Review of Parker Urban Premium, a premium ballpoint?

Parker is a well known brand with high quality products. Today I am reviewing the Parker Urban Premium ballpoint. The Parker Urban collection is comprised of mechanical pencil, fountain pen, and ballpoint pen.

Parker is a big brand, known for good quality writing instruments, having in it's range some iconic fountain pens that shaped the industry for many years. If you do a google search on Parker you will be surprised to find out that Parker is the supplier of fountain pens for the royal house of England.

The design of the pen.

It has a interesting design, inspired I think from a bullet (or maybe a sexual device). I'll leave the design for you to judge. Let's call it "urban". It is classy and modern at the same time.

the pen's body is made entirely out of metal. The grip is a smooth shiny metal, thicker towards the middle of the pen. If you tend to grip the pens high you will find that this is quite thick. The most concerning aspect of the grip though is the shiny metal, but I did not have problems with lack of grip. As a disclaimer I do not use the pen for extensive writing sessions. I use it for note taking, a few lines, a page maximum.Though I can see for some people with sweaty or oily hands this could be a more uncomfortable experience. So your millage may vary...

The barrel is made from a colored metal that has groves in it. My version is a plum - brownish color, which in certain light looks like a shiny brown/black. The pen comes in various colors.
The clip has the traditional  Parker arrow shape. It is a nice clip as it seams very secure and strong.

To advance the ballpoint you have to twist the pen. 

Because I use the pen especially for taking quick notes I would prefer for the pan to have a push button mechanism as it is more convenient.

The pen uses a standard Parker refill.

The feel:

The grip is made out of polished metal. It has a substantial thickness at the top and tapers down to the tip. Because of this if you grip your pens high and you have small hands it can be uncomfortable.  The polished metal grip is fine for me, but your experience might be different. As I said, I do not use the pen for long sessions of writing. In general the pen feels good in hand, it has a good weight to it. The ballpoint comes with a standard Parker refill size 1.0. I like the way it writes, it is very smooth, gliding effortlessly over the paper. Because of the weight of the pen you do not need to put extra pressure to write, a "fountain pen" grip is enough.

The pen looks rather well built but at a closer inspection it falls short in some places.

My first complaint about the construction regards the joint between the grip and the barrel. It has a slight wiggle. If you shake the pen in your hand you can also hear the movement of the joint. I consider this a minus, not because it is something you feel when writing but is something you  feel when you first touch the pen and hold it. As a expensive pen, with a body entirely made out of metal, made by a reputable and known writing instrument maker I consider this to be a short coming. In my opinion an expensive pen should look and feel expensive

The other thing that annoys me is the twist of the pen. The twist is not smooth as it should. The feedback is a bit scratchy and it seems off somehow. I would liked a smoother and easier twisting mechanism. Maybe with time the action will improve.

Verdict:

The pen was 45 € which is approximately 50 USD, so it is not a cheap pen. At this price The pen writes incredible I'll give it that. If you like heavy and thick pens (for some the weight is a characteristic of quality) with a premium look this Parker could be a decent contender for a spot in your pencase. But at the same time a Parker Jotter stainless steel would do it's job just as good as the Urban at a lower price point with a more iconic design.

Politically Correct Happy Holidays

almost Hallmark quality

The man who stares at goats, what does it teachs us about engaging terrorists

In this days when terrorists and Star Wars is mentioned on news feeds daily I think we should all take an example from Lyn Cassady, the character played by George Clooney in the movie The Man Who Stares at Goats.
Lyn Cassady is an ex-military man who was part of a special unit in which they were training in paranormal activity. He is traveling with a reporter Bob Wilton played by Ewan McGregor.
Lyn is constantly talking about his mental abilities and the possibilities of the mind while they are captured by a group of terrorists.
In the basement where they are held hostage Lyn explains to Bob that it does not matter that there are more terrorists and they have guns because they are Jedi "we are Jedi's Bob, we don't fight with guns we fight with our mind"

Q&Q sport watch review 2nd update

Today was a roller coaster. I thought I am the luckiest man alive, just to find I am just a regular Joe. This is the last update of the Q&Q sport watches because today was the end of it. Just 10 days before the second year of wearing it.
Why today was a roller coaster, and why I thought I am the luckiest man alive? Well The watch broke, actually the strap broke, and the warranty of the watch ends in just 10 days. Who else had this luck in life, a product needs replacing just 10 days before the end of the warranty. It usually happens just after it is out of warranty. But not today, today I need to buy a lottery ticket. Or do I?
I went to the shop I bought the watch with the warranty to find out that the warranty does not cover the strap just the mechanism. I tried to explain that the strap is part of the watch and can not be replaced because is not a regular strap. I had no luck, apparently, the strap can be changed, but the bring it only on request, it takes a few months and it cost almost as much as the watch.

As I feared when I bought it the custom strap is a bad thing as it's not practical to change it if something happens. But to be fair, most of the sports watches use custom straps that are hard to replace in case of break down. So I can not be to upset on Q&Q. It's just a shame because I really liked it.

I have to find a new sports watch. I am thinking to get the Timex Marathon or the Casio Tough Solar WS200H.

Do you have any suggestions?

If curious about the watch without this glitch check the previous posts: Q&Q review, Q&Q review update