BIC Triumph 730R Rollerball

The BIC Triumph 730R rollerball is a sleek looking pen, with a molded plastic body that ends in a rounded point. Like it's sibling the Triumph 537R, it's a smooth writing gel ink pen that bills itself at The Ultimate Writing Experience. Perhaps, but one problem I find with it is that the cap won't post and I find myself misplacing it on my desk or around the office. I like to post the cap so I know where it is--with this, I have to hold it in my hand or else risk misplacing it.

The other thing to mention is the 0.7mm tip, which is billed as a medium width but seems quite wider than that. I'm definitely going to swap out the refill for a 0.5mm when the time comes, as the line width just seems way too wide for my taste.


As for writing, it's a great pen that is smooth but I'm not sure I'd call the ink flow controlled. I noticed the ink was very wet, and took a few seconds to dry. So smears and stains are definitely possible with this pen. But if you're not in a hurry, this is a great option. Two packs can be found in the office supplies aisle of your local supermarket, so take a look next time you're grocery shopping.

BIC Atlantis Ball Pen

Here's an interesting ball pen, the BIC Atlantis with easy glide technology. I decided to try the blue, but this comes in standard issue black as well.

The pen does have a very smooth, easy glide and seems to move more like a rollerball's gel ink that a ball pen's oil-based ink. It's smooth, with just a tiny bit of smearing that really isn't noticeable on either paper or your hand. But as with all ball pens, I still have the desire to wipe extra ink off the tip even though their was none. The tip is 1.0mm and billed as a medium point, and while it doesn't see to be that that wide it does look like a good width for writing.

I like the look of this pen, the grip has just a touch of give so my fingers don't start to ached from clutching a chunk of hard plastic. One interesting feature is that the pen twists open at the back near the clip rather than at the front near the tip.

Retractable, refillable, nice design and color--don't know what the connection to Atlantis might be (I'm hearing Donovan warbling away in my head now) but if you see this pack you might want to try it out.

BIC ReAction Ball Pen

I think I bought this two-pack of BIC ReAction pens for the color combination, black and green (kind of Frankenstein-ish, now that I think about it), more than for a chance to sample the pen. It's one of the BIC Ecolution sustainable development pens, 74% recycled plastic.


The pen barrel is hard plastic with grip lines. There's a green clear plastic plunger that's very bright, as well as a green swirly plastic piece inside the plunger that is likely the pen's "exclusive shock absorbing spring system" advertised on the packaging. I like the pen's slightly-curved, hourglass silhouette and the use of matte and glossy black as well as green print on the clip.

The ReAction has a 1.0mm medium tip, the width isn't too extreme and the ink doesn't seem to smear or blob. Good smooth writing all in all, a great addition to the writing collection.

BIC 4 Color Soft Grip Ballpoint

The original BIC 4 color was a staple of my school days, but I never really liked it. The barrel felt too big in my hand, and I wasn't fond of the blue and white color combination or the plastic ball on top. The revised version has a loop at the top so you can carry it on a lanyard or perhaps a key chain. At Easter the 4 Color turns pastel, which is a nice touch.

When Office Supply Geek reviewed the new version of the BIC 4 Color I did take notice of the black and grey combination, but didn't really look for it on my shopping trips. Then I saw on at Staples, and as there was a sale I thought I'd give it a try.

As the Geek mentions, the new BIC 4 Color touts a soft grip barrel that actually has a matte hard plastic grip on it. The prior versions had round, smooth barrels with no grip function at all. This actually is noticeable and makes the ballpoint feel better in my hand as I'm holding something that is easy to catch onto rather than sliding down my fingers.



Next to my Hi-Tec-C Coleto you can see that the BIC is slightly longer, and lacks the space alien profile of the former. The BIC ink refills are described as 1.0 medium tips, which for a ballpoint sounds about right. You can get fine tip refills for the BIC if you want to change the style, or try hacking a Hi-Tec-C refill.




As for writing, three of the four colors (Red, Black, Blue) wrote smoothly with a lot of flow immediately. The green was a bit on the pale side, and felt like I was pushing it through dried cement. Too much effort for that one, so I may either skip green or try a single refill and see how it works.

Like multi pens and want something with a sleek profile? Give the BIC 4 Color Grip a try.

BIC Triumph 537R Rollerball Pen

The BIC Triumph 537R Rollerball is new to me, with a lot of designs to it that actually doesn't come off as gaudy or over the top: grey plastic cap with jeweled end, thick silver clip with oval indents, wide silver band, large curved clear blue plastic section on the barrel to check ink flow, and a solid silver barrel with a striped reflection at certain angles.


The 537R is a needle point, and its 05.mm tip is considered to be an extra fine (obviously some company has not checked out Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.3mm tips). I would say it's more a fine tip, and I like the width in writing. The overall pen is fantastically smooth, giving the impression that letters just appear somehow on the paper.

The entire pen refill reminds me of the Tradio, it's a large cartridge and holds a lot of ink. Overall, this is a great pen for people who like needle point tips and don't mind the busy-ness of the design.