Cross Click Gel Matte Black - Pen Review

July 4, 2013

It seems that I start most pen reviews with, "this pen has been on the radar for about a year", and the Cross Click is no exception to this. Often times I'll see a pen online or happen to stumble upon one in the store that I forget about over time. With the Cross Click, I recall being intrigued by the idea of a click-style Cross pen because it is definitely outside of the norm for them.

I was looking on Staples.com for a completely different pen when I noticed a little add for a Cross Click Gel gift set that comes in a nice box with three refills. This package normally retails at $40+, but they had it on sale for $15. Sold. The refills alone would probably be that much, so I felt like a got a good deal. As of this review they are still at that price. Not sure if Staples will no longer be carrying them?

I traditionally haven't been a fan of Cross pens. Not because they don't make great pens, but because they haven't really fit my style. They always seem a bit too "gold" in color or too ornate for my tastes. A bit gaudy maybe?

When I saw the matte black Cross Click, I thought to myself that it could be a pen that may be something I'd like to try and I'm glad I did.

I'm going to first start with the refill; I really like this one. I was surprised at how much I actually enjoy it. It lays down a nice dark line and I didn't have an issue of skipping once in my entire writing sample for the review. I opted for the blue refill (included in the gift set) which has an appealing dark navy blue color. It is pretty smooth, although not the smoothest I've written with, but the slight friction on the paper isn't a deal breaker. As far as the ink flow and line width, I'd probably compare it to the Schmidt Cap-Less rollerball refill found in the Retro 51 Tornado which actually says a lot. The Schmidt is still a smoother experience I'd say, but the Cross gel isn't far behind.

The body is very thin as it fits in line with most other Cross pens in this style which isn't my favorite, but the pen feels good. The body has a good weight to it and is made of brass. The matte finish looks cool and the silver accent ring around the knock and subtle "CROSS" lettering on both the clip and back are nicely placed.

The knock on this pen is fun to click. It is substantial and doesn't feel cheap. I'd consider it a loud click, so be mindful of your neighbors...

In my opinion, a great pen for a great price. I really enjoyed the writing experience with this one and I'll probably keep it in my rotation of daily carries.

As a side note, found out that the Karas Kustoms Retrakt accepts the Cross gel refill which would be a great option. Visit the Kickstarter campaign to give them a look if you haven't already.

Lamy AL-Star Ballpoint Limited Edition Black - Pen Review

June 30, 2013

The name of this thing is kind of a mouthful, but it is pretty sweet. I've been eyeing the plastic Safari ballpoints for awhile and never took the bait, but when I saw this one I knew it was on the list to purchase. I found this one on Amazon for $20 (plus some shipping) which I thought was a smoking deal and the company out of the UK that was selling it got it to my door in about a week. Kudos to them for sure!

Good weight and balance, and the metal barrel gives this pen a great feel. The matte black finish of the Limited Edition looks really good. I really enjoy the smoky plastic see-through part of the pen as it has been tastefully done. The color makes it subtle enough to where it doesn't seem cheap that they made it out of plastic, but the plastic is thick and high quality and fits in with the overall build of the pen.

My thoughts about this plastic part are that they did it not so much for aesthetic, but due to manufacturing processes? To make the part out of metal would require specialized casting or machining which would add to cost; just a hunch.

Instead of doing the bold LAMY stamp into the barrel like they usually do, on the Al-Star, the LAMY is more of a subtle outline. This looks classy to me

I swapped out the refill with the Monteverde L132BU which replaces the Lamy M16 refill. This was done on recommendation from Mary at From the Pen Cup in a review she did last year. Thanks Mary! The Monteverde is much smoother than the Lamy I've found, and I got it in blue which suits me better.

A feature I like about this pen is that they resized and repositioned the iconic Safari clip. It is considerably smaller and sits a bit lower on the pen making it a better fit for shirt pockets. When I put a regular Safari in my pocket it sometimes feels like the clip is barely hanging on because there is about a half inch left of "clip space" towards the top. I'm not knocking on the Safari clip (because that would be blasphemy), but I find that I appreciate that Lamy did this on the retractable ballpoint versions.

Being the same diameter as the regular Safari, these fit well into The Cube or The Block found in The Clicky Trading Post. Another shot below of the clip comparisons...

The knock has good stiff click to it that is enjoyable to use. Very enjoyable! My only concern long term with this pen is the rubber accordion cover over the knock that might be prone to splitting or drying out over time. I guess we'll see, but I'd imagine the part might be replaceable through Lamy if needed.

I'd have to say that I am extremely pleased with this purchase.

Zebra Z-Mulsion LX 1.0mm - Pen Review

June 29, 2013

Hmmmm.... now, isn't that a great start to a pen review? Perhaps the tone of the review is already set with a "hmmm".

I saw the Zebra Z-Mulsion LX online through Staples and figured I'd put in an order to have one sent to my local store for me to pick up in a couple of days. On a side note, honestly, if you buy something from Staples.com, this is the best way to do it because the shipping is free (although travel to the store is not). Make it an on the way home pickup and its pretty much free.

My first impression of the pen even before I used it was that I really dislike the name. I think it is a weird slogan-like name that just doesn't work for me. Especially on a metal Zebra barrel, they could stick with their "part number" style like they do with literally all of their other steel pens (give it a look) like the F-701, F-402, G-301, etc. They could put Z-402 or something for Z-Mulsion (if they really like the idea of calling their ink this). The metal barrels with the letter/number name makes it seem like you're writing with some sort of aircraft part which is cool. It adds a small touch of class and quality to a pretty cheap pen. Z-Mulsion just doesn't do it for me.

The pen writes smooth, as in very little drag, but it is really globby. This could be due to the large size of 1.0mm. The tip of the refill also seems to wiggle a bit which makes me consciously think about trying to write neatly. This is a big red flag that this will not be a pen I will use ongoing. It makes the experience poor and my handwriting suffers because of it.

I've also included a picture of my glob smears to clean off the tip from writing only one page... it felt like I had to clean off the tip of the pen after only a few lines just to continue writing with it.

The build of the pen also seems like a hodge podge of parts with varying ranges of color, material, and build quality. The barrel is steel, but has kind of a yellowy hue to it, and in contrast to the chromed clip (feels cheap), knock, and tip, it just looks thrown together. There is the Z-Mulsion "droplet" symbol on both the clip and stamped on the back; I think this a little too much branding. I really am not digging this pen, am I? : )

I did some comparisons with a few other hybrids I had laying around: the Uni-Ball Jetstream in 0.7mm and the Pilot Acroball also in a 0.7mm. Out of the three, I'm going to have to crown the Jetstream as my favorite hybrid so far.

Based on my experience, I would not recommend this pen to someone, nor will I likely use one again. With such good competition out there for a great hybrid pen, Zebra kind of dropped the ball on this one in my opinion.