Not that this little guy is disposable by any means, but this is my first experience with a rOtring that is your standard plastic clicky pen (or below the $35 range from rOtring), but that doesn't make this pen any less of a pen. Although, this is a rOtring that if I happened to misplace I would likely not lose too much sleep over.
With all sincerity, my experiences with the rOtring Tikky have been overwhelmingly good and I'm excited to write this review about it.
This pen was also included in my care package from Alice at rOtring (thanks again), and is also the pen that they are offering to include for free if you spend 30€ or more before September 15th at rOtring.com. Here is a link to the announcement I made about it last week with more of the details. If you enjoyed the Rapid Pro review from Saturday and were looking to get one, picking one up through rOtring would get you one of these babies for free.
First and foremost, the thing that I'm really loving about the Tikky is the standard refill that comes with it. It is called the Jumbo-Mine Giant Refill in medium (and blue as a standard; love that, even though the name is a bit crazy) and is actually a great refill. I don't know if I would say it is the smoothest writer, but it wasn't scratchy.
The thing that impressed me most about this particular ballpoint refill is that in all my writing not once have I had the annoying "ballpoint glob" that starts to accumulate around the tip of the pen that you then have to find a place to smear off. I really hate that as it is super distracting and messes up a page of writing pretty fast. Also, the line is crisp and consistent too and I haven't run into a single skipping session. Does the Schmidt EasyFlow have some competition? Probably not, but the refill rOtring picked is a good one.
The grip on the Tikky is very, well, grippy. It is a responsive rubber grip that is large enough to accommodate for my thumb, middle, and index finger to hold the pen nice and snug on all sides.
The knock on the pen is a good clicker. Nothing fancy and is pretty reminiscent of a good plastic clicker like the Pilot G2. The clip is not super great although not bad in any way, but is not likely to bend up or out on you with normal use. It does move back and forth a bit, but is pretty standard issue for a pen like this.
An interesting feature of the pen is the flat side just near the knock on the "underbelly" of the pen. I'm not sure why this is so, but imagine it has something to do with keeping the pen upright on the paper so the clip faces upward? It doesn't run down the whole side of the pen, but just about an inch or so from the knock. If, in fact, it was for the sake of sitting upright, I'm not entirely sure this is necessary. Either way, it isn't a bother.
Overall, for your sub-$8 pen, the Tikky is a pretty good option, and especially due to the refill in my personal opinion. This would be a great pen to throw in a bag for day-to-day writing and it looks pretty cool with its stylish bold colors!