Pilot Archives - Page 3 of 3 - BLAKE'S BROADCAST

Pilot VBall BeGreen 0.5mm Blue Roller Ball Review

December 15, 2013 by Blake

The Pilot VBall BeGreen is a roller ball pen with a body made from “81.6% recycled content”. First off, this isn’t the VBall I remember enjoying years ago; the design is much better but the pen as a whole is worse.

I really love the clean and elegant design of this pen; the inset metallic branding and the blue plastic cap combined with the translucent body and feed are excellent. For a disposable pen the VBall BeGreen gets an A+ in design.

As for writing, the VBall is quite scratchy. I compared it to the Uni Ball Micro Deluxe (another traditional liquid ink roller ball) and the difference was night and day. The Uni glided across the paper with more ease and left a cleaner line on the page. As I spent more time with the Vball I noticed that some parts of the tip were smoother than others; by twisting I could find both smooth and scratchy parts of the tip which makes me think I may have gotten a bad one.

I haven’t come across many duds that were made by Pilot in Japan but this might be one.

Here is a great review of the Pilot VBall BeGreen:

(I have no affiliation with the site linked below)

The Pen Addict – Pilot VBall BeGreeN 05 Review

Pilot Precise P-700 0.7mm Gel Roller Ball Review

November 12, 2013 by Blake

The Pilot Precise P-700 has been one of my favorite hybrid gel roller balls for quite a while now. The benefit of a hybrid gel roller ball is a smooth writing experience with a low resistance liquid ink, making it a great pen for writing in cursive. The line is clean and smooth and the ink is ultra fast drying making it a great pen for lefties. The ink is permanent and unfortunately the pen is not refillable.

The Precise is an old pen and to my knowledge the design has never been updated and as a result it doesn’t really look like many other pens on the market. The body has a marbled appearance that to me looks like clouds. The ribbed grip is comfortable but not soft. I haven’t been a fan of the looks of this pen in the past and my opinion hasn’t changed; it’s ugly.

The Pilot Precise comes in two widths 0.7mm (P-700) and 0.5mm (P-500) and five colors, black, blue, red, green, and purple. At $2.42 it’s quite affordable and if the looks don’t bother you I highly recommend it.

Here are some great reviews of the Pilot Precise P-700 / P-500:

(I have no affiliation with the sites linked below)

The Pen Bin – Pen Review: Pilot P-700 Fine Gel Roller

The Pen Addict – Review: Pilot P-500 Precise Gel Roller

Pilot Vanishing Point Fountain Pen Medium Nib Review

October 18, 2013 by Blake

The Pilot Vanishing Point is an extremely popular fountain pen with a click mechanism that retracts the nib. I have had mine for several years now and while it’s frequently inked it’s far from my favorite pen. To me the Vanishing Point is purely a tool; it’s reliable and can be operated with one hand for quick notes but it’s not fun to write with. My VP has a brown lacquered brass body with rhodium accents weighing in at 30.9 grams with a full converter. The VP measures just under 5.5″ long and is about half an inch thick at its widest point. The Vanishing Point is a pretty ugly pen; it’s definitely not a show piece. The VP looks the most dignified in matte black and unfortunately for me it was released well after I purchased my brown one.

The stiff 18 carat gold medium point nib has no personality but is smooth and reliable. The medium point is a bit finer than most European mediums and the flow is pretty average.

Depending on how you hold your pen the clip may be an issue because it is so close to the tip. Having a pretty standard grip it does not bother me but this pen definitely wont work for everyone. Also, I do not find the VP to be comfortable for long writing sessions as the grip area is relatively wide and the pen is quite heavy. The Vanishing Point comes with a converter, a cartridge and a metal cartridge cap (that prevents the click mechanism from crushing a plastic cartridge). The VP offers a lot of pen for the money with an average street price $140. The build quality is excellent as with all Pilot products and it has held up well quite well for me. The nib has a lot of tipping material so I may have it ground down into a stub to give this great pen some character. I recommend trying the Vanishing Point in person before purchasing.

Here are some great reviews of the Vanishing Point:

(I have no affiliation to the sites linked below)

The Pencil Case Blog – Pilot capless/ vanishing point fountain pen

No Pen Intended – Pilot Vanishing Point Yellow Body Broad Nib Fountain Pen

Lady Dandelion – pilot vanishing point – a functional, chubby dolphin

Tyler Dahl Pens – Pen review – Pilot Vanishing Point!

The Fountain Pen Quest – Review: Pilot Vanishing Point “Matte Black”

Ed Jelley – The Pilot Vanishing Point Fountain Pen in Matte Black – Handwritten Review

Everyday Commentary – Pilot Vanishing Point Review

Gourmet Pens – Review: Pilot/Namiki Vanishing Point Raden – Medium

The Pen Addict – Pilot Vanishing Point Fountain Pen Review

Pilot Down Force 0.7mm Ballpoint Review

October 10, 2013 by Blake

The Pilot Down Force is a pressurized ballpoint pen that is designed to write at any angle. I don’t have any need for a pressurized pen but I liked the loud yellow body so I bought it as an impulse buy. My favorite thing about this pen is the satisfying click it makes, apart from that and the bright yellow body I didn’t find much else to like. The plastic body is a bit too fat for my taste and the 0.7mm refill is okay, not as nice as what you find in a Pilot Acroball. The line is darker and sharper than a Fischer Space pen’s and it’s cheaper but at $8 its not cheaper than a Uni Power Tank. The Uni Power Tank is writes better, is pressurized and costs less than half the price of the Down Force. If you really enjoy clicking pens the Down Force might be worth a look but if you just want a nice pen don’t bother; this one’s crap.

Here is another review of the Pilot Down Force: (I have not affiliation to the site linked below)

The Clicky Post – Pilot Down Force – Pen Review

Pilot Ageless Future Gel Pen Review

September 30, 2013 by Blake

Pilot Ageless Pen - tip position 1 - fully retracted — Pilot Ageless Pen – tip position 1 – fully retracted

The Pilot Ageless line comprises high quality pens with a patented two staged twist mechanism that completely retracts the pen tip. They come in two flavors: gel and ballpoint (the refills are not interchangeable). There are two barrel options that come in a variety of colors, the Future has a metal barrel with a silver grip section and the Presence has a plastic body with a translucent grey grip section.

Pilot Ageless Future - Tip position 2. — Pilot Ageless Future – tip position 2

Pilot Ageless Future - tip position 3 — Pilot Ageless Future – tip position 3

The design of the pen is nice and clean and is great for pockets as the tip completely retracts; no more getting stabbed by your pen. I like the Carbon Grey body of the Future which looks and feels high quality. The clip is small but strong. The Future is nicely weighted without being too heavy.

The Ageless Gel is one of the smoothest gel pens I have used. The refills only come in fine 0.7mm with blue or black ink and they aren’t that cheap; a pack of 12 costs $37 (about $3 a refill). The fine 0.7mm line is on the fatter side and the ink doesn’t look that sharp but I do enjoy writing with this pen and I can’t say that about many gel pens. The pen comes in a white tube which works as a storage box as well as a pen stand. The Pilot Ageless Future Gel makes a really nice gift for someone who wants a great everyday pen.

Here are some other great Pilot Ageless Reviews:

(I have no affiliation to the sites linked below)

The Pen Chronicles – Ageless vs. Timeline

Slow Burn Productions – Pen review: Pilot Namiki Ageless Future in Silver

Pilot 78G Fountain Pen Review

September 25, 2013 by Blake

The Pilot 78G is a great looking budget fountain pen. The pen I will be reviewing has a bold nib that is actually a stub; I do not know why Pilot doesn’t offer this pen with a round tipped bold nib.

The nib writes quite well with some feedback but it is a bit dry for my taste; I may have to experiment with some different inks to find what works best with this pen.

The Pilot 78G comes with an aerometric-style converter and also accepts Pilot cartridges. It is rare for pens at this price point to come with a converter. For example, the ultra popular Lamy Safari at $35 doesn’t come with a converter; you have to pay an extra $5 to get one. Unlike the aerometric filling system found in a Parker 51 the Pilot’s doesn’t hold a lot of ink. If you plan to do a lot of writing you would be better served by using this pen with a cartridge.

The body is made of a lightweight black plastic and features a gold plated steel nib and clip. The 78G weighs in at about half an ounce which is lighter than I prefer. Capped it measures about 5.25″ and is 0.5″ wide at its widest point. The grip section is a problem, at less than a quarter inch wide I find it too skinny to be comfortable for long writing sessions. If you have larger hands or a tight grip this pen may be a bit too small for you. The body of the 78G seems to scratch quite easily but at this price point it’s not that big of a deal.

I have been using the Pilot 78G for 7 days straight now and it is great for taking notes. Compared to my Lamy Safari w/1.1mm stub, the Pilot 78G writes better, looks better and costs a fourth of the price. In short the Pilot 78G is great entry-level fountain pen that I highly recommend.

Here are some great reviews of the Pilot 78G fountain pen:

(I have no affiliation to the sites linked below)

Gourmet Pens – Review: Pilot 78G Green Fountain Pen – Broad Nib

Ink of Me Fondly – Pilot 78G Fountain Pen Fine Nib Black Body

The Daily Acquisition – Pilot 78G Fountain Pen Review

Pilot FriXion Clicker Erasable Gel Pen Review

September 23, 2013 by Blake

While there are a lot of things I don’t like about the Pilot FriXion Clicker Erasable Gel Pen, it is easily the best erasable pen I have used.

Sorry about the picture quality. Out of town for the weekend and forgot my camera.

One thing I didn’t mention in the written review is that the eraser doesn’t make a mess like a normal pencil eraser. The ink disappears with heat caused by the “frixion” of the eraser against the paper.

Here is another Pilot FriXion Clicker review:

(I have no affiliation to the site linked below)

Pilot FriXion Clicker Erasable Gel Pen Review – by Y-uhao’s