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Pilot Precise V7 RT Needle Tip
This pen gets an A. I tested the blue needle tip.
I really love this pen. I am normally not a fan of needle tips, but this one has caught my attention.
It produces an even, skip free line. The movement over paper is reasonably smooth for a needle tip. The grip is rubberized and is comfortable. The barrel length is standard. The pen styling is fairly conservative and reasonable for the office. The blue ink, which I tested, is a dark purple-blue. It gives the writing some gravitas.
The ink is watery, but the needle tip minimizes bleed through the paper. It’s a water-based ink and washed off neatly from your hands.
I do have some concerns about the durability of the needle tip. I’ll be testing it pretty vigorously, so we’ll see if those concerns are valid.
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Bic Triumph 730R 0.7mm
The Bic Triumph get an A-.
So, I am not as enamored with this pen as many other bloggers. I tested the 0.7 roller in black.
Let’s talk about some of the good things about the pen. First, the ink flow is smooth and consistent. It lays down a nice thick powerful line. Second, the pen is absolutely gorgeous. It looks great. It’s the perfect length. It’s got nice metal accents and a sturdy clip. Third, it’s refillable. That’s a nice touch. Fourth, the pen is super smooth on paper. The pen accelerates nicely as I write.
But, it’s got a bunch of weaknesses. First, the ink just bleeds right through paper. A pen this expensive just shouldn’t bleed so easily. They should be using a thicker liquid ink preparation. Second, the barrel is too narrow. This pen becomes uncomfortable will long use. Third, the grip is plastic and not the nice rubber grips that premium pens should always have.
I want to like this pen. I will try the 0.5 needle tip in the future and report back. I also want to see this pen in an RT version with a rubber grip. There is a lot of potential here. With a little refinement, the Bic Triumph could become one of the world’s great pens (in the same class as the Jetstream and the G2).
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Bic Z4 Rollerball
The Bic Z4 0.7 Roller is a B+.
I tested the green roller from Staples. It was on sale for Fifty cents.
I like the pen. The ink flow is pretty consistent. It skips slightly if I try to write fast. If I write at regular speed, though, the line is even and skipfree.
The ink is watery. It easily bleeds through the paper. It gets absorbed quickly enough that I think that lefties could use the pen without any problem.
One nice feature of the pen is that it glides smoothly over the paper. It is not scratchy at all.
The pen is shorter than most. It feels great in the hand. It has thick rubber grip over the barrel.
Overall a pretty decent pen.
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http://bictriumph.com
I’m very eager to try this pen out.
