Review: Pentel Oh! Gel Ink Pen - Black

This is a review of the Pentel Oh! Gel ink 0.7mm pen in black. This pen was sent to me by Jose (@noyolajose). As always, thank you for sharing! I couldn't do half these reviews without your contributions!

Features (From Pentel):
- Acid-free, archival quality gel ink creates clean medium lines
- 0.7mm tip produces crisp, medium lines
- Sleek barrel designs add appeal
- Soft, latex-free grip for extended writing comfort
- Crystal clear diamond designed top click
- Extra-large, metal clip is convenient for attaching to pockets and notebooks
- Conveniently refillable with Pentel KFR7 refills

The barrel of this pen is pretty thick and has a cute faux diamond pattern on it along with a smooth rubber grip (that is latex free!). If you’re not sensitive to latex, it probably wouldn’t even cross your mind but imagine getting itchy every time you touch latex? The metal clip is quite large compared to most gel ink pen clips. It is wide and reasonably snug, although not outstanding in any way. The pen is comfortable to hold but I did experience a bit of hand fatigue after all my doodling (more on that in the ink section).

Interesting: the ink dries noticeably matte.

Can you see where I couldn't get full coverage?

How about that ink?

It’s acid-free and archival quality gel ink so you can store important documents for a good long time. It is very bold, intense black gel ink. The lines are indeed crisp and are of medium width.

Be aware that the ink is very slick and takes awhile to dry (and still remains smudgy for quite some time afterwards). If you rewrite over the lines, you will find you only have moderate coverage on paper. You will notice that tracing over lines will only “move” ink out of the way, leaving you with less coverage and some paper show through.

There is decent control of the pen if you have rough paper because it catches the ink for you. Because the ink is so wet, it can become slippery, particularly on smooth paper, so it can be tiring to write for a long time because you have to maintain a good grip on the pen.

Any downsides?

As usual, it’s only available in blue, black, and red. I guess most people who use pens aren’t like me and want one pen in a million different colors. I’m often disappointed by the range of colors most pens are available in. (Not the Pilot Hi-Tec Cs though... wow. What a fantastic range of colors they have.)

I also don’t like the use of chrome in this pen. The clip looks painted in a cheap chrome color and the ring just above the grip says “Pentel Oh! Gel” but is also in chrome. Disappointing. It’s a functional, simple pen and could be more attractive, in my opinion, without the chrome.

I can’t imagine why they called this the Pentel “Oh!”. Like... "Oh! A Pentel!" Or... "Oh! This ink is solid". Or... "Oh. I don’t like this chrome color..."

Other reviews for your literary enjoyment:
The Pen Addict
Pocket Blonde

Price
Pentel - $1.39
Shoplet - $12.21/dozen ($1.02)

Overall
This pen won’t blow you away with its amazingness but given its price point and reliability, you will certainly be able to make use of it - for note taking but not doodling so much because of the coverage issue with the ink. Unless you want to move up a model into the EnerGel class of gel ink pens by Pentel (and moving up in price as well), the Pentel Oh! will serve most needs satisfactorily. It’s good for everyday use.