Review: Pilot FriXion Highlighter

I try to like you Pilot FriXion, I really do.  I've tried, and tried some more, but it just doesn't seem to be working out.  Your fancy barrel caught my eye, and you were quite a treat to hold, but deep down inside I know it isn't going to work out.  I'm sorry Pilot FriXion - I think we should see other pens.

Sorry - that just came out of me, but yeah, I don't like this FriXion Highlighter either.  If you click on the photo, you can see that the eraser smudges the ink when erasing (the gel ink pen is the 0.3mm Pentel Slicci).  It does a fine job erasing just the plain highlighter, which you can see at the bottom of the photo, but what good is that?  The color is too light and tends to pool at the tip as well, so there isn't much that I like about this pen.

Link: We Love School Supplies: Pens and Pencils

Sorry gang, this one just couldn't wait until my weekend Ink Links post.  The gang at Stickers and Donuts did an awesome job reviewing new supplies for the upcoming school year.  The Pentel Slicci is included, as are the Pilot FriXion and the Uni-Ball Signo, but you haven't lived until you have seen the Nerf Dart Blaster Toy Pen and the Connect Four Game Toy Pen.  If had those back when I was in school, I would have never graduated!

It's a great article, so go check it out now:  We Love School Supplies: Pens and Pencils

JetPens Samples

I received these a couple of weeks back courtesy of JetPens and I'm just now getting around to reviewing them.  Look for a post for each of these in the next week or so.


From the top down:
Uni-Ball Lakubo Ballpoint Pen 0.5mm Black
Pilot FriXion Erasable Highlighter - Green
A.G. Spalding Hexagonal Body Ballpoint 0.7mm
Zebra Sharbo Smartline 0.4mm Ballpoint, 0.3mm Pencil

Erasable Pen Olympics

The real Olympics are taking place in Beijing, China, but I bet you didn't know that the Pen Olympics are taking place right here at The Pen Addict!  I have been wanting to do a side-by-side comparison of all of my erasable pens for a while now, so I figured lets give them the Olympic treatment by awarding medals to the best performers.



Gold - Pilot E-Gel 0.7mm
The Pilot E-Gel has the best ink color, the best writing performance, and the best erasability, so I guess you could say it won the all-around competition.  The eraser is located in the right sopt, unlike the FriXions, which goes a long way in my book.  This pen writes the most like a regular pen.

Silver - Pilot FriXion 0.7mm
I prefer the black ink of the 0.7mm over the blue ink of the 0.5mm, so thus it garners the silver medal.  The shade of black is still a little off, and I'm no fan of the FriXion eraser.  It smudges the paper too much compared to the traditional eraser models.

Bronze - Pilot FriXion 0.5mm
This ink color is way too pale for my liking.  I like the finer 0.5mm tip, but the performance (and location) of the eraser just doesn't cut it.

India - Uni-Ball Signo Erasable 0.5mm
The ink color is great, and the eraser does a good job, but the writing experience is so bad I can hardly use this pen.  The line skips and it is very scratchy.  Hopefully you will win a medal one of these decades Uni-Ball!

This is why I love my readers

Pen Addict reader Jonathan sent this to me over the weekend:

I saw your blogs after playing around with blue and black Frixion pens.  A few observations:

1. Ink color is indeed not great...but these are still so much nicer than those erasable ink pens from when I was in high school...which may have been when you were there, but never mind.

2. I held a match up to some text written with Frixion, but not close enough to burn the paper.  The ink actually doesn't disappear; it turns white.  I confirmed this on a dark piece of paper.

3. I then took some of the text that I erased with the heat of the match and chilled it thoroughly by holding it firmly against a bag of frozen asparagus.  It turned gray again--which is about all the "black" ink ever was.

These are completely useless things to know, but I thought you might find them mildly amusing.

And in a later mail......

I should now add that for the heat it is simpler to hold the paper with the Frixion ink next to a standard light bulb (it doesn't have to touch) to erase it.  Also, to make it reappear, if one is patient, you can just put the paper in the freezer--though it can take hours to get the ink to come back.

One thing you got wrong Jonathan - these are not completely useless things to know, these are ESSENTIAL things to know for all of us Pen Addicts out there!  Thanks again for sharing.

Review: Pilot FriXion 0.7mm

I started this blog because I have a problem, and the Pilot FriXion epitomizes my addiction.  I know I'm not going to like this pen.  I've reviewed it before and didn't like it, but I still bought this 0.7mm model even after my previous experience.  What I can say is that I don't hate this one as bad as the 0.5mm blue model, but I just can't see myself using this on a day to day basis.

Review: Uni-Ball Signo Erasable 0.5mm

The Uni-Ball Signo Erasable is really close to being a decent pen, but I am always finding something with these erasable pens that bothers me. The ink color and the line are very nice in comparison to the Pilot FriXion and the Pilot e-Gel, but something about the tip of the pen makes me feel like I am writing with sandpaper. Over any length of time it is bothersome. Other than that, I like it. The eraser is similar to a pencil eraser and does a good job in removing the ink from the page. I will work on a side by side comparison of all three erasale pens soon.

Review: Pilot e-Gel Erasable 0.7mm

It seems that erasable gel pens are the new flavor of the month. Like the Pilot FriXion, the Pilot e-Gel is an erasable gel ink pen, and also like the FriXion, I'm just not crazy about it. I think most of the problem lies in the pale shade of ink that is required of these type of pens. The needle tip performs ok, and the pen is lightweight and balanced, but I just know I will lose the small screw off cap where the eraser is. At least the eraser is in the right location, unlike the FriXion, and it is a normal pencil eraser at that, not a friction based rubber knob.

The performance of the eraser is rather poor, and the FriXion is probably better in that regard. Between these two pens and an upcoming review of a Uni-Ball Signo erasable that I ordered, I will do a side by side comparison and eraser test of all three to see which is the best.

Pilot FriXion Biz Erasable Gel Ink Pen

One of the commenters mentioned it in the previous post, and sure enough, here it is at JetPens: Pilot FriXion Biz Erasable Gel Ink Pen

Pilot FriXion Commercial

A reader sent this great commercial for the Pilot FriXion from Australia. Enjoy!



You can also visit the Pilot Pen Australia site and play around with the Pilot FriXion online.

Review: Pilot FriXion Erasable Gel Ink Pen

I was very anxious to try out the Pilot FriXion, not because I thought it was going to be an awesome pen, but that I haven't used an erasable pen of any kind since I was in high school. (and there will be no mention of how long ago that was!) This pen is interesting to say the least - let's look at the pros and cons:

Pros:
- Great feel and design. This pen is very cool looking, and one of the better balanced pens in my hand. It is the right size, right diameter, and has a nice rubber grip.
- Good ink flow. I hate a pen that I have to stop and start writing with, or that leaves inconsistent width lines. No trouble from from this pen.

Cons:
- Ink color. Right out of the gate I didn't like it. The blue is too pale, almost as if it was a watercolor type ink. I only bought the blue pen, so I can't speak to the other colors.
- Eraser location. Completely annoying. I shouldn't have to remove the cap from the pen to get to the eraser. The cap looks like it could fit the eraser perfectly, so I'm not sure why it wasn't put there.
- The eraser itself. The main gimmick of this pen is barely passable. Maybe useful as a novelty, but not good enough for any length of time. It took to much effort to not erase completely, even causing me to dent the paper, which you can see in the image above.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed in this pen. I'll get some use out of it for fun, but that is about it.

I noticed over the weekend that the Super Limited Edition Blog had almost the exact same experience.

Pen Pics

I just posted the pictures from my latest order on Flickr - here are a few samples......

I Heart JetPens

My latest order should be in sometime later this week. Here is what I am eagerly anticipating:

1 x Pilot Hi-Tec-C Putimo Gel Ink Pen - 0.4 mm - Black
1 x Pilot FriXion Erasable Gel Ink Pen - 0.5 mm - Blue
1 x Pilot Choose Gel Ink Pen - 0.5 mm - Black
1 x Pentel Sunburst Gel Ink Pen - 0.3 mm - Blue
1 x Uni-ball Signo Bit UM-201 Pen - 0.18 mm - Black
1 x Zebra Sarasa Clip Gel Pen - 0.4 mm - Blue
1 x Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto 3 Color Multi Pen - Pen Body - Blue
1 x Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.3 mm - Aqua Blue
1 x Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.3 mm - Apple Green
1 x Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.3 mm - Baby Pink
1 x Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto 3 Color Multi Pen - Pen Body - Clear
1 x Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Multi Pen Ink Cartridge - 0.4 mm - Aqua Blue

I am anxious to try out Pilot FriXion Erasable Gel Ink Pen, as well as the Pilot Hi-Tec-C Putimo, although I imagine it is the same as the other 0.4mm Hi-Tec-C pens, only smaller. I am also reworking my Coleto barrels, switching out my 2-cartridge models for the 3-cartridge. I like the size and the rubber grip on the 3-cartridge version much better.

JetPens.com TV - Pilot FriXion Erasable Gel Ink Pens

Interesting. I'll be sure to grab one in my next order, which I will be placing momentarily.