The Pilot VBall is a pen that has been around for years and has a large following. I know several readers would consider it one of their all-time favorites. What I don’t understand about the VBall is why isn’t it easier to find on store shelves? It is one of Pilot’s main pen lines, but I had to resort to Amazon to get a pack of my own to review. And I have had it on the radar for years.
Admittedly, I’m probably being too hard on Pilot. The VBall Grip and VBall Retractable are EVERYWHERE and use the same ink. I have used both of those pens, but I wanted the original VBall experience in the original VBall barrel design. Have you seen one of those on the shelf recently?
I settled for the VBall BeGreeN, which is a fine choice considering it is made from 81.6% recycled content. As happy as I am to be environmentally conscious, what I really wanted to know is how well the VBall writes.
I think my expectations were too high.
Liquid ink is challenging, especially in finer tip sizes. The VBall ink is wetter than I remember, more so than the VBall RT that I reviewed years ago. This causes my handwriting to not have the clean edge that gel or plastic tip pens provide.
When I bought this pen, I was hoping that it would find a place in my regular writing arsenal. Unfortunately it has been relegated to backup status.
