pen 137: foray gelio

i would like to begin this review for thanking one of my favorite grocery store clerks, beth, for letting me borrow today's pen, so i didn't have to go out and spend money that i don't have on one.

the foray gelio is a medium ballpoint retractable tipped gel ink pen. these pens are available from office depot (internet and retail) as well as online resources like ebay, amazon, or other supply websites.

the gelio is made of a clear,tough plastic, with a rubberized grip and metal clip. it's contoured hour-glass shape makes for a fairly comfortable grip, but still feels a bit thicker than i personally like when it comes to pens. i associate those thick pens with children's art supplies - cheap and made for clumsy fingers. the ink is a light gel ink that dries moderately fast, although if you aren't careful you can smear the ink if you don't let it have a few seconds to dry. the ink is also not extremely dark, it is all or nothing, no real range of value, but it seems to be fairly translucent. this pen has a fair flow, it does skip and spot a bit, has poor glide but good bite. it can be a bit messy as it can pool up a bit on the paper, which, along with the slower drying time can cause problems. this pen is good for things like writing (unless you're a lefty) it can be used for moderate detail work and inking over pencil lines, but if i really had to chose a good fit i would say exercises like gesture drawing come to mind.

as for a recommendation, i am going to say that i would pass on this pen, there are other gel pens out there that are cleaner and have a better quality of ink. this isn't a bad pen or anything, it just isn't all that great.

pricing:
officedepot.com: $10.99+s/h (dozen)

website:
www.officedepot.com

what they say:

Controlled comfort meets smooth writing

• Our most popular style for making a bold statement. 
• Contoured rubber barrel and grip for feel-good performance. 
• Great choice for extended writing and heavy-duty note taking. 

pen 104: foray advanced ink retractable ballpoint pen

today's pen is the foray advanced ink retractable ballpoint pen. i believe this pen was a stray, brought home by a family member from their place of work. a cursory google search yielded little information, and i was not able to find an official website. i did  discover that these pens seem to be sold exclusively(?) by office depot and that the can be ordered off their website and on amazon.com as well.

one of the things i noticed right away is that this pen is smooth, it has amazing glide, it has good flow and a good range of value, this pen can be used quite well for things like gradient shading, hatching, gesture and contour drawings. the foray's body is plastic, and has little weight which to me, is associated with cheap products and while i't talking about the physical aspects, the clip is spring loaded - i'm not sure if that really matters but since they made the effort to include it i feel like it deserved mention. oh, before i forget, the pen does have a rubber grip that makes for a comfortable pen when used for extended periods of time.

the drawbacks of this pen lay in it's greatest asset, which is a little funny. since this pen is such a smooth writer, having little bite and interaction with the grain of the paper, it tends to lay down a lot of ink with little effort, this leads to a tendency of ink building up on the tip and leaving dark blob deposits if you aren't being careful, and while the ink does dry extremely fast, those blobs don't and that can make for a mess. as long as you keep a napkin or something to periodically clean the tip (or in my case i just wipe the pen off on my forearm) you should be all right.

on the topic of cost, it seem that these pens average to a little over $1 a pen depending on the amount of pens you purchase - they are available in several colors and a two tip sizes (1.2mm and 0.7mm). all in all i had a very positive experience with this pen and i am open to the idea of picking up a few in black and blue ink the next time i am near office depot. 

it's a good pen. there are better and there are worse, but i think it is safe to say that they are worth a dollar or two.

website:

www.officedepot.com

what they say:
Writes smoothly like a gel pen, but dries fast like a ballpoint! Retractable tungsten carbide point for no-skip performance. Textured grip enhances comfort and control. Foray Pens part of a large selection of office supplies. FORAY(R) Advanced Ink Retractable Ballpoint Pens, Bold Point, 1.2 mm, Assorted Barrels, Assorted Ink, Pack Of 8 is one of many Retractable Ballpoint Pens available through Office Depot. Made by Foray.

specs:

Item # 821572
Manufacturer # 20129
ink color Black; Blue; Green; Light Blue; Orange; Pink; Purple; Red
point type bold
point size 1.2
grip type textured
refillable no
barrel color Black; Blue; Green; Light Blue; Orange; Pink; Purple; Red
pocket clip yes
quantity 8
ink type low viscosity
distributor Swinton Avenue Trading Ltd., Inc.
postconsumer recycled content 0
total recycled content 0