Wednesday, July 2, 2014

inexPENsive - Uni-ball jetstream RT


For me, the Uniball jetstream RT is probably the only ballpoint pen that could beat a fountain pen. The reason for that is quite straightforward, I love the refill!

The Jetstream RT comes with a hybrid ink cartridge, which can be found in all pens from their Jetstream lineup. This Hybrid ink is supposed to be a combination between ballpoint pen ink and rollerball ink, which gives it unique properties that other ballpoint pens don't have. The most important feature of the jetstream ink, is the fact that it produces a much more consistent line, unlike other ballpoint pens, that often have a fairly inconsistent flow and thus a fairly inconsistent, skippy line. It writes incredibly smooth and without much pressure. I always buy mine in a 1.0 mm thickness, mostly because this is the only size I seem to find, however, according to some, the finer sizes perform even better!

And to be honest, it doesn't look too bad right? The complete body is covered in a layer of rubber, which provides a good grip, and it feels comfortable in the hand. The chrome-coloured accents look decent, however it's still a budget pen, so don't expect any fancy metal parts in this pen (except for the spring!).
The grip section has a slight bit of texture to it, and also a few small ink windows running lengthwise over the section, making it easy to see how much juice there's left!

There's only one thing I really dislike about this pen: the fact that you'll burn through a refill faster than..., well faster than anything! The refill has the same size as a cheap commercial ballpoint pen, but because it has a different ink in it, you'll find yourself emptying it within one or two weeks of heavy use!

Even though this is still a budget pen, you could consider this to be a slightly higher-end model. The price is quite high, at approximately 4 USD, especially given the fact that it only holds a small amount of ink. However, I'm pretty sure it would be a perfect fit for most people, and it won't break the bank!

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