I'll be honest, I have never been impressed with Uni-ball rollerball pens. They tend to start really great, then something mysterious inevitably happens to the tip, making its lines uneven as you write from different angles. You know what I'm talking about if you've ever used a good old fashioned Uni-ball Rollerball pen, with the soft grey plastic barrels - the line would be so bold and free flowing, then suddenly, out of nowhere, it would turn into a thin frustrating line when you change your writing angle ever so slightly.
This is caused by the rollerball not being completely smooth, and rotating at an awkward angle. Today, however, I was at Office Max and accidentally came across their latest release - the AIR Rollerball Pen, which claims to be a "consistent, free-flowing ink that delivers fluid writing the moment pen hits the paper." The idea is that you can write from any angle and, unlike the old fashioned rollerballs, would deliver consistent ink. It retails for $9.99 for a three pack, which in my opinion is not cheap for Uni-ball.
I tried the display pen, and was immediately impressed - the ink did seem to flow effortlessly, plus, the tip of the pen has a very sleek, black, tapered design. I was sold.
The pens are made in Japan, and feature Super Ink with three way protection against water, fading and fraud. That's a lofty claim!
As you can see, Uni-ball really stepped up their design game with this one. I have never seen such a sleek and sturdy looking tip on a rollerball pen before! I'm always up for trying new things, so I had to grab a pack. I couldn't wait to try it out on my standard Moleskine diary.
Here's what I found: The pen, as advertised, would indeed lay down a smooth, thick black line no matter which angle you write from. This sounds silly but the ink seems to be eager to flow out of the pen. I could write with the lightest touch, and the ink would still flow freely. I imagine this would make taking notes in class a breeze - comparing to a standard ball point pen, this would save you a lot of effort. I quite enjoyed the writing experience, the ease of writing, with the AIR pens. It actually reminds me of my Koh-i-noor Rapidograph technical pens - yes, the ink is that black, and smooth, and free flowing! Except with Rapidographs, you cannot write from any angle you want! So in that regard, the AIR pens actually beat Rapidographs, which is quite impressive.
However, there are three problems to the pen, one of which is anticipated but unconfirmed.
1) Because the ink lays down so thick, it takes a while to dry. If you are like me, and write fast, I would imagine a smearing problem. Sometimes when I turned the page, the ink would not dry toward the bottom half of the page, and leave minute ink spots on the adjacent page. Since I am just writing in a personal diary, and the ink spots aren't bad enough to blur other words, I am okay with it. Plus, this problem could be solved with just a little patience, my love. You just give it a minute. Blow on it a bit or something.
2) Minor bleed through on Moleskine paper. Perhaps this won't concern those who don't use Moleskines, since Moleskine paper is really veering on the thin side nowadays. Remember when Moleskines actually made quality paper? I can't wait to switch to Leuchtturm 1917...Okay, I'm off topic!
3) Anticipated problem: Seeing how strong the ink flow is (If you press hard enough, the line thickness can almost be compared to a thin MARKER. See my drawing!), I don't think the pen would last too long. Seriously. This pen puts out so much ink, that it would probably be done in a month if you write on average two pages a day (which I do). Seeing the $10 price tag, I would say it is not very economical as a daily use pen. (But I will post an update after I use the pens a while longer!)
Over all, I would still give Uni-ball AIR Rollerball Pen a 8/10, for innovative design, effortless writing, and solid ink color. Oh how I love the deep, deep black ink! I like my ink like my men: strong, thick, and dark. BAM!!!!! Thank you Uni-ball :)
xoxo,
K
