Review: Uni-ball Power Tank Ballpoint Pen 0.7 mm Blue Body - Blue Ink

I have had the Uni-ball Power Tank ballpoint pen 0.7 mm with the blue body and blue ink on my JetPens wish list for far too long. It kept getting pushed aside for gel pens and pencil cases. I'm sorry, Power Tank. It's not you. It's me. Finally, a very thoughtful friend sent one in the mail (as a surprise) and I was like WHAA?!! <-- a sound of joy/excitement/happiness

The Uni-ball Power Tank really does look like a power tank of a ballpoint pen. It's a large, wide, thick pen at the grip, that is slightly thinner at the top. It is proportionally heavy as well. The grip is intriguing, with long, teardrop-shaped plastic set in the slightly textured grip. The grip is firm, not squishy. I think the grip could stand to be slightly softer, but I think slightly soft grips are fun to squish.

I think the font on the clip, and the strange bullet type logo that encircles the font, is hideous. Fortunately, this can be overlooked.

What makes the Power Tank special? JetPens explains it well:

The pen writes in extreme conditions including wet surfaces, cool temperatures, and even upside down. Normal pens utilize gravity to create ink flow onto a paper. But the Uni-Ball Power Tank utilizes internal compressed air pressure to push out ink onto the paper. Revolving air inside allows it to continually push ink out until the end. The pen can write in weightless conditions such as in space, on wet paper and subzero environments. The oil based pigment ink is high density and comes out smooth and dark on paper.

The ink flow is so smooth and controlled that there are no blobs. The result is a writing sample that looks very clean, tidy, and consistent. The only drawback, in my opinion, is that this blue ink is not dark enough. I love rich, deep blue inks in ballpoint pens and this one looks a little too weak. Nevertheless, the comfort and ease of writing wins out.

To test its ability to write upside down, I tried writing upside down. That was a failure. So instead, I wrote against a wall for a few minutes. The Power Tank kept writing as though I writing like normal on a flat surface! If I were writing with a regular pen against a wall, the ink would stop flowing. I'm sure this has happened to all of us before.

On wet paper, the Power Tank ink glides through the water with no problem. It doesn't smudge or smear or spread. It writes like the paper is dry. Awesome. I wish I could test it in subzero environments.

Uni-bounce over here for more reviews:
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The Pen Addict

Price
JetPens - $3.30 (refills are $1.65)

Overall
If you have any interest in ballpoint pens, or you are looking for one or two special ballpoints to keep in your pencil case, I think you should consider the Uni-ball Power Tank! It's cool and rugged looking, and writes very well. It is not a ballpoint you'll want to lend out though. The Uni-ball Power Tank comes in a variety of models, colors, and tip sizes if this particular model doesn't float your boat. My only complaint is the blue ink is not dark enough.