I should have just made this page all sketches and leprechauns. Who needs words, anyway?
It is apparently disclaimer week for me, because I have a disclaimer for this post as well: I am currently traveling (probably at a speed of around 65mph), and had to do my pen pictures from my cozy little bus seat. So, if the picture quality is somewhat lacking this week, please blame the poor suspension system of this vehicle I’m sardined into.
Black! Red! Green! Purple (I swear it's purple)! Blue! Also...Maryland? Probably Maryland.
I picked up the 5 pack of these (for once, a set of pens easily available at probably any major office supply retailer but NOT on JetPens) so we can get all the colors out of the way in a single review. I loved drawing with this pen–ink flow was perfect, though when writing I did feel some slight friction drag. This might be a left handed thing, since I’m pushing the pen across the page rather than pulling, but this is why buttery-smooth writing pens make such a big difference to me. I also didn’t have any problem with ink getting picked up off the page, carried around, and deposited elsewhere on the page via the side of my hand.
You can easily tell the pen colors apart based on the body. This is the only nice thing I have to say about the body.
My only problem with this pen (aside from the slight (ever so slight) drag while writing) is the body. Look at it. It looks like the 1990s distilled into a single writing instrument. I mean literally, I’m pretty sure I have some of my mom’s POWERFUL BUSINESSWOMAN pens from the 1990s, among those several old Precise V5 or V7 pens, and they look exactly the same. This is a cylinder with a clip on it. It also has no grip, for those of you who find grips crucial. This model is primarily for the purpose of having a pen that makes its marks well, but has such a cheap aesthetic that, if it walks out of your pen cup in the hands of a coworker, it’s no big deal.
IT'S WHAT'S INSIDE YOU THAT COUNTS. BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP. Except with pens. Being a pen is like being in a beauty pageant that never ends.
There is one design element I like: the colored tips. Those are pretty neat-looking.
My judgments against this pen are completely superficial, which is good–I feel like a lackluster exterior is much easier to fix than a pen that looks neat but writes like crap. And I know there are several other Precise V5 models–I think I’ve seen a nicer looking retractable version on the shelves that would be worth checking out. As long as it writes as nicely as this model. But that will have to be another review!
Ah I love the V5s. I’ve had my first one sometime during the early 90′s and fell in love with them. They haven’t changed over the years though I believe the plastic is a bit cheaper from what I remember.
I think they are one of the few really good pens that you can buy about anywhere. Them and the G2′s of course.
[...] Pilot Precise V5-Extra Fine in 5 Colors – No Pen Intended [...]
These look exactly the same as the ”Hi-tecpoint” that we get in Australia.
A great pen to draw with, as the flow is spot on and the slight flexibility in the stem is far nicer than rigid pens (and this is from a light touch user.)
My only problem is finding them now as ‘Artline’ have swamped the market.