If you are anything like me, a trip to the store is not complete without a visit to the office supply aisle. The majority of the time there is nothing new, and on the rare occasions there is, it is coming home with me - for better, or for worse.
I was hoping the Uni-ball Insight would land in the “for better” category, but my expectation was it would fit squarely in the “for worse” bucket. At the risk of ruining the rest of the review I’ll go ahead and cop out right now: It is somewhere in the middle.
The good: Like most of Uni-ball’s products, the design and overall quality are top notch. I rarely have any issues with their pens and the Insight is no exception. The barrel is solid, lightweight, and comfortable to hold. It also uses Super Ink technology, which means the ink is archival quality.
The average: Shockingly, the Insight is also “refillable”. I use quotes around the term because one, I haven’t laid eyes on any refills, and two, like the Uni-Ball Vision Elite, you are replacing at least 50% of the entire pen (ink cartridge, grip, and tip) with each refill. I don’t see how that is good value.
The bad: While I do appreciate the Super Ink technology, the ink flow of the Insight is too heavy for me. In my book, this is a redesign of the base-level Uni-ball Vision, a pen that I don’t care for at all. It bleeds profusely on most standard papers, and is overall a messy writer. If you enjoy the standard Uni-ball Vision then you will like the Insight very much. But, if you are looking for a liquid ink Uni-ball pen that performs better than average, skip these and go straight for the Uni-Ball Vision Elite.
One pricing note: The black and blue dozens at Amazon run in the $15 range, but for some reason the red dozen is only $8. If you are a heavy red pen user that is an excellent deal. The Insight is certainly worth that.
