[Pen/Pencil Review] The Sharpie Pen RT and a New Grading System

It’s one of those Mondays where the “To Do” list is rather daunting especially coming off a weekend that only added to the “To Do” List rather than take from. So, here’s one thing off the “To Do” List… This week’s review is of the new Sharpie Pen RT design – black ink.

I think I’ve talked about the Sharpie Pens before and will again as they work on some new designs and such. I’m doing this one to start a new grading system my husband suggested because he was looking for something objective in my subjective reviews of pens. So this is going to starting working those details out as well…

But first, the subjective part… I do find myself grabbing the Sharpie Retractable (RT) pen of my desk to jot notes if it’s available. I like retractable pens for their lack of cap. I will drop, lose, inadvertently spin a cap across a room – usually when it’s most inconvenient, so retractables are a “good thing” for me – except at job interviews. Note: if you’re a fidgeter (like me) NEVER, EVER take a retractable pen to a job interview…obsessive clicking is NOT a good thing.

I really do like the new design to the Sharpie Pen RT. They’ve taken their basic design and removed all ridges. The barrel still has the softer rubber finger grip, but the barrel is completely smooth. They’ve taken off all ridges, even the break in the barrel to insert refills (if they made them) is under the clip. There is nothing to dig into fingers or annoy the hand while writing.

However, it’s still a porous point writing instrument. It will dry out. It will bend and mush down and/or fray making the writing less stable and harder to work with – which is, generally why I steer clear of porous points. I will destroy the writing point after a while. So, while it’s a solid pen, it does have drawbacks.

Now for the new grading system… Since I have a system for UP TO 5 bronze pencils in place, my husband suggested five criteria and a system of 0, .5, and 1 for each category to equal five. He’s seen systems like this on other pen blogs before and prefers something objective. I’m trying it out.

Here’s the first go around:
1. How does it write? – 0.5 – For a porous point, it’s not bad. It does dry out. I do not recommend leaving the point exposed to air if not in use. The line is consistent and the ink has good pigment
2. Grip and Feel – 1 – I like the smooth barrel with nothing to dig into my fingers. The slightly softer rubber grip give the grip more comfort than straight hard plastic.
3. Material – 0.5 – It’s plastic. It’s meant to be disposable. It’s sturdy plastic, and not flimsy, but it’s still plastic.
4. Overall Design – 1 – I do give this a decent mark for design because Sharpie seemed to listen to customers and redid the design to make it more comfortable for long-term use.
5. Price Point – 0 – They’re a bit pricey for what they are. Online at most major office supply box stores, 3 packs run $8.20-$9.99 in the US, making them between $2.75 and $3.33 each. I like my truly disposables to be closer to the $1-$2 range.

So, now this WRITER does some MATH… to give the Sharpie Pen RT 3 Bronze Pencils.

Tags: pen, Sharpie, Sharpie Pen, writing instrument