The Papermate Gel is a fairly decent basic retractable gel pen, but there's nothing about it that is getting me particularly excited.
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| Neatly attired in black and white |
To begin with, the barrel is simple in design, with a functional grip and altogether ordinary clip. The bold black and white colour scheme does not particularly appeal to me. I feel that it gives the pen something of a cheap look, but of course your preferences may be different. The plunger mechanism is also completely functional, but again, completely ordinary as well.
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| But how does it write? |
As for writing quality, the Papermate Gel performs fairly well, writing smoothly, but not shockingly so. The ink may dry a bit slowly, but probably no slower than that of similar pens. It reminds me very much of both the Zebra Sarasa and the Pilot G-2, although it feels slightly finer than both of those pens. It is a bit smoother than the G-2 but not quite as smooth as the Sarasa. The Zebra Sarasa is the best of the 0.7mm, retractable gel ink pens that I have used, and I can't think of any reason why someone would choose the Papermate Gel over that pen unless something about the design of the Papermate particularly appealed to them.
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| The business end |
Related reviews:
Pens 'n' Paper - Papermate gel 0.7mm Gel Pen
Pens 'n' Paper - Papermate gel 0.7mm Retractable Gel Pens, Bright Colors
I'm a PM gel fan. I got the set of four basic colors simply for the purple one. I didn't have high expectations for these inexpensive pens but I was happily surprised by their great performance - smooth writing, dark saturated inks, no skipping or blobbing.
ReplyDeleteThe grip section fits perfectly in my hand with no annoying ridges or bumps. I don't unconsciously twirl the pen in my fingers trying to find a comfortable position. That's a death knell for a pen. And the purple ink isn't twee purple. It is dark enough for business use.
I agree there is no wow factor in the appearance. There is nothing there to catch the eye; nothing to make the pens memorable. I've got lots of sexy looking pens that don't write worth a flip. I can look at them while writing with my Papermate!
Thanks for the comment, Speck! Now I feel like seeking out the purple version to try it out; black isn't too exciting of a colour to begin with, so maybe I'd be more impressed with this pen if I tried some of the other colours. And I could use another purple pen...
ReplyDeleteThis was the pen that got me back to doing more handwriting. I started taking some notes, liked the way it wrote, and spent several hours at work without touching the computer.
ReplyDelete