experience. Like all multi pens that pack more than three refills into the package, it's a wide diameter body. It won't fit everyone's hands or grip style, so I count myself lucky to be in the percentage that lends itself to this pen's size.

The knurled metal grip provides plenty of tactility and control when writing. For my grip style, it's really comfortable. I have medium-sized hands and a fairly standard tripod grip style. Another benefit of the metal grip versus the rubber-like material is that this one doesn't collect lint and dust!

At $27, this is one of the more premium Jetstream models, though you can spend even more if you want. There's an all-metal Jetstream Prime that costs $45, and that's the price I'd expect for an all-metal multi pen (at a minimum). Other brands offer premium level multi pens that cost more, and I think they are fairly popular. I really wish Uni would offer one or two premium models as well. The Jetstream Prime is a different body style. What I really want is a pen like the Jetstream 4&1 or 3&1 body, but with an all aluminum build. I'd gladly pay extra for this.

The included refills (besides the 0.5mm pencil module) are all 0.5mm in black, blue, green, and red. This pen uses the Uni SXR-80 refill, which are available in lots of tip sizes and colors, but are not compatible with D1 style refills.

I haven't found a perfect multi pen to date, but the Jetstream 4&1 Metal is definitely in my favorites list and one that I can easily recommend to anyone that's looking for a great ballpoint multi pen. If the dark green version doesn't suit your fancy, there's also silver, gunmetal gray, and pink gold.

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

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Posted on April 10, 2024 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Uni-Ball, Jetstream, Multi Pen, Pen Reviews.

Uni-Ball Signo 207 Gel Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold! This post contains affiliate links.)

Okay, look. Most of you probably already know the Uni-ball Signo 207, and if you don't know this pen, you should get to know this pen, and here's why.

Sometimes you just need to write something down.

I love all my fancy pens, but I love my basics, too. Gel pens were my gateway stationery to Pen Addict joy, and the Uni-Ball Signo is my favorite gel pen. Which is why, one morn a few weeks ago, I jokingly entered Brad's Twitch stream giveaway for this rainbow set of Signo 207’s. I rarely enter his giveaways, as I'm already spoiled, but I really do love these pens. He did say, upon seeing that I'd won them, that I would have to review them, but the joke's on him, because I already wanted to!

I'll start with my favorite thing about them. The ink. The Signo ink is archival--it's fade-proof, water-proof, and pigment-based, so it shows up bold even in light colors. And there are colors! This set comes in black, blue, light blue, green, orange, red, pink, and violet. Plenty of shades for practical use and for fun color-coded projects. You can even buy the ink refills (available in several tip sizes) to replace those you've inevitably used up, and the pen bodies are well-constructed enough to be refilled and reused.

The pen body is made from a sturdy, transparent plastic in the color of the ink it contains. That makes it easy to grab the color you want from a pen case. The clip is sturdy, but flexible enough to be useful. The click mechanism, which is charmingly in a bubble of colorful plastic, is substantial and satisfyingly fidgety. The white plastic (some models come in other colors) nose cone unscrews to access the refill.

The only pet peeve I have about this particular pen model is the grip. The textured rubber grip is, itself, great. But there's one section of it that's smooth, aligned with the clip. Sensory-wise, that lack of consistency drives me a bit crazy. The texture doesn't match, which is a distraction. Is that a nitpick? You betcha! But it's all I've got.

These pens are also on the more expensive side for gel pens, coming in at about $2 per pen, though price varies depending on where you look. That's not a lot compared to the snazzy pens that share my pen case, but it's more than many other gel pens out there. And worth it, in my opinion.

This is the pen I reach for when I need to write a check, sign a receipt, add some color to my planner, jot a super fast note, lend to a bystander, or do pretty much anything that I wouldn't do with a fountain pen. I particularly love the saturated color variety in this set, which ranges from business to neon--just like I do.

(Uni-ball North America provided these pens at no charge to The Pen Addict.)

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