5 Pilot Frixion Color-Pencil-Like Gel Ink Pen - 0.7mm in Ultramarine, Purplish-Red, and Cherry Blossom Pink

     

Product: Pilot Frixion Color-Pencil-Like Gel Ink Pen - 0.7mm in Ultramarine, Purplish-Red, and Cherry Blossom Pink

Where to buy: jetpens.com for $1.95

Color thoughts:

• Ultramarine: A really dark navy-ish color. I really like it!
• Purplish-Red: I don't like red pens. Nor do I really like purple pens. Purplish-Red is okay - I'm not particularly fond of it, nor do I really hate it. I might buy the color again since it's somewhat unique.
• Cherry Blossom Pink: A really cute color with a really cute name! Who doesn't want a pen in Cherry Blossom Pink? Actually, I'm not that fond of pink pens either, but Cherry Blossom Pink is just so pretty! It looks a lot lighter in the pictures than it actually does.

General thoughts: Actually, I came upon these pens when I was searching for a Christmas present for my PI (guess what he got for Christmas!). He saw me annotating my notes with colored lead (which is horrible in comparison to these pens) and wanted to know where I got them because he had wanted to use something erasable to grade his students' tests. Apparently, if he scribbled out a grade to change it (and give them a higher grade, according to him), his students always think that he changed their grade from a higher one to a lower one and would complain. Anyway, so I set out to find colored lead for him, but all of the reviews I've read were pretty horrible and didn't erase well. Luckily, I found these Frixion pens! They're really fun to play with, but I wasn't too fond of the ink flow or how easily the eraser gets dirty. Read the writing sample above for more on what I think.

What I use it for: I use these pens to write the sections on the margins of my notes in order to organize them. (That was a really horribly structured sentence - good thing I'm not an English major!) For Biology, because we have a lot of handouts that the professor references, I use Ultramarine to write the handout number in the relevant section of my notes. I use Purplish-Red for major categories (ex. Cell Structure) and Cherry Blossom Pink for subcategories (ex. Cytoplasm).

 Pros:

• ERASABLE!!!
• The eraser on the end of the cap as opposed to the end of the barrel (so that the eraser is readily available if you post cap onto the barrel)
• Colors are vibrant and not faded
• Heat sensitive ink - how cool!
• The "click" the cap makes when it's in place. It makes me feel like the cap is secure! And also, it's just a fun sound.

Cons:

• If "eraser" is dirty, will leave smudges on paper
• Very inconsistent ink flow
• The sometimes heavy ink flow makes the lines laid down look wider than 0.7mm
• Heat sensitive ink - think about what a nightmare it would be if your notes suddenly disappeared during the summer! (or if your Housing Services decides that it would be fun to crank the heat up to torture you)
• No clip - although pen will not roll off (there's a slight protrusion on the cap), you can't clip it to anything
• Solid barrel - I like to see how much ink is left!

 Recommend?: Maybe - not for everyday use but for the fun and coolness factor. People will be jealous you have an erasable pen that works!