These pens are economically priced, but stop working very quickly! There appears to be copious amounts of ink visible in the barrel, but the pens just quit writing.In other words...they really suck! Will not purchase anymore. Zebra Z-Grip Retractable Ballpoint Pen, Medium, 1.0 mm, Clear Barrel, Black Ink 12-Count (22210)
The look and feel of this pen is great but its very "picky" about what it wants to work on. for instance: If you are using a pad of paper the dents created by writing on the top sheet will cause the pen to "skip" on the following page, also if your writing on thin paper (ie carbon-less multi copy forms) it wont write. The Ball/Ink is just far to finicky about when it will actually leave a mark.
Bottom line:
Pen works well enough if your writing on a "normal" single sheet of paper on a hard surface, but forget about using it on legal pads or multi-part forms.
I got this box because of its price but was not really satisfied. I won't be getting any more Zebras because I found their flow inconsistent and their barrels not very durable. The fact is if you're looking for cheap pens for a public setting then they're up to the job, but if it's something you're planning on using on a daily basis you can do better. I now take care of my pens much more than I did in the past as a way of getting around the cumulative expense of having to purchase them continuously.
I bought a large package of these pens in early 2010. I stored the ones we weren't using in our desk supplies. When I needed a new one this weekend, I pulled one out and couldn't get it to write. So, thinking that I should have stored them upright, I put the pens in a mug on my desk. Two days later, none will write. They all look as if there is plenty of ink as another reviewer stated. What a complete waste of money. I will be throwing away 7 of these.
At first I thought this pen was great. But very shortly (by most ball
point pen standards) after you start using it, it just decides not to work any more. This is the 5th or 6th time this has
happened with this brand of pen. I just threw out the rest of them.
They are terrible...avoid them at any price.
I wish I could give these pens a good review - I think they are so nice looking, they have a good grip, and I like how they write. However, I consistently have difficulty actually keeping them writing. In a 12-pack, a quarter of the pens (so far) have abruptly given up working within a week of being purchased. I can see there is plenty of ink in the barrel, but nothing comes out. Very frustrating.
I happened to end up with one of these pens, and I liked it so much that I had to order a box.
I'm tired of reaching for a pen at home, only to get one that won't write right away or leaves blobs of ink. These pens begin writing instantly and smoothly.
The other reviewer is correct about the point size--it's more like a fine point than a medium. But that just keeps the writing crisp, with no blobs.
My favorite office-use pens are the Zebra F301 and F402. Unfortunately I have a tendency to leave my pens laying around here and there, and I've come to realize that at a dollar or more each these two styles of pens aren't very cost effective for me.
Enter the Z-Grip. It's a bit thicker than the F301 and F402, but not enough to be objectionable for me (the Zebra Silver Select comes to mind as one pen far too big in the grip). I do have large hands, however, so those who prefer a thin writing instrument may want to look elsewhere.
As for the writing itself, I have no issues with it 95% of the time, but once in a while I find it a bit more finicky on glossy paper than the F301 or F402. But for appr. 1/4 the price I consider this a reasonable tradeoff. And it is miles ahead of the PaperMate junk that is available in our office supply cabinet. Reccomended.
I just bought a 7-pack of these at Walmart for $2.50! I agree with other reviewers about them being 'skippy' & not consistent in delivering ink-on-paper while writing in some situations. I was a big fan of Zebra Orbitz retractable gel-ink pens when they were still available at Walmart because of their price, and Zebra F/G-301 stainless because of the refill ability(But I kept losing those). Genrally I like the consistency/ease of writing, waterproof & archival qualities of gel-ink pens from Zebra. This pen is OK especially at the price I paid, but not my favorite, but it's not gel-ink.
Maybe I should just go back to using a pencil.
At first, these seem like perfectly good pens. But after a while, they stop writing. You can see that there's still plenty of ink, but the pen just doesn't write. The ball seems to be rolling okay, but the ink is stuck. It's as if a big air bubble somehow got in and won't go away.
As you write and the column of ink gets lower, everything seems to be fine. You won't know when it's going to stop working. Within a package of pens, each pen will stop at a different, unpredictable moment. But all of them will stop eventually, long before they run out of ink. You'll have a full set of what look to be viable, half-used pens, but none of them will write.
If you can get a pack of these for less than half the price of a comparable pack of Bics (those NEVER stop writing until ALL the ink is gone), you might get your money's worth because you'll get about half the use out of them. But if you pay any more than that, you'll be wasting your money. Don't waste your money! - Zebra - Black - Pens - Retractable'
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