New Premium Line of TUL Pens from OfficeMax — and GIVEAWAY

Four for one special!!

This review would have been brought to you sooner, but someone decided to make vanish my original sample package. Whoever you are, I hope you weren’t expecting pens in that box. I hope whenever you so much as look at a pen you are filled with an unending sense of guilt that haunts you all your days.

ADMIT YOUR GUILT OR BE CURSED FOREVER, MYSTERY THIEF

So, I too was contacted by OfficeMax to see if I’d be interesting in taking their new premium line of pens for a whirl. As always, I am thrilled for the opportunity to test some new pens. Also, something about a giveaway? We’ll come back to that.

From top to bottom: marker pen, rollerball, gel pen, ballpoint

I like the general design of this TUL line (confession: I am not at all acquainted with the previous line so I can’t really compare the two). These pens don’t try too hard; they adhere to basic, minimalist designs that stick to a general theme while giving each pen a unique look.

The ovals are another good element

Design-wise, the gel pen is my favorite. I like the long grip, and the color accents are just enough to let you know what the ink color is while not detracting from the simple, stolid office theme. The capped pens (marker and rollerball) have hard plastic that I’m afraid might be prone to crack over time (similar to the Platinum Preppy). The ballpoint would be better with a longer grip section, like the gel pen, but I’ll survive.

Here’s where all the important parts come in.

The marker pen is smooth, and the only bleedthrough I had was on the drawing portion. The rollerball was a little inconsistent (or character-filled, if you prefer), and was probably my least favorite of the bunch just due to that and the occasional odd sensation of the ball rolling not quite properly. If I’m going to have character-filled lines, I prefer to have them coming from a fountain pen, when I can have whatever color ink I want. The gel pen was smooth, bright, and consistent, all good. But my favorite, by and far, was the ballpoint pen. It was dark and smooth to the point that it took me completely by surprise. I think I’ve finally found a pen that performs close enough to a Jetstream that I can keep on my desk, but not be too distraught if the pen walks away.

If I ran an office, I’d order them

Suggested retail prices range from $1.99 (single pens) to $20.99 (12-pack). Not bad at all.

TUL Marker Pen from OfficeMax

TUL Rollerball Pen from OfficeMax

TUL Gel Pen from OfficeMax

TUL Ballpoint Pen from OfficeMax

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THE GIVEAWAY RULES!

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Now for the part you’ve been looking forward to: the giveaway! OfficeMax is generously providing a sample set directly to one lucky reader here. Your rules as follows:

1. To enter, just leave one comment on this post any time between now and Monday, December 10th 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time. Sadly, this contest is only open to U.S. residents.
2. One winner will be picked at random from the comments section of this post. Make any kind of comment—but only one comment! Comments in excess of one shall be deleted. The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on. Because my blog doesn’t seem to number the comments on its own yet, and I STILL don’t have time/the willpower to fix it, I will probably just hand-number all the entries in Photoshop like I did here because this is the kind of solution that sane people come up with. The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winner.
3. I’ll post the contest winner on Tuesday, December 11th. Winners will have one week to email me. There’s a link to my email at the top of the right sidebar. I’ll forward your info to OfficeMax so they can send you your pens!

Good luck, and thanks again to OfficeMax!

Disclaimer: I received the TUL products mentioned in this post from OfficeMax in order to facilitate my review. The items featured in this giveaway are also provided by OfficeMax and will be sent to the winner directly. Opinions expressed in this post are 100% my own. I have not been compensated for this post in any other way.

Dong-A Cronix Ballpoint Pen with Hybrid Ink – 1.0 mm – Black Ink

See that shadow line at the top? That’s from using a Rhodia Dot Grid notebook, writing several reviews in advance while out and about, having to fold back the review to start the next one…so inconvenient.

Any time hybrid ballpoint ink pops up, I’ve got to check it out. Thanks to JetPens for providing this sample!

Your basic clicky ballpoint

The Cronix is a no-nonsense situation: monochrome, with a semi-translucent smoky dark gray barrel and lightly accented gray grip.

There you go, that’s the only decoration you get

It’s simple. It works.

The final word is how it writes, and how it stacks up in the super-smooth pantheon. It’s pretty dark, but not every stroke achieves maximum darkness, with the overall effect being writing that isn’t as dark as the full capability of the ink (such as the darkness achieved on multiple passes, when coloring something in).

I really hope they come out with smaller tip sizes. I am not used to non-microtip pens nowadays.

Smoothness, however, is pretty good. I do sense some rare occasions of a sort of microhesitation, as if at times debris or a smidgen of gunked ink has to pass clear of the movement of the ball, but overall the smoothness is satisfactory. The Cronix isn’t going to unseat such kings as the Jetstream or the Vicuna, but it certainly beats out a regular ballpoint pen.

It’s like the Jetstream’s less-cool little brother or cousin or something. Forever doomed to live in the shadow of a greater pen…

If you’re looking for a down-low understated-looking super-smooth ballpoint pen, and for whatever reason the Jetstream just doesn’t do it for you (maybe you hate Uni-ball or kittens or something, I don’t know), take a look at the Dong-A Cronix.

Dong-A Cronix Ballpoint Pen with Hybrid Ink – 1.0 mm – Black Ink at JetPens

Zebra Airfit LT Ballpoint Pen with Push Grip – 0.7 mm – Pearl Green Body – Black Ink

One day I will collect all my best doodling ballpoint pens in one place and draw myself into oblivion

Ten points to Zebra, for making a “feminine” version of an already gender-ambiguous pen, without offending the entire human race. Many thanks to JetPens for providing this sample!

Before I froth and rave about its predecessor, let’s evaluate the Airfit LT on its own merits

It’s a standard-sized, lightweight plastic body, simplicity done well. You’ve got 3 colors, nicely balanced—mostly pearlescent mint green, with main accents translucent-clear, and just the right amount of silver shine.

It sparkles! Like fairy dust magic! …or vampires, apparently. I know when I look at sparkles, the first thing I think of is the blood-sucking undead.

I wasn’t expecting a ballpoint, for whatever reason (the reason being that I didn’t pay enough attention when reading the product description). I’m curious why, if the original Zebra Airfit is a beefed-up version of the Sarasa Push Clip, they wouldn’t outfit the ballpoint version of the Airfit with a Surari refill.

Not pictured: the Surari refill that SHOULD be the standard for the Airfit LT

It makes a difference. While this pen is decent for doodling, for writing I’m not thrilled. Surari smoothness in this pen body would be thrilling, as would having a deluxe version of the Surari (comparable to the Jetstream, which has quite the snazzy deluxe version). It’s a good pen, but it could be better.

AIRFIT BATTLE! Featuring adorable cell phone charm by Chiou!

A quick rundown of their differences: the Airfit LT is obviously thinner, and slightly shorter, with a smaller grip section. The big advantage in the LT’s design: much smoother transition between the grip and the nose cone. Very well done, and undoubtedly superior to the abrupt stop between those elements on the original Airfit. Now, what the LT gets wrong:

Pretty much this entire area here

I’m biased. I’m a HUGE fan of the clip on the Zebra Sarasa Push Clip. Really disappointed it didn’t put in an appearance on a pen of the same size. I’m willing to sacrifice some of the minimalist appeal for a clip that functional. Especially if it has accommodations for an adorable little cell phone charm.

As far as refills go, I have been unable to get the Sarasa Push Clip, Uni Signo & Jetstream multipen refills, and a handful of assorted other refills to fit, though I have not yet had a chance to try the Surari refills I have. Will have to update that later today.

While it’s a good pen, I still prefer the original Zebra Airfit (which fits Sarasa Push Clip refills and Jetstream RT refills). But I’m a sucker for that clip. If you hate the Push Clip’s clip, and want that neato airfit grip without the oversized barrel, then this is probably the pen you’ve been looking for!

Zebra Airfit LT Ballpoint Pen with Push Grip – 0.7 mm – Pearl Green Body – Black Ink at JetPens

Ohto Pieni Wooden Body Mini Needle-Point Ballpoint Pen – 0.5 mm – Yellow Body

New drawing buddy??

Micro-tip ballpoint in a nigh-irresistible range of colors? Why thank you, and thanks to JetPens for providing this sample.

Looks like wood, smells like wood, probably tastes like wood—but I’ll leave that for you to verify.

Love the look—simple, bright colors with a 1950s-esque font.

Let’s eat an apple pie and worry about communists.

But practically speaking we’ve got some problems.

Why would I want a clean pen, huh? WHY WOULD I WANT TO HAVE NICE THINGS?

The blobs stay off the page, but inexplicably show up all over my hand and the body of the pen, and do not seem at all interested in being cleaned off. And though I like the appearance of the wooden faux-pencil body (elementary chic), it’s a bit thin, and not particularly comfortable to hold.

All it needs is a few teeth marks and it’ll be a true grade-school throwback.

Until I started using the Palomino Blackwing and now the Ohto Pieni, I had forgotten how sensitive wood is. It picks up dings and scratches like it’s some kind of civic duty. I haven’t had this pen long, and already it’s looking beat up.

It’s a needle! It’s a ball! No, it’s a needle-tip ballpoint!!!

Gold stars to the max for the drawing performance of the Ohto Pieni. Absolutely love it for sketching. For writing though, it’s not going to be my go to—even on smooth paper it doesn’t feel quite smooth and fast enough—it’s good, but I have unrealistically high standards for ballpoint pens (thanks a lot, Jetstream). The performance is good, but it isn’t superior. And sometimes the plunger rattles ever so slightly when you write. Just so you know.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

I don’t regret acquiring this pen, but unless I find it in some uncontrollably irresistible color, I doubt I’ll get another. Thanks again to JetPens for the sample!

Ohto Pieni Wooden Body Mini Needle-Point Ballpoint Pen – 0.5 mm – Yellow Body at JetPens

Uni-ball Jetstream Color Series Ballpoint Pens – 0.5mm – Light Blue & Purple

Angels are weeping right now, Uni-ball, and they are not tears of joy.

I’m not particularly subtle when it comes to my feelings about the Jetstream line of pens. I constantly shoehorn in mentions of them. I rank them somewhere between a writing utensil and a god (perhaps on par with Hercules, or something that writes in a combination of butter and black gold). I hold the Jetstream to a high standard, because that’s what the Jetstream delivers. That said, I’m not sure these are Jetstream pens.

They are perhaps wolves in pens’ clothing

They look like Jetstream pens. Exactly like the black 0.5mm Jetsteam I so dearly love—that same slick and sweeping modern design, attractively and accurately color-coded to match the ink inside.

The purple seems to be coming out too dark in several of these pictures. This is a more accurate representation of what this purple looks like. Pretty close to what Wikipedia terms “Mardi Gras” purple

Really spot-on with the color. You have no idea how much I appreciate that.

This is shattering every fundamental truth I ever knew about the universe, Uni-ball. The sky is blue, the earth orbits around the sun, Pilot G2s are generally pretty terrible, and the Jetstream writes like an oil-based miracle. THAT IS THE WAY THE WORLD IS SUPPOSED TO WORK

Let’s not kid ourselves—even on Clairefontaine paper there, this ink performance isn’t up to snuff. The tip is an absolute mess, and I think that’s where all the problems are coming from.

CRUSTED WITH PROBLEMS

Picture it: the ink gums up at the tip, leading to blobs. Blobs that don’t get transferred to the page lead to slight, jerky resistance as they get worked around the surface of the ballpoint, and all this inconsistency and uneven distribution of ink leads to the occasional ghosting.

These two are up to no good

It wants to be smooth, really it does. But something about the formulation for colorful inks is having this terrible side effect. This is a ballpoint pen. Maintenance is not part of the repertoire for a ballpoint pen this inexpensive. I shouldn’t have to be cleaning off the tip of a ballpoint pen. I’d also like to note that in handwriting this post, the blue pen just started having the pen equivalent of agonal breathing, and I had to switch back to the purple.

I thought maybe using bottom-barrel paper might bring out some kind of desperate last-minute hat-trick-miracle, but no.

What is going on here, Uni-ball? Whatever it is, it’s not okay, and should NOT be called a Jetstream.

Take those nametags off right now, you rank impostors!

You can either find a way to fix this ink, or don’t dare call this thing a Jetstream. Your choice.

EVERYTHING IS A LIIIIIIIE

So, where do we go from here, my fellow penficionados? I suggest stockpiling canned goods, and buy up more REAL Jetstreams.

Real Jetstream Ballpoint Pens at JetPens

But it’s your money, you can do whatever you want.
Uni-ball Jetstream Color Series Ballpoint Pen – 0.5 mm – Light Blue Body – Light Blue Ink at JetPens
Uni-ball Jetstream Color Series Ballpoint Pen – 0.5 mm – Purple Body – Purple Ink at JetPens

P.S. Many thanks to JetPens for providing these sample pens free of charge!

Pentel RSVP Ballpoint Pen Fine Point – Black Ink and Blue Ink

Classic

Back before I discovered such things as JetPens, good paper, and super-smooth ballpoint pens, I was utterly addicted to the Pentel RSVP and never left the house without my Moleskine and at least one Pentel RSVP in my pocket.

THOOOOSE WERE THE DAAAYS….AND YOU KNEW WHO YOU WERE THEN……GOIYLS WERE GOIYLS AND PENS WERE PENS……

The RSVP is the signature pen I think of when I think of the name “Pentel”. When they went on sale I would buy them by the dozen. I’m still finding Pentel RSVPs in nearly every drawer I open.

Nothing fancy, but who needs fancy when these babies would go on sale five for a dollar?

The design is straightforward, yet appealing. I was always particularly fond of the fine point, because it had silver lettering on the barrel (looks nice, no?) These pens were durable, yet replaceable, and fun to chew on (don’t worry, I don’t chew on pens anymore).

This end needs some work

You may notice I keep slipping into the past tense when talking about the RSVP, and here’s why: writing quality. This pen has fallen out of my favor due to constant ink issues. My old Moleskines are filled with blobs and smears. A serious writing session would leave the side of my hand riddled with ink.

There’s even a big ink smear on the nose cone. What a mess.

Comparing standard office pens (the kind corporations tend to order), I’d take the RSVP any day, blobs and all, over a Pilot G2 or a Bic stick. But this isn’t a go-to pen for me. Even Pentel’s own Vicuna ink is much smoother, darker, and less blobby; put that ink in the RSVP body, and you’d have quite the top-notch office pen. I daresay it could even put up a fair fight against a Jetstream, especially if such a RSVP-Vicuna hybrid clocked in at a cheaper price.

All aboard the nostalgia express

If you’re ordering for your office and Jetstreams aren’t an option, then go for the RSVP. Otherwise, they’re not worth getting more of (unless you’re feeling particularly nostalgic), and you should probably find some underprivileged youths to give the ones you’ve already got.

Pentel RSVP Ballpoint Pens at JetPens

Also found just about anywhere pens are sold

Pilot Acroball Smooth Writing Ballpoint Pen – 0.7 mm – Soft Blue Body – Black Ink

There is a significant possibility I would have preferred to be sleeping when I did these doodles

Here we have another upstart to challenge the throne of The Realm of Dark & Smooth, currently ruled by King Jetstream (attended by a noble court of The Earl of Vicuna, Lord Surari, The Duchess of Write Dudes Super Smooth Ballpoints…etc.).

Of noble bearing, with a hint of tire treads

My feelings about this color are not exactly a secret, so any opinion I have on the design of this pen will be prejudiced by my overwhelming feelings about the excruciating loveliness of this color.

Ignore me, it's the turquoise talking

I much prefer the translucent blue/shiny silver combination to the opaque matte grey-silver/solid-and-slightly-different shade of soft blue. Unfortunately, this pen features both of those color combinations, and it’s a bit discordant. Not so jarringly that it makes the pen ugly, but just enough to register a subtle level of subconscious dissatisfaction. While we’re on pen psychology, this pen has a firm and satisfying click to the knock mechanism, but be warned—it is louder than the Jetstream (a consideration for librarians and people who need to write around fainting goats).

Like tire treads, or enlarged candy sprinkles doing a choreographed line dance

The grip is functional, and the rows of little ovals, while perhaps not being the most aesthetically enjoyable, provide good traction. Maybe one day I’ll care more about ordinary grips, and have more things to say about them. Today will not be that day.

I wonder how gross this would look under a microscope

For whatever reason, I was really struck by the smell of this ink when I was doing the doodles for the writing sample. Scribbling on a piece of paper right now, though, I have to put my nose right on the paper to smell anything, and it doesn’t smell too far out of the ordinary.

[In the interest of full disclosure, I'd like to note that I've just now experienced a nosebleed, though it probably had more to do with the unseasonably cold, dry weather than me sniffing Pilot Acroball ink. Nevertheless, I'm going to cancel further attempts to smell any inks tonight, and will not be making a smell comparison between various super-smooth ballpoint pens.]

Writing-wise, there’s still no competition. The Jetstream is far and away the best, and will rightfully remain ruler of the realm. In terms of smooth writing, from smoothest to least smooth, I’d rank Jetstream > Vicuna > Surari > Write Dudes Super Smooth Ballpoint > Acroball. The Acroball just has a slight but perceptible drag, particularly noticeable when I switch between various members of the court. And though I wouldn’t use this pen for drawing (look at those blobs up there), for writing the lines are dark and the ink is consistent.

What's the lowest title in the court? The Jack? The Ten of Clubs? That's what the Acroball is.

Even though the Acroball is inferior to every other entry I’ve tried in the super-smooth category, I’m glad to see it on the market. I want to see every pen company roll out their own take on super-smooth (Dear Lamy, you’re next. Please make something to replace that awful Pico cartridge. Thank you), and then I want to see those models continuously improving in the fierce heat of pen competition! Everyone would win. Let’s make it happen.
Pilot Acroball Smooth Writing Ballpoint Pen – 0.7 mm – Soft Blue Body – Black Ink at JetPens

Lamy Pico Pocket Size Extendable Ballpoint Pen – 0.7 mm Medium Point – Black Body

Just like a BIC! For once, I mean that as a compliment; BICs are great for sketching and subtle shading.

I was originally hesitant to get the Lamy Pico—this was back before I totally lost my mind and started dropping some serious Jacksons on fountain pens. Even now, I am reluctant to break the fifteen dollar barrier on any non-fountain pen. But motorcycle trips are special occasions, and in the name of finding the perfect motorcycle pen I finally bought a Lamy Pico back in May of last year (when the Lamy Pico was $10 cheaper).

The Thomas Jefferson doubloon and 1 euro cent piece will be my new references of measure for pens

Design-wise, a thousand gold stars for Lamy. Sleek matte black finish, compact body with a thick barrel (too many compact pens tend to favor needle-thin chopstick bodies), nice weight, and no clip (clips are bulky and can get caught on things in my pocket). Originally I didn’t like that the Pico had no clip, but I’ve come around.

Why does this have to jut out so impudently in what would otherwise be such a streamlined casing?

The only design feature I’m currently not thrilled with is the logo. I stand by what I suggested previously: make it flush with the body, recessed into the metal, and make it out of a powerful magnet so I can attach it to various metal bits on my motorcycle. Or refrigerator.

As is, I have to be mindful of where the logo is (when writing without gloves on), lest I have it pressing into my skin. The argument for the raised logo would be that it acts to stop the pen from rolling away (unless the pen has some momentum, then it’s avalanche straight down desk mountain). However, I’m not intending to use this pen on tabletops, so that’s not one of my concerns.

You know what would be better than a Lamy Pico? If I had some scrambled eggs right now. But I can't very well scramble up some eggs AND type these captions, now can I??

Generally in my off-bike, deskside tests, I’ve been happy with the deployment mechanism. Occasionally it’ll still stick; you just need to push back down and it’ll keep going. Would be a lot better if this never happened at all, or happened so rarely that it wouldn’t be worth mentioning. Oh well! Doubt the ten dollar price hike has fixed this problem.

Paper enemy #1

And here we have what is hands down the biggest problem with the Pico: the refill. Maybe Jetstream set the bar too high for me, so when I fork over the dough for a nice ballpoint pen that isn’t as smooth as butter and black as the deep voids of space, I’m disappointed.

Dear Lamy Pico refill: No, we will never be friends. Because if you weren't so awful, you really wouldn't be the Lamy Pico refill, would you?

Didn’t help that I got an extra particularly especially shoddy refill the first time around (I bought another at my local pen store, and got to test it before I took it home). It writes well enough—takes a little squiggle to warm up if it’s been sitting around for a while, but otherwise pretty consistent. No egregious or particularly obvious skips, blobs, or inky aberrations with my new refill. If we had a scale, with absolutely horrible pens at the bottom (I dare not name names) and Jetstream pens at the top, I’d give this a 5.5, maybe a 6. Just barely above average, but I want smoother. I want darker. I DO NOT WANT TO BE REMINDED OF PENS SO CHEAP THAT PEOPLE PRACTICALLY PAY YOU TO WALK OFF WITH THEM WHEN I USE THIS PEN (no offense, BIC). I still haven’t found a refill that fits. Monteverde claims its mini pen refills fit Lamy brand pens, but the Pico must be an exception (or Monteverde must be a pack of liars). It fits into the pen just fine, deploys and there it is, but as soon as you press it to paper it goes right back up into the pen. Useless. If anyone can find a better refill for this pen, let me know. (Psst, Uni-ball. You would make a killing off of me if you sold refills that fit various other pen bodies. Like this one)

Bottom line: with the price hike and the mediocre refill, I can’t say that the Pico is worth it. The only justifications for getting the Pico are probably either that you want a compact ballpoint pen with a wide body, or you’ve got money to burn and are intrigued by the deployment mechanism. Or if you’re trying to buy every pen ever. I’ve warmed up to mine, but unless you’re flush with cash or being given this as a gift, there are much better pens you could be getting with that money.

Lamy Pico Pocket Size Extendable Ballpoint Pens at JetPens

Zebra Arbez Piirto Ballpoint Pen – 0.7 mm – Black Body with Blue Accent – Black Ink

Ballpoints are almost like pencils. They sketch almost like pencils. Minus the erasing part.

Threw this pen in originally to round out an order—I’d been eyeing it for a while, but wasn’t breaking down doors to get my hands on it. The design is intriguing, and as with most Zebra products, the price is great.

I don't interact with a lot of ice picks, so I can't attest to the resemblance of the Piirto to implements of wintry destruction

I’m glad I bought it! The design is right up my aesthetic alley. Also, reminiscent of IKEA, no? I know Finnish isn’t Swedish, but they’re right next to each other, right? Any craving of Swedish meatballs is therefore justified, right?

YOU GUYS, "ARBEZ" IS "ZEBRA" BACKWARDS. I ONLY NOTICED THIS YESTERDAY. I am probably the only one late to this party. Also, according to sources (Google), "Piirto" means "overhead" in Finnish? Significance of this: unknown.

The only thing I’m not sold on is the clip design. It looks cool—

So streamlined!

But functionally, at least for people who like to clip their pens on things, this pen leaves a bit to be desired—like the ability to lay flat against a book.

Lanyards---good. Hardcover books---bad. Softcover books---getting bent.

For me, it’s not a game killer. The number of times I clip a pen to a hardback book can pretty much be counted on one finger. But if you want to clip this to books, reconsider. It won’t end well for you. Get a different pen.

There's only so many exciting things you can say about ballpoint ink. Mostly things like "this is a Jetstream" and "this isn't a Jetstream," and "this is very nearly but not quite like a Jetstream"

You twist the tip to deploy (I’m ambivalent on this feature), and the pen you get is a nice, standard workhorse ballpoint. This is the kind of pen that should move in to replace typical, uninspired-looking stick ballpoints. If you want your business to look just a little more modern and with it? Toss your BIC sticks and get Piirto pens instead. My only warning is to watch where you keep these, as the plastic is potentially delicious to cats (my cat, anyway).

Zebra Arbez Piirto Ballpoint Pen – 0.7 mm – Black Body with Blue Accent – Black Ink at JetPens

Yoropen Standard Ballpoint Pen

Looks just like it was done with a normal pen

My fascination with peculiar instruments of Ergonomics continues unabated, the more visually alarming the better.

Alarming, confusing, baffling, what's the difference

I found this Yoropen during my never-ending quest to discover every pen hidden in my local pen shop, and I’ve not been disappointed with the find.

The body is all plastic (they make pricier metal models), and I LOVE the design. It’s weird. The colors are fantastic. I mean, just look at it.

This pen probably has more in common with some species of tropical, exotic bird than it does with other pens

The grip is very firm—more squishy than hard plastic, but not by much. It can be adjusted; there are three flat planes, with a kind of ridge between each one, and these can be adjusted somewhat so that the planes are angled more to your liking. The Yoropen website claims this feature is made to account for left- and right-handedness. Sure, why not.

Am I doing it right??

As to how the pen is meant to be held, if I understand the website diagrams correctly (I probably don’t), it seems like this pen is NOT designed for the “ideal” pliers grip…seems to me like it’s designed for a grip more like my own natural bizarro grip. I’m not complaining. But I’m not sure how normal grip people will take to this pen.

I'm also not sure if they considered what the cap would look like on the other end. Metaphors fail me. Other strange objects yet to come must be invented before any metaphors can be made

Yoropen also claims this design allows you to easily see what you’re writing. I can’t say that this was a problem I had that needed to be addressed, but sure, it is easy to see what I’m writing and what I’ve written when using the Yoropen.

I didn't think pens were capable of undulation; now I know better

It writes very nicely—smooth, fairly dark, no blobbing or skipping. It’s fun and it’s comfortable. I think I could write a while with this pen—it doesn’t take much pressure to write, it’s lightweight, moves easily, and is suited to my grip.

Yoropen writhing in the dulcet sea of a cheap turquoise scarf

My only complaint is that I wish the grip were a little softer. If this grip were made with Uni-ball’s alpha gel—man we would be in SERIOUS business. I’d be selling those pens like hotcakes on a street corner. … Does anyone besides McDonald’s even sell anything called ‘hotcakes’ anymore? I digress. Maybe ergonomic pens are gimmicky, but I really like the Yoropen.

It would not take a great stretch of the imagination to picture this pen crawling toward you like an inchworm

The bad news: I can’t find a good link online to buy this particular model of Yoropen. I’ve found a smattering of options among the very expensive and the very ugly (overbranded, all-pink barrels, anyone? Put your hand down), but no extant models being sold from this particular design line. The best I can tell you is to check the store locator on Yoropen’s website, and hope you might be able to find one in your local shop. Good luck!