Review: Uni-ball Vision Needle Liquid Ink Roller Ball Pen - Fine, Black

This is a review of the Uni-ball Vision Needle Liquid Ink Roller Ball Pen in fine, and black.

This pen was sent to me by Jose (@noyolajose) - thank you for sharing your appreciation for pens with me!

I am obviously a fan of Uni-ball pens (hence all the reviews of Uni-ball - all of which I have loved). This pen, being of the Vision series, and given my excitement over the Uni-ball Vision Exact pen I reviewed a months ago, had some pretty high standards to live up to. In my opinion, it’s not as “pretty” as the Vision Exact (with it’s pretty blue body and dots and stuff). It is a light grey color on the cap and the end of the barrel. The label has some stripes in silver and I guess it’s okay. Anyway, clearly this pen is not designed to be a pretty little thing to appeal to colorphiles like myself.

I do like that on the cap, it has little ridges where you can grip it to pull it off. The clip feels flimsy, and it stretches quite far and is not very snug. I also don’t like the shape of the clip. It’s angular and wide.

It is a liquid ink pen as you can tell by the ink regulator section. I enjoy watching ink trickle through these though I dwell on it when it happens asymmetrically (which is always). Unfortunately there is no part of the barrel that is really that clear where you can see the ink levels easily so that brings it down a level for me. If you angle it just right in the light, you can see it. But that’s a lot of work and not always easy to do (without looking like a crazy person at least). There is no grip either but I do find in general, liquid ink pens do not require grip because they tend to flow quite smoothly.

The ink is Uni-ball’s Super Ink that is waterproof, fade-proof, and as a result, helps prevent check fraud and document alteration. If you’re a Paranoid Patty (or Patrick), this can give you some piece of mind, especially if you’re mailing a personal check across the country. No one can intercept it and change it!

Of course, most importantly, how does the pen perform?

The nib is a 0.7mm nib and, like all Uni-ball nibs, it is tough. I have yet to damage a nib so it’s safe to say these will last the life of the pen. The ink is slow drying and smudgy, even after drying so I wouldn’t recommend this pen for quick work or left handed writers. I felt that the nib was a bit scratchy while I was writing in the Leuchtturm 1917 notebook and I could actually hear the scratching. It did not cause the ink to skip and the flow was always good but it wasn’t a great experience overall. There was a little bit of show through and a bit of bleeding where I had inked a lot - pretty typical of liquid ink pens.

You may have noticed, in my recent reviews, such as the SwingLine SmartTouch Stapler and SwingLine Premium Chisel Point Staples, my objections were there was no use of recycled plastic when there could have been. That complaint stands with many products. There could be recycled plastic incorporated into this pen but there is none. Even if it was only a small percentage, over time, it would add up. Every little bit helps! Plus, it’s not refillable.

On the bright side, my other complaint is always about the limited range of colors but at least this pen is available in black, blue, red, purple, green, orange, pink, and blue-black.

Lookatmelookatme!

The Pen Addict (old site)

Price

Shoplet - $18.77/dozen (with quantity discounts)
                 ~ $1.56 each

Overall

At approximately $1.56 each, this pen will do the job of being a go-to pen at your desk but it does not offer a very pleasant writing experience in the way that other Uni-ball products can. It is functional and aesthetically very tidy, but I’d have to say this pen does not live up to the standard I have for writing with the Uni-ball Vision line. I will be using mine for Zentangling though, because it's great for coloring!