This has been a challenging week. Day Job has changed in a good way. Loki has been in and out of the vet’s office getting his Bark Fight Ear checked, bandaged and re-bandaged. So this is going to be (sort of) a rerun – but with a twist. Office Depot/Max’s TUL line came out with a SHINY version of their retractable pen – metallic!

The TUL retractable pens are about 5.75″ long with the tip retracted and extended. The barrel is plastic with a black dimpled rubber grip and graduated black and copper coloring the barrel. The clip is metal and sturdy with black accent. The plunger is a solid black plunger, but the tip cone is shiny copper plated for a stunning look. There’s not a ton of squish in the grip, but they’re pretty comfortable.

The black ink is decent. I’ve actually had these for a while, and they still work well, even on the rough handmade paper. The color is rich and smooth with a 0.7mm conical tip. I’ve enjoyed working with these pens off and on for a while now, for an everyday pen, they’re in the top five or ten for roller balls.

These are fun novelties – not only does it come in the copper, but also silver and maybe gold. They were for sale at the cash register when I went in for something else. I had to get it for the SHINY. These are good utility pens. Solid mechanisms with good ink for a decent price. These run about $2 individually.

The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 – These are solid pens. The ink doesn’t skip or blog. The ink is dark and rich. It has a good feel.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – It’s a utilitarian pen. Has a nod to ergonomics with the dimpled, rubber grip. It has a good length with decent balance.
3. Material – 1 It’s a solid plastic and metal retractable pen. The colors are awesome. Very shiny.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s solid. It’s utilitarian. It works. SHINY!
5. Price Point – 0.5 – These run between $1.50 – $2.00 a piece, which make them affordable, but I’m not sure how easy they are going to be to get any more other than online. Since TUL was an Office Max “house brand” I don’t know that Office Depot kept them on. Get them while you can, if you can. Or order them online.

4.5 out of 5 Bronze Pencils