[Pen/Pencil Review] Zebra bLen 0.5mm Blue Ink
This week’s pen is a new design from Zebra. I picked this up at Kinokuniya on the way back from my Favorite Ex-CoWorker’s wedding. If we’d thought it through, we’d’ve left for the wedding earlier and stopped on the way UP. But this one is something interesting…and I’m looking forward to working with it more to see if it lives up to the design hype.
The Zebra bLen is a team-up between Zebra and a design company, Nendo. It’s supposedly designed for those of us who use pens for long periods of time. Tokyo Pen Shop does an unboxing video on it. They talk about how it’s designed for artists, designers, and writers to be comfortable for long periods of use. And they do it without being bulky. It’s…interesting.
This pen is about 5.5″ long retracted and about 5.75″ long with the tip extended. This is a typical length for a retractable pen, but that’s where it stops being “typical”. This pen touts having a brass weight close to the tip to lower the center of gravity. It’s slightly wider than an ordinary retractable pen, but not as wide as say a Dr. Grip or other “ergonomic” pen. The grip is a softer rubber/plastic than the upper barrel. And though you can refill the pen, there’s no ridge or bump where the two parts of the barrel connect, leaving a smooth, even surface.
The barrel actually elongates into almost an oval as it moves up to the clip and pusher. The oval end makes the plunger wider and easier to click. The plunger cap flows into the clip that is accented with color on the shaft – at least with the white barrel versions. These have color-matching and point size on the plunger. There are also black and gray barrels.
The bLens come in 0.5mm and 0.7mm in red, blue, and black inks – the black and gray barrels come with black ink. The ink is rich and dark, which I’ve come to expect from Zebra’s emulsion gel ink. It’s just an amazing pen. I’m probably going to have to get more of them. At least I know Tokyo Pen Shop has them, and they’re not that expensive.
The Numbers.
1. How does it work? – 1 – This is a solid, utility pen. The white barrel line comes in the three primary colors and has a good solid line with smooth ink. The weighted tip and balance make it easy to work with.
2. Look and feel – 1 – It’s average length with a slightly wider than average diameter. The grip is comfortable. The line is thin but strong. It is sleek, smooth and comfortable.
3. Material – 1 – It’s a mostly plastic utility pen. It is what it is, and it’s solid for what it is. The clip is metal and plastic and strong.
4. Overall Design – 1 – It’s actually a new design and innovative (which is difficult for pens like a retractable gel).
5. Price Point – 1 – They’re between $2.50 and $3.00 – depending on where you get them, but they’re only available online or a shop that gets their stuff from Japan – like Tokyo Pen Shop or Kinokuniya. They are refillable, come in the basic colors and in at least 2 point sizes.
That’s a 5.0
