No words. Only ink. ...which makes words.
I realized yesterday that, as much as I make mention of how much I love Uni-ball’s Jetstream line of pens, I haven’t actually reviewed some of my favorite Jetstream pens (I’ve only reviewed the Jetstream color ink series blue-black thoroughly). Up until now, you have had to trust only my declarations of love without any evidence or overly-closeup pictures of pens. Let’s change that.
There it is, kids. The modern aesthetic. The perfect blend of fun and functionality. The pen that has been writing through your dreams, and into your heart.
WARNING: do not actually use a Jetstream pen to literally write into your heart. You may experience slight discomfort or death.
The design–oh boy. I love the design of this pen. I love the combination of curves, the swooping lines, the white-black-clear with metallic baby-grey-blue accents. The way this pen looks is due to the conscious effort of someone(s), somewhere(s), deciding that this pen should be more than just a pointy cylinder with a clip on the end. And I appreciate that. I think the effort of design really shines through on this pen, so, whoever you are that made this model of Jetstream look the way it does, thank you. I love it.
So fine, so smooth....one day, Casanova will be referred to as "the Jetstream of human beings."
Writing–compared to the larger nib sizes, the 0.5mm isn’t AS smooth–meaning that, instead of writing as smooth as liquid melted butter it writes as smooth as soft-but-not-totally-melted-yet butter. This is just an observation from having used the 0.5mm, 0.7mm, and 1.0mm Jetstreams. Bigger nib rolls a little more smoothly, but can also be a bit messier. But look, we’re reviewing the 0.5mm here so enough about those other nibs.
The amount of pressure required to make a line with this pen–and not just a line, but a good, dark line–is practically none. Writing is much more relaxing when you don’t have to grasp the pen as though for dear life and try to rip through the other side of the page from bearing down so hard. The ink flows, the pen glides, your hand can relax and still make words happen on the page.
The ink also dries very fast, or at least, does not leave wet blobs anywhere. I’ve had other ballpoint pens that would leave my hand spotted with ink after a writing session of dragging my hand across the page, but never with the Jetstream. The ink gets on the page and it stays there. Even trying to deliberately smudge a line immediately after making it, I only got a tiny bit to give the weensiest smudge. It’s barely even noticeable. THIS is what is ideal for lefties. I want a pen whose ink is set in stone within a second of putting it on the page. Jetstreams never made this promise, but it’s certainly what they deliver.
I believe the ink has some other fantastic properties to it–waterproof, fadeproof, some other fun stuff like that. Even if it didn’t, you already have a fantastic pen here. Everyone should own a Jetstream. Every office should stock Jetstream pens (instead of those awful Pilot G-2s, seeing how they are equivalent in price on the corporate supply website my office uses). Every ballpoint pen should be as good as this.
I dont think there is a better ballpoint pen. Certainly not one that can perform better.
Uni-ball Jetstream Ballpoint Pen – 0.5 mm – Basic Series – Black at JetPens
I couldn’t agree more with the details of your review. The Jetstream Sport is incredible in nearly every respect. I like to put the .5 mm refill in the black, capped version that is available at many office supply stores, too. The 3-color multi pen is also great. I use it for homework and editing…
Excellent post, as usual!
Your sketches and reviews are very interesting and enjoyable.
I agree with you for the most part on the Jetstream. In the past, I’ve sort of poo-pooed the Jetstream for not being completely waterproof. I guess as it turns out, on most paper it IS fundamentally waterproof, but there are some dyes that separate out, giving the text a bit of a halo. I was under the impression that the Zebra Surari fared better in this regard, but after a few recent water tests, it seems that they behave fairly similarly on most paper. They’re both far more water-resistant than my Hi-Tec-Cs and Sliccis, but not as waterproof as my Signo DXs (which look pretty much unaffected after a soak and rinse).
They are ballpoints and so I’ve found that they sometimes skip when starting like ballpoints and [rarely] glob ink or streak like ballpoints, but for the most part, the 0.5mm Jetstreams are pretty good, and a fair bit cleaner overall than the Suraris or the slightly larger Acroballs and Vicunas. This is especially the case if you have very small handwriting, which really emphasizes the limitations of thicker ballpoint inks.
I am sitting her with a Jetstream on my desk as I type, one of the lovely 1.0mm size and I agree with you. For a ballpoint pen it writes very smoothly. In fact, when I bought it I mistakenly believed it was a roller ball (which I prefer to ballpoints) but was pleasantly surprised when I realized it was a ballpoint pen. I write rather big too so I love the 1.0mm tip.
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