Shopping finds: 3 new Uni Mitsubishi Pencil finds

More recent shop finds, all from Uni Mitsubishi Pencil, first up is this Vision Elite, pretty much a standard Uni pen, but as you can see this one is being pitched as a an airplane safe model.

Now, I've never had a problem with a Uni pen exploding or leaking after a flight, though I have had anecdotal accounts described to me, mostly that they just stop working, so I couldn't comment honestly either way on the problem or the likelihood of it happening, but it's still good to see the problem being addressed and possibly solved, a bit of piece of mind and thought from manufacturer.

The Uni Gel Impact is not a pen I have ever used, though having a look at here I'm feeling a bit of a pull to give it a go, although I've never really been a gel pen fan, I don't know why. Anyway, here it is, a gel rollerball, pack of two with a the major point being the briad writing line. Now I'm not an especially larger writer, more often writing very fine sized letters, but I would think that larger writers would be more inclined to want to use a fine line, but it's whatever you find comfortable and most appealing I suppose, anyway, I've never seen a gel pen sold in varying line widths so this is an interesting find. The price to me is a bit steep for two gel pens, compared to the price for the three above, they are all form the same maker so I would have expected to price to be in ratio or for these to also come as a pack of three.

And last of all we have the Signo 207 from Uni, a retractable gel ink rollerball, but this time, a new find for me, with tamper proof ink. Now I'm unsure whether this was the classic registers type of ink or some Uni developed tamper proof ink, packaging information didn't really help in that respect.

The need for tamper proof ink now seems a bit outdated with the general demise in use of the cheque book and so on, but I suppose there still is the need to sign official documents & contracts etc. where this pen may have its uses, certainly more usable the than classic fountain pen and registers ink of days gone by. do registers still use fountain pens, I hope so.

Plus Gelly 0.7 (Plus*Office brand)

Here we have a Plus Gelly 0.7 (from the Plus*Office brand), which is obviously a cheaper Pilot G2 Chinese copy.

As you can see the the design of the pen is almost identical to the Pilot G2, even down to the design of the refill and ink barrel. Length, with and weight are all comparable to the G2, no accident that it resembles the G2.

But how does it actually write?
Well I must admit, even with the huge popularity of the G2 with the notepad/notebook fans on the internet, I've never owned or used one, terrible of me I know. But as to this pen, well there are no complaints really, it has a decent and reassuring feel in the hand when writing, not especially heavy as you would expect from a plastic gel roller, the ink lays down well with no particular smudging issues.

The line is nicely dark and black, with a good consistency on the loops and whirls, no skipping here. The grip section is the usual hard rubber (almost plastic) set up evident on so many pens of this type and price bracket, certainly sufficient I would say to last the life of the pen.

The refill is not end capped, unlike the G2, the pocket clip feels sturdy enough, moulded as one piece withe the post nodule as it is, and has nice spring to it; it should hold firmly enough when in use. The click/spring action is certainly positive, no mistaking when you've extended or retracted the nib.

All in all a decent pen with some nice G2 like characteristics for a very decent price, this pen was one of the recent Spanish haul, if you see it around your usual haunt and are a fan of the G2 or gel pens in general I would say give it a shot.

Wilkinson Gel Roller Ball

** There is now a  www.pensetc.tk shop (click here) or use the link at top of page **

Wilkinson is a UK department store (click for more info) that usually has a very good range of stationery at the budget end of the market branded as their own make as well as branded makes, here.
This particular pen is sold as a pack of 5 for a very reasonable £1.15 ($1.76/C$1.79) in a plastic wallet in the standard blue and black, all of which are a fine nib.

As you can see it is a very basic looking pen without frills or ornamentation, what else can you expect or want for the price? It is in fairness a nicely balanced pen and a very robust construction, it is not refillable.

As I have found with most Gel Rollers the inked line is very wet and susceptible to smudging and wiping, but this could be down to my writing style as much as the ink wetness. The line laid down is a very pleasing solid black wiht little or no skipping, writes from first use consistently and evenly.

Posted or capped the pen is nicely balanced and not overly long or short, the crip part of the barrel is covered in a soft knurled rubber cover which stands up to use for the writing life of the pen, more on this later, the cap has a pocket clip denoting ink colour but it does nto hodl the pen in pocket very firmly on thin pockets or material, the clip also comes away form the lid easily, perhaps due to the breathing hole designed into the lid.

The lid does cap with a reassuring click and stay on the pen barrel well in transport.

Other than the comments above there is not much more to say about the pen, but there is one final point to make which I believe is vital, and that is the writing life span.

When using this pen solidly for note making on an A5 writing pad the pen only lasted for 4 or 5 pages, I've used two now over 10 pages, admittedly the full page was covered in writing, but I feel that a pen of this size should last longer, does anyone else have any thoughts or comments on the writing life if ink in pens of this sort? But in fairness what can you expect for the price, some pens of the same style and ink cost 2 or 3 times more for just one. In closing I can't really fault or criticise the pen any more than above, I think they write very nicely, have a reassuringly black line and are very reasonably priced.

*UPDATE*

Just finished another pen, this one lasted a bit longer, 6 and a half pages, but not much more. The pen and ink do write consistently until the very last letters, no skipping or reluctance to write evenly, so you do get to use every last drop of ink. I'm still undecided f these are a bargain or a waste of money, if only the refill was larger/lasted longer, I would gladly pay more as the pen itself and nib are very nice for the current price.