Bic Triumph 537RT 0.7mm Retractable Gel Pen – Black, Blue, and Red

Pen #58.
Bic Triumph 537RT 0.7mm Retractable Gel Pen – Black, Blue, and Red

So, time for our first review using the new review scale/form. Let’s see how it goes…

I picked these up at Staples the other day (at $6.99 for a pack of four, they were a little pricey) while picking up some school supplies for my younger siblings. I had purchased/reviewed the 537R Rollerballs before and was kinda looking forward to reviewing these and seeing how they compared.

I will admit, that I really love the design on these much more than I did the design of the 537R. Featuring a partially transparent barrel, allowing you to visibly check the ink supply, ending in the grip on the business end and a silver-ish line pattern on the plunger end, it definitely seems to be in better taste. The 537RT also features a nice rubber grip traction-enhancing grooves as well as a metal clip and transparent plunger.

The ink performed well, writing smoothly without any skipping or scratching (although there was a bit of white lining at first, perhaps due to the fact that it was brand new). One thing I did notice was that the ink was dark… The blue almost seemed like a black-blue and the red, while not dark, was very vibrant and eye-catching. With a three-second drying time, it’s also pretty good for lefties…

While these were a little pricey, they were ultimately worth the money in my opinion. Definitely would recommend these and most likely will be adding them to my daily-use pens…

Final Score: 43/50  =  4.3 out of 5 Stars…

Bic Atlantis 0.1mm Retractable Ballpoint Pens – Black, Blue, Red, and Green

Pen #57.
Bic Atlantis 1.0mm Retractable Ballpoint Pens – Black, Blue, Red, and Green

Well, I’ve been slacking off on my reviews… So, time to get caught up. We had purchased some of these pens for use around the office at work, and I must admit that when first using one, I was not very impressed. On giving these a second try, I did lose some of my earlier disliking, but they still rank as just an run-of-the-mill ballpoint in my book…

The Atlantis features a built-in rubber grip (which I consider to be one of it’s coolest features). While other rubber grips are just that (rubber), this one seems to be almost a gel grip which almost holds onto my fingers, rather than the other way around…

The 1.0 tip size was a little daunting to me at first, but I kind of wonder if it’s not a misnomer. The actual line width is more reminiscent of a 0.7mm tip than a 1.0 mm. They do write relatively smoothly, but like most ballpoints, the ink skips as you write (which is almost a sin for a perfectionist like myself. I catch myself going back and “finishing” lines all the time).

For $1.00 at Staples, these weren’t really a bad deal. Definitely a pen I could still use just to jot down quick notes with. Might stash it away in the car somewhere to help check/record my mileage…

3 out of 5…

#dailyarsenal

Well, time for another random post… As I was twittering the other day (or would that be tweeting? I never have quite figured out all the noun and verb forms of “twitter”) I noticed that some people were posting some of the stuff they carry around with them everyday under the tag of #dailyarsenal, hence the name of this post… I quickly discovered, not to my surprise, that all of the things I carry will most definitely not fit into a 140 character space, much less 10 of them, so I decided to do a blog about what I carry and then tweet the link instead…

#1. Wenger Swiss Gear Synergy Backpack

I’m not sure why, but I have always been drawn to backpacks… Perhaps because you can basically carry a mobile office on your back? I’ve been a fan of the Swiss Gear line since about 8th grade, when I received my first one… I didn’t purchase my second one until my senior year, and even then, it wasn’t because the first one wore out or fell apart, but because I got a bigger laptop… I purchased my third one (the Synergy I have now) when I started college two years ago simply due to the fact that college books are a little heavier and thicker than high school books, and I needed a bit more room… The Synergy fits most 15.4″ screen laptops, has a mp3 player pocket and a headphone port, shock absorbing shoulder straps, and airflow back and strap padding (which makes it extremely comfortable to carry and allows air to reach your back, even when loaded down with 80 lbs of stuff)…

#2. Dell Studio 15 Laptop + Charger

I always carry my laptop with me… No exceptions… Ever… Ok, glad we got that covered. Luckily, the Synergy backpack contains a space made just for my wonderful companion. I got the royal blue one (2 o’clock in the picture) and upgraded it to 4 GB of RAM, a 1 GB graphics card, 500 GB hard drive, and 9-cell battery. So, whether I’m plugged in at home playing LOtRO or in the car with the family on vacation playing Age of Empires III on the highest graphics settings, this nice lil’ laptop has the power to do it (and runs for almost 4 hours on the highest settings on battery power… Yep, be jealous…).

#3. Nomadic PN-02 Side Pocket Pencil Case

See review for more info…

#4. University of Charleston Padfolio with a Pad of Doane Paper

#5. Western Digital Blue 320 GB Passport Hard Drive

For all those files that you just don’t want to clog up your laptop hard drive with, but couldn’t go a day without (I use mine to store music, movies, book manuscripts, books, etc…). Very handy…

#6. Kikkerland Writersblok Medium Ruled Notebook

#7. Yasutomo Niji Roll

Got two of these on sale from Blick Art Supplies… They have 36 slots that easily hold pencils and occasionally pens. Currently the one I carry has my Staedtler Tri-Line Plus markers, Pilot VBalls,a couple pencils, and my Bic Cristals in it…

#8. Pens, Pencils, Etc.

Currently, I’m carrying the following:

• Pentel Energel Alloy RT Gel Pen (Black)
• Pentel Energel 0.7mm Gel Pens (Black, Blue, Red, and Green)
• Pentel Energel 0.5mm Gel Pen (Black)
• Uni-Ball Signo bit 0.38 mm and 0.7mm Gel Pens (Black)
• Pilot Frixion 0.7mm Erasable Gel Pens (Black, Blue, and Red)
• Uni Fanthom 0.7mm Erasable Gel Pen (Orange)
• Pentel Hybrid Technica 0.3mm and 0.4mm Gel Pens (Black)
• Morning Glory Mach Pen II 0.7mm Rollerball (Blue)
• Pentel Jolt 0.5mm Mechanical Pencil

Welp, that should just about do it… Technically, I carry some other stuff too, but none of it’s really important enough to mention… Now you know that I’m an pen-obsessive, laptop-backpack totin’ nut from the middle of nowhere… Feel free to comment about your #dailyarsenal!

Bic Velocity Gel Retractable 0.7mm Gel Pen

Pen #32.
Bic Velocity Gel Retractable 0.7mm Gel Pen

Grabbed these at my local Staples (actually grabbed a pack of black and a pack of blue, since I didn’t really know what to expect) a while back.

Well, we’ll start out with the good. The Bic Velocity Gel writes very smoothly and lays down a nice, dark line of ink. There’s a little bit of scratchiness present when I wrote with the blue ink, but it may have been a defect in the paper.

Now for the mediocre/bad… This is a pretty decent writing instrument, but it was either designed with right handed people in mind, or else I hold my pens very weirdly. The grip (close-up picture below) is formed, and doesn’t really have any give at all, and I constantly find my fingers trying to hold the pen below the grip due to it’s non-conformability. Even then, it’s uncomfortable to write with because of the ridge between the grip and pen tip… Again, it may just be a lefty thing, but, it completely ruined the experience for me…

3 out of 5 stars (Still good ink)

Grip Close-up...

Bic Cristal 1.0mm Ballpoint (0.4mm Line Width)

Pen #28.
Bic Cristal 1.0mm Ballpoint (0.4mm Line Width)

The Bic Cristal and Round Stic/Round Stic Grip are easily my favorite ball points on the market, and some of the only ballpoints that I will buy over and over again. The Bic Cristal was Societe Bic’s first product, and over 50 years later, it still synonymous with the name Bic. Over the last half a century, a few changes have been made, but the basic style remains the same. The Bic Cristal features a brass tip and tungsten carbide ball, hexagonal, clear barrel with a visible ink supply, and is very light. True to the Cristal’s tagline (“Writes every time…”), the pen I purchased began writing smoothly as soon as I took it out of the package. The only thing I’m not particularly fond of is the amount of pressure you sometimes have to use while writing (although this is a common malady with all ballpoints). Other than that, I have absolutely no problem with this pen. Bic has spent 50 years redesigning and perfecting this pen, and I’m not sure what they could do to make it better…

4.5 out of 5 stars!

Bic Triumph 537R 0.5mm Rollerball

Pen #19.
Bic Triumph 537R 0.5mm Rollerball

Another one of my Staples trip finds, the Bic Triumph 537R really seemed to stand out on the shelf. I bought a 4-pack of these (for $6.99, if I remember correctly) and put them in my laptop case to reviews, and promptly forgot about them. After doing a little research, I discovered that the Triumph line of pens from Bic were created and marketed for the high-end consumer (average home income of $84,000+ per Bic’s press release). Well, I’m not a high-end consumer, but I am a pen nut! The 537R, I must admit, is one of the most pleasant rollerballs I have used in a while. It does have the “rollerballic” tendency to bleed a bit, but it writes very smoothly. One of the things that bugs me is the way it looks. Bic says that they were trying to attract up-scale consumers with the pen’s sleek design and “metal finish”. The “metal finish” on one of mine has already begun to scrape off with just medium use. Other than that, a pretty decent pen.

4 out of 5 stars…

Bic Round Stic Grip Fine

Pen #3.
Bic Round Stic Grip Fine

And now, a writing instrument from the people who believe they’ve mastered pen design and production, the Bic Round Stic Grip. And for once (with this pen), I heartily concur! Ever since a friend passed one of these on to me, I have been in love with these pens (only the “fine” ones mind you). While most stic and ballpoint pens are notorious for skipping and scratching (and being the cause of many writer’s cramps), the Bic Round Stic Fine writes very smoothly. I’ve found that this pen has become one of my favorites for college notes (due to the fact that you can write very small, if the need presents itself). All-in-all, an excellent student pen.

5 Stars!