Tag Archives: pens

MATINAE PENS – Pilot Acroball, this is it

I had to go there because it was highly rated in some review that was based on some reviews that were on that gigantic online retailer’s site. Where I went was to the Pilot Acroball 1.0 mm medium ballpoint pen.

The package said incredible smooth ✅, vivid ink colors ✅ striking good looks and an effortless writing experience? Let’s not get carried away.

The grip on this is outstanding. Made of textured, curved rubber it was comfortable on the achiest of arthritic hand days.

The clicker is the clickiest, i.e. the thrust mechanism seems solid and unlikely to fail for before the ink runs out.

Then pen is nice-looking with a colored gel like barrel that lets you see its parts

The question as always with the ballpoint pen is does it pass the blob test?

Blue on the far right should be an indication.

From here it looks nice. On further inspection…

This Pilot Acroball performs well in short bursts of writing like that above. For journal writing, the pen becomes more blobalicious, not so much so that I wouldn’t recommend it though. Rating 3.5🖊 of 5.

If you’re a Pilot Acroball user, let me know know your experience in the comments.

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MATINAE PENS – A Lightweight

I’m starting to feel a way about these ballpoint pens. The latest entry is the Zebra Z Grip Plus 1.0 ballpoint.

The clicker is nice, sturdy and doesn’t give indication that it will fail any time soon. The grip is really nice, a soft ridged-rubber with nice placement. One day, when not ashy, I’ll put a hand in there to demo.

This pen is a little light in the fanny for my taste. Big Mama likes a pen with a little heft to it. This felt fragile but appears to be a solidly built plastic barrel.

And the writing of it all???? It’s okay, the flow is fairly smooth but as noted in the photo, there are some skips. The ink blobs I guess are a thing with ballpoint 1.0s a fine tip may yield different results.

Overall the Z Grip is serviceable for jotting down notes and journal writing, not so much if the written product is to be distributed. Rating: 3 of 5

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MATINAE PENS – Redemption Maybe

Ballpoints might have been a wrap after the last fiasco. The PaperMate InkJoy 550 RT managed to save the category for me.

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The colors in the set of eight are bright and vibrant. The ballpoint is smooth and rolls over the paper like butter.

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The grip is a soft rubber that is comfortable in the fingers

This pen has the clickiest of clickers. There’s no mistaking whether the ballpoint is in or out.

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This set has graced many a journal page and looked good for the most part. However the final test revealed Les BLOBS.

They aren’t severe, certainly not enough for me to chuck them. In fact they are staying in the rotation because they are so buttery smooth.

The InkJoy 550 RT is a solid choice. If you rock this, let me know your experience in the comments.

Photos: MsThorns

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MATINAE Pens – Count Blobula

My favorite pen right now is by BIC so I decided to stretch out and try one of their ballpoints. Let me introduce to you Count Blobula, the BIC Atlantis.

So close but yet so far because there are some positives. The colors are brilliant and bright. The grip is a soft rubber that fits nicely in the fingers and it is positioned very well. However the ink blobs when writing are an absolute no go.

Also the clicker/thrust mechanism is “soft.” When pushing down on the clicker it is so soft that I had to look to make sure the actual tip was out and ready to write. Maybe this was a bad pack, I’m not sure. I am sure that no more coins will be spent on the BIC Atlantis.

Rated NOPE!

Photos and bad sketch: MsThorns

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MATINAE Pens – Uniball Signo

The first story I ever wrote was with a pen, one that had been laying around the house. I wrote that story at age seven or so and have been fascinated by, hoarded and yes used pens for writing ever since.

The technological age may have changed some of our writing behavior. This post was drafted and posted fully online. However those initial ideas, scribbles, doodles and journal writings are all handwritten. Because I love them so much, I figured why not use the digital form to write about the analog form.

This will be a series, or not. I’m not sure as yet but I have so many I figured I’d share with my fellow pen lovers, see what you’re writing with and hopefully have you comment as well. The first pen up is the Uniball Signo 207, .07 mm medium point gel pen.

I’ve written many a note, journal entry and various scribbles with Uniball Signos for a decade or more and the purple was blessed and highly favored in my stockpile. This year I actually purchased a multi-colored pack for writing in my journal and I love the line it makes and the colors but the build for me just doesn’t doesn’t work.

This pen has a long nose cone/tip which places the rubber grip a little to high up the barrel for my liking. The grip is a nice rubber with the little bumps on it that makes it even nicer to grip. The other rub for me is that the pen is a little narrow for my taste. I like something a tad wider for my long fingers to hold on to.

All in all, the pen writes beautifully, no skips and no blobs but the grip makes it a grab and go, quick note pen not one to write a bazillion words. Tell me what you think?

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