pen:35 bic reaction

this was the pen that inspired this "event"

i was shopping at the drugstore, cruising the pen aisle as usual when i saw a big 74% on a package. intrigued i looked a bit close and noticed a snazzy looking pen that was all blacks and grays and neon green.

"what is this?" i asked myself.

this was the reaction (ugh, i didn't see the pun until i typed it) to the bic reaction.

next to this pen on the rack there were several other "green"pens and i found myself wondering if they were any good, recycled always seems, rough, not clean, or something, they probably make all pens with recycled plastic and have for years but only recently realized that it could be a marketing perk...

 still, for whatever reason i still felt like i had already paid for it twice.

anyway, i bought the pen, took it home, and began drawing.

first, it looks pretty slick, however when i was holding it, it seemed insubstantial, the pen is light, the plastic feels cheap and i was in danger of breaking it if i squeezed too hard, there is one feature that i applaud and that is that the tip is on a spring that acts like a shock absorber, so you can press down while writing or drawing and there is a little bit of give.

this pen lacks a rubber comfort grip and the ink is pretty light, it is difficult to achieve true black, even after several passes, i found that as an inking pen, there were better options, but, as a sketching pen, because of the lightness and the give, i found it was great for gesture drawings and roughing out ideas.

the glide is so-so, there is a bit of drag, the ink, while light, was consistently so, and it didn't stutter or gap. also the ink didn't build up on the tip and would dry quickly so it is a very "clean" pen.

these pens can be a bit pricey, at a bit over $10 for three (amazon.com) or 12 pens for around $15 (amazon.com and wallmart) you might want to save your money.

there are other pens out there that can do the same job for less; however, if the whole recycling thing is important to you then go ahead and get a few, they aren't all that great but you can feel good about "making a difference."