[Pen/Pencil Review] The UNI Jetstream Premier 1.0 mm Ballpoint
Last week we were graced with an Office Depot reward certificate, which meant I was given about $27 with which to buy some new writing instruments to review. I’m starting with a UNI-ball Jetstream Premier.
The UNI Jetstream Premier is a retractable ballpoint 1.0 mm pen. It runs 5.5″ long with a slick clip and squishy ergonomic finger grip. And was totally not worth the $8.00 I should’ve spent on it. The silver and black design are slick looking, but are lightweight plastic and rubber. It looks like there should be some significant heft to it, but there’s not. The squishy part of the rubber fingergrip is in the front and back of the grip – which to me is the exact OPPOSITE of where it should be.
I get that the squishy parts are meant to rest on the hand webbing. I get that. Which is why they have the cushion under the clip and its opposite side, I suppose. But when I use a pen, I want the squishy, comfy parts to be under my fingertips, since that’s where I put pressure. For me to use this pen comfortably, I have to rotate it so the clip is on my hand webbing. It just doesn’t fit right.
And though I’m not a fan of 1.0 mm ballpoints – and that is the norm now in the US (darn it) – the Jetstream ink system does, actually, perform pretty well. I haven’t tried “washing” anything written with it, so I can’t speak to its claim for security. My writing experience with the INK was smooth and dark. I saw little to no skipping or blotting with the ink. So the INK part might actually live up to the name. I might give this pen another shot with a finer point refill from either JetPens or Tiger Pens – since Japan and the UK seem to get nearly the same pens in the finer points that I like when the US doesn’t.
But overall, I was disappointed in this pen. Given the price point and the styling, I was expecting much more out of this pen and it didn’t deliver. If I left it out and someone took it, I would be more upset over the cost lost than the pen loss. If you like the Jetstream ink system, do yourself a favor and stick with the other lines – save yourself some money. The Basic lines and the Sport lines will give you more options and lower prices.
I give this pen a 2 of 5 bronze pencils.
