Pilot B2P Ecoball 1.0 mm recycled ball point pen

 I came across a late back to school offer from in a supermarket, Kaufland this time. The ballpoint Pilot B2P Ecoball for just 1.2 eur or $ 1.4.

The pen is made entirely from recycled plastics, and even ocean reclaimed plastics. The pen comes in a cardboard package with no additional plastic in the package. 

The pen has a recycled look to it, like a miniature bottle with grooves all across the body. It has a translucent green bottle look, with a blue push button and recycled label in the middle. The ink flow is very good. Smooth and consistent, no skipping or blotting and a nice blue ink color. Perfect for both quick notes. The tip glides across the page with just enough feedback to offer a comfortable experience. 

The line is quite thin for a 1 mm tip, I expected it to be much broader. 

Overall it is a nice pen in terms of writing and feel in hand. The look of the pen on the other hand didn't grow on me very much, even though it is a nice thing it is using recycled plastic. It is a unique appearance, but not everyone's cup of tea.

Back to school offer - BIC Matic Pastel 5 pack - mechanical pencil review

Another Back to School offer, from Carrefour, this time mechanical pencils from Bic the Matic Pastel. A pack of 5 Bic Matic mechanical pencils cost $ 3.5 or 2.95 € but with Back to School offer the price of the pencils was almost half the standard retail price.

The great price for the pencils, and the nice color pallet made me want to test the Bic offering.

I know the BIC pencils, I used to use them in school and they appeared several times on this blog. But in the old days they didn't came in such a variety of colors, I remember them to be reliable pencils, at a good price point but came only in white.

The package is a simple plastic sleave, with a few information on it. The little transparent window on the package allows you to see what you get, a set of nicely colored pencils.

Taking the pencils out and the pastel colors just bring a pop of color on my boring gray / brown desk. The pencils come in blue, purple and pink. With the tip a more intense color, and the body a lighter shade. The clip even though is nothing special from a clip point of view (just some plastic that doesn't offer any confidence in using it) is a nice translucent color, more saturated and more vibrant than the rest of the pencil.

 All five pencils come with 3 leads (one on the feed and two in the barrel) which is a fantastic deal for just 1.8 €.

 The entire pencil is made out of plastic. The point has little grooves to help with the grip and the point where the tip connects to the hexagonal barrel there are some vertical grooves to assist with the grip, offering a stable and secure hold over the pencil.

The clip is made compleatly out of translucent plastic, and doesn't offer to much security, it is best to be used as a roll stopper than an actual clip. On it there is the logo, BIC lead size and HB#. Quite clear that the pencil is promoted towards students.

The pencils have a eraser on top without any eraser protection, which is ok for the price of the pencil.

 

The pen is 15 cm long

10 clicks releases 14.5 mm of lead 

 

 

 

The pencil writes quite well, even though I feel it could be a bit thicker for added comfort while writing. The HB leads it comes with are of good quality, don't seem to be fragile and write well. The leads offer a smooth writing experience with some feedback, resembling the feel of traditional pencils more than the smooth glide of refillable leads.

 

 

On the plus size the lead erases well from the paper, and there is no smudging. A good choice from Bic regarding the leads used, a very practical solution for students.

Other posts with the Bic Matic

Bic Matic Mechanical Pencil 

Pencils in hotel rooms 

Back to school - supermarket fountain pens - Bic Easy Click fountain pen review

The start of the school is very near and I wanted to test out what a young child would use as a first fountain pen.

So I picked up from a supermarket what is probably a go to fountain pen for children and parents. 

I am positive that most of them don't scour trough forums, blogs or YouTube reviews before picking a fountain pen for their child.

So let's see what they are getting for 5 € / $.

I went to buy some food for the weekend in Carrefour and saw a small stand with back to school offers. Most of them were pens and pencils but there was a section of Bic fountain pens at a discount. I usually see this kind of fountain pens at 5 €/$ but now they were discounted at just 3 €/$. So I got one, let's hope it is any good.

There were several colors available. I got the pale pink with blue.

It is marketed as a pen for right hand and left hand, medium nib and a triangular shaped grip section to force you in the correct hand position.

Out of the box and the pen feels very light. The cap seems something taken from a Bic stick and expanded a little. Even though the fountain pen is a budget one the cap is not giving any reassurance that the fountain pen will not dry or it will last more than a day in the hands of a youngster.

First of all the plastic seems thin and brittle, and the clip is just unusable. The tightness should be quite good as the pen has almost like two o rings to ensure a good fit of the cap. 

 

The fountain pen has quite a unique cartridge refill mechanism, it took me a few tries before I got it open. You pull out the body, and the different colored sections separate.

After that you insert the cartridge and assemble everything back without screwing the parts. I can see the advantage this creates, being all plastic a youngster might over tighten it and crack the body in a short time. 

 

A better approach would be to make a more durable fountain pen but this I think will work well enough. Plus it offers an interesting way to recharge your fountain pen. 

 

 

The grip of the Bic fountain pen is triangular, comfortable to the touch. It feels rubberized and offers a good balance between comfort and grip.

 

The fountain pen is stocky and short measuring around 12 cm uncapped, and 13 cm with the cap on. The cap doesn't post so this is what you are working with. Because the pen is stocky it feels good in my small hands even though it is quite short. Compared with a short and small fountain pen like Jinhao 82 this feels better in the hand due to the thickness of the grip, even though it is a tad shorter than the Jinhao.

 

The nib has a interesting and unique profile, and it has the Bic logo etched on it. 

 

The most important part of a fountain pen is, how does it write.

The Bic Easy Click writes well with no skipping, no hard starts, but with a lot of feedback. It isn't scratchy per say but it isn't smooth. The flow is good and reliable.

The ink cartridge that is included in the pack has a nice blue tone. 

The fountain pen writes well upside down, putting down a consistent fine line.

 

I didn't test the pen on high end paper, I used the pages from a run of the mill notebook, because most likely a young student will use regular paper, nothing fancy, on a daily basis. So I wanted to see how everything mixes up.

 

The dry time is a bit high, taking into account that the pen is advertised for right or left hand users. It takes the ink around 5 seconds to dry without smudging. 

 

 

Bleeding is not a severe problem but it is present. 

 

Size comparison between some affordable Chinese fountain pens.

(Jinhao 51A, Jinhao 80, Jinhao 82, Bic Easy Click)

Decent fountain pen, but not much more than that. I would pick up a Jinhao or a Wing sung over the Bic. Similar in price, but a better construction.

Faber Castell Grip Matic automatic mechanical pencil review

 One of the more budget friendly mechanical pencils from Faber Castell is the Grip Matic 1375/1377, made in China.

The pencil is made entirely out of plastic with the exception of the tip cone which is metallic.

The pencil can be bought with 0.5 or 0.7 lead size. It has a translucent body that comes in several colors and a rubberized grip for comfort and ease of use. Until recently the pencil was available in 3 colors, blue, green and red. Now you can also pick it up in sky blue which is a frosted grey blue look and 

The clip has a nice design but is made out of plastic. I would be careful with it.

As in other pencils Faber Castell implemented a twist eraser, just that in this budged model the eraser is fixed while the sleeve covering it moves up and down as you twist it. Uncovering or covering the eraser.

The main attraction of the pencil besides the price is the automatic lead advancing mechanism.

The plastic sleeve is spring loaded which besides the fact it protects the lead exposing just a little bit, it can advance the lead with each push. When you write and apply a small amount of pressure on the sleeve and release it, the lead will be propelled forward. This makes the pencil great for long writing, note taking. It is a real workhorse, great for school, or writing for longer periods of time. The plastic sleeve slides quite well on paper, so you do not feel much drag. 

You can also fully retract the tip of the pencil thus making it pocket safe (for the pockets and for the tip).

Taken from the Faber Castell website:
"The lead in the Grip Matic mechanical pencil is advanced automatically, no button-pressing necessary. The comfortable rubber grip zone makes writing a pleasure. Choose between two line thicknesses: the 0.7mm lead for particularly break-resistant writing or the 0.5mm lead for fine writing. The Grip Matic is available in 3 attractive translucent colours, each equipped with a twist-out eraser in the end cap. The lead can of course be fully retracted so it can be carried in pocket" 

In the meantime the color range has increased with two new colors the sky blue and black, but the text available on Faber Castell website remained the same. 

 

Here is my farely used blue grip matic next to the new arrival the sky blue

2025 color additions to the Rotring Tikky and Rotring 600 lines

2025 comes with new available colors for rOtring 600 and for rOtring Tikky.

The 600 has very conservative colors, Chocolate Truffle and Dark Stone.

These colors are a reinterpretation of the traditional burgundy and black, which are interesting and a welcomed addition to the line.

Also rOtring launched the 600 gel pen in 2025 for those that prefer gel. But they are available for the moment only in the traditional black and silver color.

While Tikky has as we got accustomed to a bright color pallet. the 2025 colors are Iris, Spidermum, Magenta and Marigold. Even though we are accustomed to the bright and variate colors, the naming is a surprise. Spidermum and Marigold?!

Colorful and Clicky: My Take on the rOtring Visuclick Mechanical Pencil

Rotring Visuclick is one of the cheaper mechanical pencils rOtring is offering. It comes in 4 different colors for the moment (green, blue, pink, orange) and in 2 different lead sizes (0.5 and 0.7 mm). The pencil has a lively look with intense colors and transparent barrel. 

Is this budget conscious pencil for rOtring a decent contender for EDC?

The pencil, made in China, comes with the classic rOtring red ring just above the basic plastic grip, and the barrel is marked with white paint with the rOtring logo the name of the pen and the lead thickness. The grip is triangular in shape, which might not be everyone's cup of tea. To me it seams comfortable enough, even though you won't be able to turn it as freely as you would like sometimes.

It has a retractable tip so it can be easily carried around. The clip is simple, no thrills, bent springy metal but looks and feels sturdy.

The top cap hides a small eraser and the plastic lead reservoir.

The rOtring Visuclick mechanical pencil comes in 4 different colors at this moment. Maybe if it will get enough attention rOtring might create more options, but for now, this is the only ones available.

 This is how rOtring is presenting the pencil on their site

The rOtring Visuclick is a quick click action mechanical pencil ideal for dynamic writing and sketching. Designed with a metal mechanism with retractable lead feed. The triangular grip provides a more relaxed feel when held. Loaded with high polymer leads. 

• Comfort and Durability. Designed with a metal mechanism with retractable lead feed. The triangular grip provides a more relaxed feel when held
• Colorful and Precise. For those who enjoy the satisfying precision of all rOtring products with a wider range of colors

I do not know how durable the pencil will be. The budget mechanical pencil from rOtring looks quite ok. Definitely if you pay attention to details you will see some corners which were cut to save on the cost of production (I payed 2.4 $ or 2.2 eur for this model).

The plastic feels cheaper, more brittle. It is a vague term cheaper plastic but I can feel a difference to the touch and how it looks if I compare it to the Tikky.

For example the pencil comes with only two leads inside, instead of the more standard 3.

One thing that I have to mention is that the lead advancement mechanism is made out of brass, which is a good thing. Plastic doesn't hold very well over time. This on the other hand should offer many years of precise writing.

I was mentioning some corners that were cut in order to make a budget pencil that also is appealing. The retractable tip isn't the smoothest, and the thread on the top cone that threads in the plastic of the barrel is not very precisely done. It feels very cheap and not reliable. But taking into account that I almost never get lead jams in rOtrings or in modern decent mechanical pencils, it means you will probably not need to remove it that often.

With 10 clicks the Visuclick mechanical pencil will advance 7 mm of lead.

In the end even though is not the most sophisticated pencil it will do the job and will look nice as well.

Seen on scree, Parker Jotter in 3 movies and one tv show. Guardians of the Galaxy, Prisoners, Holdovers, True Detective

 A very recognizable pen, maybe the most recognizable one the Parker Jotter is no stranger of the big screen. It appeared in countless movies. Some of them are already posted here, some are still waiting to be revealed.

For this time I combined 4 distinct appearances of the famous pen

 

Guardians of the Galaxy

Very interesting combination, the scene portrays a hologram of Rocket along side the old pen and paper, in this case the Parker Jotter in burgundy red.

 

Prisoners

A classic movie released over a decade ago with Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. Doing detective work I guess needs a trusted method of keeping track of information, and what better way than using a workhorse of a pen that keeps writing each time without skipping a beat.

 

Holdovers

A recent drama/comedy movie, that is worth seeing. The action takes place at Barton Academy, the perfect place to spot a lot of writing instruments. This time it was the Parker's turn to shine in the spotlight.

 

True Detective

The last spotting for this list of a Parker Jotter is in the tv series True Detective first season. One of the greatest detective/crime shows out there, especially the first season. Woody Harrelson is sppoted holding the Jotter for a short period of time.