New Favorite-Pilot Hi-Tec-C Slim Knock

I've found a new favorite pen, thanks to Jpens. The Slim Knock is a small retractable pen with the Hi-Tec-C Guts. This seems to write slightly better than the capped Hi-Tec-C. I ran into a problem with the Hi-Tec-C i was using, I suspect that the ball in the point popped out, to the pen died with lots of ink left in the tube. It's about 80% of the a Pilot G2, so it's pretty small and delicate.

I also ordered a Pilot Slicci 0.25, which I'll take a look at before too long. It's probably a little thin, but I wanted to order a couple of pens, and they were out of the Slicci 0.30 size.

Pen Update 7/20/07

Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this. I've been bouncing back and forth between the Pilot Hi-Tec-C, the Uniball 0.28, and the Pentel Hybrid Technica, all for writing in a Moleskine. I've come to the conclusion that I'm most happy with the Hi-Tec-C in 0.30. It leaves a nice line without having to really press down on the paper to leave ink behind. I've noticed that it tends to flow really well initially, and then "dry up" after a couple of dozen words, and then back to a nice dark line. It's possible that this is due to not using it consistently, so I'll work on using just the Hi-Tec-C for a while.

Other than that, things are quiet on the pen front. I've dropped into Staples to take a peak at what they offer, and there is nothing new. I'll keep watching, but I think I'll have to go over to Jetpens again to grab some more pens to review.


Dave

Handwriting Analysis

I received an email a while back from a reader asking how small I write. Here is a picture of my Mileskine notebook. You can see that I treat each grid line as a seperate line. I can pack a lot of stuff into one page....

Pen update 5/2/2007

I've primarly been using two pen's for the last couple of days. First, the Uni-Ball Signl DX 0.28. This is a pretty nice capped pen, that leaves a dark black line. The startup is good, and it doesn't leave gap's at the start of a line. The second pen is a Penten hybrid Technica in 0.30. This is another nice writer, with a dark black line and good startup. I haven't noticed any smearing of either one in my writing.

both of these, though have a finger grip that's a little too big for my taste. From a writing perspective, I think I liked the HitecC better, since the finger grip is slightly smaller.

I've also been using a Pilot G2 with a 0.38 tip, and that writes pretty nicely. I generally walk around with 2 pen's in my shirt pocket. One is a retractable, that I use for jotting quick notes, and the second is a capped pen. I've mainly been doing this while Im reviewing all of these pens. I'm about to swap out the Pilot G2 for a Pentel Hybrid technica retractable in 0.35, to see how I like it. It doens't quite match the Pentel Energel as far as retractablilty. If you remember, the Energel has a nice clip that makes sure that the tip is retracted when you clip it into a pocket. This one doens't do that, so I'll have to be careful.

Uni-Ball Signo DX 0.28 Review

Not a bad Pen. Leaves a nice dark line behind, with a clean startup and no smearing. I won't continue using this, though, for a personal reason. The barrel is a little too big in diameter for my taste. I found the Pilot Hi-Tec to be more comfortable to write with.

Dave

Pilot Hi-Tec C Update

I've been using the two Pilot Hi-Tec C's for a month or so, writing primarily in a Moleskine notebook, and I think I've come to a conclusion. I really enjoy the fine line that they provide, and they (mostly) leave a nice dark line behind, with no noticeable smearing. I've got two problems with them though.

First, when I start to write with one, there seems to be good ink flow for a word or two, and then it fades out for the next couple of words, and then the ink comes back. This is a first thing in the morning event, and I do keep the pen capped.

The second issue with this pen is that you really need a firm backing for whatever you are writing on. I found this worked well when I was sitting at a desk or table, but not wasn't very good standing up and taking a quick note.

As you would expect, I found this was also pretty sensitive to paper quality. Again, not too surprising.

I've changed to a Uni-Ball Signo DX in 0.28. I'll update in a couple of weeks.

Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.25 followup

I'm about ready to give up on this Pilot Hi-Tec 0.25. It works well on a Moleskine, but it doesn't write so well on regular paper. I've put it away for now, and I'm starting to use the Pilot Hi-Tec 0.3 instead. It seems to write pretty well on papers other than a Moleskine, and the line isn't too thick on a Moleskine.

Dave

Pilot HI-TEC-C 0.25

I finally received the pen's that I ordered from Jet Pens, and I've found a pen that is almost too fine for me to write with, something that I never thought would happen. The Pen had a nice dark line, and starts up and quickly when it's time to write. It's a little thin, but I have a 0.3o one to try next. It's a capped pen, and the pen point is really thin, so dropping it is a real concern, but one that I'll have to deal with.

Dave

Ordered some pen's from Jet Pens.

So there should be some more review up here soon. Here's what I ordered

1 x Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.25 mm - Black (PILOT BLLH20C25-B) = $3.00
1 x Zebra Mini Mechanical Pencil - 0.5 mm - Silver (ZEBRA TS-3) = $4.75
1 x Pentel Hybrid Technica 0.35 mm Gel Roller Pen - Black (PENTEL KN123T-A) = $2.00
1 x Pentel Hybrid Technica .3mm - Black (PENTEL KN103-AO) = $2.00
1 x UniBall Signo RT 0.38mm (UMN-138) - Black (UNI UMN-138 B) = $1.50
1 x Pilot G-2 Gel Pen 0.38 mm - Black (PILOT BL-G2-38-B) = $2.60
1 x Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.30 mm - Black (PILOT BLLH-20C3-B) = $3.00
1 x Uniball Signo DX 0.28mm - Black (UNI UM151(028) BLACK) = $2.50

So this should be good for a couple of month's of posts. As you can tell, I'm biased toward fine line black ink pens.

Dave