[Pen/Pencil Review] G-Free Ballpoint Pen by Sailor – Mars
There’s one thing a writer needs to be able to do – write. Any time. Anywhere. At any angle. In any condition. I talked about the Power Tank a couple of weeks ago, now there’s another, Sailor has released an economical and convenient pressurized pen for “all-terrain†writing The G-Free. What’s kinda cool about these is that they’ve named their barrel colors after the planets. I bought “Marsâ€
The the G-Free Mars by Sailor Ballpoint pen is a pretty nifty 0.7mm ballpoint and is refillable. The barrel is about 5.7″ with a black clip and plunger. The pen extends with the plunger and retracts by clicking the clip. The grip is softer molded plastic in a triangular pattern for an easier grip.
I like the 0.7mm conical tip. It’s smooth and dark for the size. It doesn’t seem to skip or glob nor does it feel scratch on paper like some finer points can. On glossy paper, there’s a small bit of smearing if you rub it right away, but it dries quickly. The only quibble I have is that there’s a kind of bounce/spring to the ink mechanism, so the point squishes back into the barrel just a bit. The ink is black, but uses the G-Free LV Ballpoint pen refills but only seems to come in black in so ar.
These are also relatively economical, compared to Fisher but more expensive than the Uni Power Tank. The pen itself runs $5.50 JetPens with the refills being $1.80. You do have to order them, I don’t believe they’re available widely in the US. But they’re worth it if you do a lot of work on clipboards or just at odd angles. It’s a really solid pen that you can use for quite a while, and if it walks away? Not expensive to replace – unlike Fishers.
Let’s see the numbers…
1. How does it work? – 0.5 – it works well. The ink dries quickly – the 0.7mm point doesn’t smear easily. The line is good and dark. There’s a bit too much spring in the point for it to be perfect. There’s a learning curve to figuring out the clip retracts the point.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – The length is good, the plunger is good. The grip is ergonomic and more comfortable than many pens of this style without getting into a much more expensive pen
3. Material – 1 – It’s a plastic retractable pen. For a pressurized pen, it’s pretty darned comfortable
4. Overall Design – 1 It’s a decent design with an economical pressurized design that goes anywhere and does its job.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – You have to order these, but they’re worth it. If you write in challenging conditions, this is a good investment at $5.50 a piece and $1.80 for the refills Very economical for a solid office pen. But it’s more expensive than others of it’s class.
That’s 4 bronze pencils out of 5.
