[Pen/Pencil Review] The Pilot FriXion Revisit
A while back I wrote a review that started:
I’ve seen a lot of chatter on many of the pen blogs and sales sites on the awesomeness of the Pilot FriXon Erasable Gel Pen. A lot of people seem to really like this pen, and why not? It’s a gel pen that comes in a variety of colors – and now highlighters.
I tried them when they first came out – and wrote the review before my husband mentioned putting in the numbering system to quantify the bronze pencil rating. I had a reward certificate for Office Depot and decided to give this pen another try. I picked up a three-pack of FriXion Retractable Clickers in 0.7mm points.
The barrel is comfortable. It’s about 5.75″ long – which is pretty much standard for retractables these days. There’s some rubber cushioning on the barrel, which is a nod to ergonomics – even if there’s no contouring or real cushioning. The barrels have embossed designs for a cool look. The ink is decently dark – even for the red. The roller ball is smooth. And it does erase pretty cleanly (very cleanly if you put some frustration into it.) I can’t fault the ink.
The hard “eraser” is where a normal plunger would be, which makes the retraction mechanism less than intuitive. It took me WAY to long to figure out the clicker. It’s not the eraser. It’s not a twist. It’s not even a side click like some pencils. No, it’s the clear plastic clip. Way too long to figure that out. Because I’m not really one to read all the fine print on the back of the packaging just to make the pen work – yes it’s there.
I did read the back of the pack, but it was to check to make sure the temperature warnings were there. They say not to expose the ink to <14 degrees or >140 degrees. The issue I’ve had – and will always have with this pen is that if you leave a pen or notebook in your car during the summer (accidentally or on purpose) the ink be colorless (invisible). The packaging says you can put a pen in a freezer that’s colder than 14 degrees to get the ink color back. I’m told this works with notebooks as well…but I still find that off putting.
Though they also have a “business” line, I’m hesitant to use an erasable pen in a business setting, because you can’t/shouldn’t used an alterable ink on anything legally binding. But for school or home use, you should be fine. There’s still a stability issue for me. These will never be a “go to” pen for me.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 0.5 – It works. The ink flows well. The pen is an okay length. The ink is dark. The friction based eraser does its job well. The ink is unstable in temperature extremes.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It’s got traction, not a “grip”. They try. And it’s a straight barrel. The nod to ergonomics is just a nod. The barrel is on the verge of too wide, but still comfortable
3. Material – 0.5 – It’s a solidly made plastic retractable ball point pen.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – The fact they have to put a bullet point on the back of the packaging to tell you how to retract the pen – and hope you’re clever enough to look for it? No. If you like erasable, this is probably a good pen for you. Lots of colors and options. I still want to see a more stable ink. The temperature issues really scare me. And they never say HOW LONG to leave the ink in the freezer below the recommended temperature range to get the color back.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – You’ll pay for the convenience of erasable. These pens run between $2.25 – $3.00 a piece for the “non-business” style – just the general pen. That’s not horribly over-priced, but it’s not good either.
That’s 2.5 of 5 bronze pencils.
