[Pen/Pencil Review] Pentel Vicuna Retractable 0.5mm Pen – Red Ink
I’ve been doing a lot of editing lately – so I’ve pulled out all my red pens and have bought a few new ones. Today’s pen is one of them. It’s also, apparently, one of the few things I’ve picked up on JetPens lately that’s NOT from Pilot. This is the Vicuna retractable ball point pen from Pentel.
The Pentel Vicuna is an extremely low-viscosity ball point ink with a very smooth ball point. The ink is rich for the fine point line – these pens come in my favorite 0.5mm point. There’s a tiny bit of smearing on smoother paper – but in the most cases it’s negligible.
This retractable pen comes in at least the major colors – look like some fashion color barrels. The primary colors – like this red – the barrel matches the ink. The mechanism is smooth and secure. The plastic barrel is actually referred to as an “elastomer” – which is a slightly softer polymer? There is some give to the barrel and the ridged grip. But the lines of the pen are comfortable. It’s about 5.5″ long – which is typical of a standard retractable pen. The clip is fairly sturdy for being plastic.
It’s a great workhorse of a pen. I’ve used it a A LOT in the past couple of weeks – it’s been in high rotation. It’s a nice little pen. It’s not the cheapest thing you can get, but it’s not outrageously priced. And JetPens does seem to have refills for them.
The Numbers.
1. How does it work? – 1 – This is a solid working pen. The ink is good. The point is solid. The retractor mechanism is pretty standard.
2. Look and feel – 1 – It’s a decent link, but it has a good look and feel – artistic and sleek with a nod to ergonomics and balance.
3. Material – 0.5 – It’s your basic plastic (even though they call it elastomer), it’s plastic.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s functional. It’s an average length retractable pen with some artistic details. It’s got a good color ink and fine point. It’s a good point.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – This pen is affordable but not the cheapest pen ever. On JetPens, they run $2.50. It is refillable.
4.0 out of 5 bronze pencils.
