Pen #39.
Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.3mm European Color “Venet” Gel Pen

Another recent JetPens purchase, I grabbed this Hi-Tec-C in the European “Venet” (By the way, what exactly is “Venet”? I mean, it’s obviously a sea-green/blue-green, but what’s the USA equivalent? If you know, please leave a comment…) since it was on sale and I needed just a couple more items to fill out  my order.

The very first thing I noticed about this pen was the size of its tip. I was looking at it closely and I thought, “Well, that’s about the right size for a 0.3mm,” then I noticed (since I happen to be half-blind) that if I looked closer… “The tip seems to have a tip!” Needless to say, I was slightly amazed at how small the tip was on this pen. While it claims to be a 0.3mm, I believe it may actually be smaller (or at least it’s smaller than most of the other 0.3mm pens I have around).

So, putting pen to paper, I must say that my opinion of this pen is varied… The “venet” ink is an enticing color, but the size of the tip seems to stand in its way. This pen is so fine that I had to actually hold it a certain way (almost vertically) to get it to write, which as a left-handed slant writer is extremely uncomfortable… It took a moment for the tip/ink to “warm-up” and even then, the pen seems to lay down a spotty ink line at times (almost comparable to a ballpoint). Also, due to the tip being so fine, the Hi-Tec-C seems to almost dig into the paper (I was actually afraid of punching a hole in it a couple of times) and has a very scratchy feel while writing with it.

As for the aesthetics, the pen is relatively simple in design. The cap fits firmly on top of the pen, actually clicking on. The barrel is transparent, allowing you to see the ink supply (and judging by the tip size, this thing might never run out of ink), and has a gnurled plastic grip, which is comfortable enough, but still not as good as a rubber grip.

2.5 out of 5 stars…