Dong-A Cronix Ballpoint Pen Review @JetPens

Thanks to JetPens for sending me this Dong-A Cronix Ballpoint Pen, which has a big 1.0mm tip and uses a quick-dry, hybrid ink that I was curious to try out.

The Cronix is a light pen and has a soft rubber grip that provides both comfort and stability in writing, for people like me who tend to hold their pens too tight and destroy the soft sections.  The 1.0mm tip offers a nice line, not as wide as a gel ink 1.0mm but definitely a width I like.

Trying it out I found that the ink wasn't as quick-drying as I expected.  Maybe the heat had something to do with that, as I left it near a window that gets full sun most of the day and that might have effected the ink.

More likely it was the Clairefontaine 90gsm paper I used to test it, which is probably too dense for a ballpoint ink.  I'll have to try it on a regular office supply notepad like you would find in an office, but for some reason I can't find any so I'll have to wait.  I think the Cronix would work very well for everyday use, but not on paper meant for fountain pens.

One thing I liked is that it didn't leave any ink blobs on the paper, which is a big problem with ballpoints and smudging.  The side of my hand is always covered in ink when I use a ballpoint since the ink blob hasn't dried by the time I return to that place.  So the Cronix solves that problem very nicely.

The Cronix parts

You get three color choices (black, blue, red), and this blue ink is deep and rich.  I was impressed with how good the color is, because thin lines don't show the ink as well but this one does.  If you like ballpoints and are looking for something different that's easy on the pocketbook, do think about a Dong-A Cronix Ballpoint.

Mark's Ballpoint Pen

A recent Lost Crates item was this colorful ballpoint pen from Mark's, a Japanese stationery and pen company with some really interesting items (like the notebooks shown in this catalog on the Mark's Europe website).

The packaging alone was stunning, a silver-gray box (at first I thought I'd been send a Lamy pen) and the pen packed inside a clear tube with silver caps. Really quite beautiful.



This ballpoint has a magnetic closure, so when capped it fits tightly and won't slip off. That's something I really appreciate, as I don't like carrying a pen when the cap has been misplaced.


I've swapped out the ballpoint ink refill and put in a MonteVerde gel ink cartridge, so I can have my favorite gel ink in the new pen.

Poppin Blue Ballpoint Pen @Poppin

A recent addition to office supply retailers is Poppin, an online store with tons of sleek products for your desk. I've been all over their site looking at various pens and stationery supplies, but not really thinking of ordering yet as I've got lots of stuff in my stash that I have to get through firsts.

But Lost Crates sent me three of Poppin's Signature Blue Ballpoint Pens in my November package, and I couldn't wait to try these. I love the look, very simple uni-color with an edged clip that I find very attractive.


The pen is refillable, so I can replace the ink with something else once I determine what will fit. Could go with a gel ink, or maybe a blue-black color, whatever takes my fancy when it's time to refill.

These are basically no-frills pens that are sturdy and solid, with clean lines and a good design and production. The plastic fits together well, and there are no seams or nubs showing the molding process. The pen barrel feels a bit wider than my other pens, but that may be due to the lack of a rubber grip (which presses in a bit, giving the impression of a thinner pen).


For the price ($6 for 12 pens, then add in shipping and tax if applicable) it's a very worthwhile purchase, especially the fantastic color range (11 colors in all, including turquoise, magenta, two blues, two greens, red, black, and brown). The pen does skip a bit on starting, but then the ink starts to flow regularly and writing is normal and smooth.

Thinking of getting some office supplies, and don't want to do another Staples order? Definitely try Poppin, the pens and paper look fantastic as do the desk accessories and other products.

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.

Black Crystal Pens at the NSS

Last year's National Stationery Show feature was the black pencil with a sparkling Swarovski crystal on the end, beautifully-jeweled pencils that were everywhere. This year there were fewer sparklers around, but one that did show up was this plain black pen with a Swarovski crystal on the plunger.



Looking somewhat like Parker Jotter ballpoints, these were displayed at several booths and have a suggested retail price of $4.95. The two new colors that are big favorites for the summer are teal and hot pink, and they are definitely beautiful. Nothing amazing about the pen, but the presentation is impressive.

Muji Aluminum Ballpoint Pen

I saw an interesting hexagonal ballpoint pen on Muji's website and was curious to see it in person, so off to a shop I went to have a look. But there were no metal pens like that in the store. What they did have was a ballpoint that looks like their aluminum fountain pen. Measuring about 5 1/3 inches when capped, the Mulji aluminum ballpoint has a needle point tip that produces a 0.7mm width line.


The aluminum ballpoint has one of the nicest oil-based inks I've used in some time, although there is some blotting so smearing is likely. It's a light-weight pen, with a brushed grip that is easy on the fingers and a shiny, polished metal barrel and capt.


The ink cartridge is one of the biggest I've seen, and surprising since Muji gel ink pens tend to use very think ink refills. The aluminum ballpoint is pricey ($16.50 plus tax), and may be in the phase-out stage as it's not on the website. It might also be an in-store only purchase, while the hexagonal ballpoint is online only. It's an interesting pen, and one that I'll be carrying with me for the times I need something other than a fountain pen to make a quick note.

Staples OXO Good Grip Ballpoint Pens

Another OXO pen I found at Staples, also on sale, was this Good Grip ballpoint. I love the black matte hard rubber design, it's a substantial pen with a short refill that has a very nice 1.0mm tip. The line didn't seem too wide, in fact I thought it was a 0.5mm or 0.7mm until I took the pen apart.

Twist the pen and two things happen: the tip descends so you can write and the pen clip disappears. The pen cannot be clipped to your pocket while the refill is engaged, so there's no chance for an oil-based ink disaster (and no need for a pocket protector, unless that's your look).

The pen is hefty, no slim Hi-Tec-C here, and easy to grip (the whole point of OXO). I like the overall design and hand-feel of this pen, if you're looking for some additions to your line-up you might want to give these a try.

OHTO Needle-Point Slim Line II Ballpoint Pen

OHTO is another brand featured at JetPens that I've been curious to try, but hadn't hit the "add to shopping cart" button until a recent order. As I was looking for a ballpoint at the time, I decided to try the orange Needle-Point Slim Line II Ballpoint Pen with a 0.5mm tip and orange body.

According to their website, OHTO manufactured the world's first pencil-shaped ballpoint pen in 1949. The Slim Line is a soft ink roller pen, with an aluminum body and brass accents. It is tiny (5.16 inches, with a very small refill about the size of a darning needle) and slim (9.5mm diameter), and the needle point is so slim it seems to disappear when you are writing.

The Slim Line is a delicate-looking pen but has held up well in a pencil case tumbled around with bigger, bulkier pens. No scratches on the body so far, even when I've just dumped it into my satchel next to the keys and phone. The ink is actually quite good, not a lot of blobbing on the Doane paper (although the thin line seems to disappear next to all the lines and colors) and no skipping.

If you need a pen that can fit into the tiniest of pen loops, or the smallest of pockets or purses, this is it. Lots of fashionable colors to chose from, in an assortment of pastels and bolds that either hide away or make a statement.

Sustainable NYC's Corn Starch Pen

Passing through Sustainable NYC on Avenue A & 9th Street a few weeks back I saw this pen at the check out and had to get one. The shop had contracted with Lecce Pen to make their own green, biodegradable ballpoint, and designed the pen so that the colors are reminiscent of an ear of corn growing on a corn stalk.


The pen is made from Mater-Bi, a biodegradable corn starch product that can be processed using the same transformative techniques as plastic. Which helps market this product, the manufacturing is similar to plastic and doesn't require new equipment--which doesn't increase the price prohibitively either.

It's actually a very good ballpoint, it writes quite well with no skips or blobs of ink in the paper and as the barrel is square it feels different in the hand. What I also was interested in was taking it apart. If you're thinking of re-using the pen, the refill is quite long and on the slender side. But I'm thinking a Hi-Tec-C ink refill might also fit, and am planning a hack as soon as I find my pens.

If you're ever in the area check out the Sustainable NYC shop. It's 1300 square feet of recycled and fair trade goods, and every possible inch of space is packed with amazing items.

Pilot BP-S Medium Ballpen

A pen I haven't used in many yeas is this Pilot BP-S ballpen with a medium point. I'd forgotten how good a pen this is, very smooth writer with ink that flows well with no skipping. More importantly, the ink doesn't blob when you stop writing and start again, leaving ink stains on paper and hands.

The design of the BP-S is impressive as well. It's a long-looking pen, which I think is partly due to the sculpted cap (for those who like to chew on the cap, the Pilot BP-S is dessert). The grip is ribbed plastic, and the barrel is a pale blue with an almost crystal sheen to it. The tip of the pen extends out a bit more from the end of the barrel, and the silver metal casing around the barrel makes a nice counterpoint to the plastic. Nicely designed and a good working ballpen if you need one for your every day work. At $1.25 it's less than many of the gel inks but more than your standard BIC pens.

Paper Mate Biodegradable Pen

At our annual vendor fair the Staples table was loaded with swap, and among the items they were featuring was this Paper Mate Biodegradable ballpoint pen. The components are made from a corn-based material which, when planted in soil or composted, will degrade within about a year.

First thing for me always is aesthetics: do I like the way it looks? The answer is yes, I love the cream and mint colors. The pen is a bit bigger than I would like barrel-wise and the 1.0mm tip as well. Overall, it looks good, writes well, and is a keeper (until I want to get rid of it, and then I won't be worried about recycling).

Paper Mate's Biodegradable line also features a mechanical pencil, which a friend of mine picked up. That too looks nice and works well, so both are definitely something to think about if you're looking for green office products.

Zebra Airfit Jell Ballpoint Pen

There are great reviews of the Zebra Airfit Jell Gel Ink pen, such at the Pen Addict, and now here's a look at the Airfit ballpoint pen. The Airfit ballpoint feels great in the hand and the 0.7mm ink cartridge has one of the smoothest ink releases I've ever felt. It is more like a gel ink pen than a ballpoint, no skips or blotches and the oil-based ink doesn't streak. For a 0.7mm the line is very fine, and the blue ink gets lost on the Doane Paper so that a black ink cartridge might be better. But it's a great looking pen, and the clip opens and closes like an alligator clip so that attaching it to a pocket is easy. I really like the yellow color, as well.

JetPens carries the Airfit Gel Ink Pen and Mechanical Pencil but not the Ballpoint Pen. As I'm usually more inclined to use a gel ink I'll be looking at those in different colors.

Faber-Castell Ambition Ballpen

I'm quite partial to the Faber-Castell Ambition line, and have already shown off the Ambition fountain pen. The pastel-colored Ambition Ballpen is another favorite, especially after I found out that it will take Monteverde gel ink refills, which include a great blue-black and purple. The barrel is made out of resin and comes in a variety of shades, including tropical blue pictured above as well as mint, lilac, and pink. A detail I like is that the pen retracts by using a swivel motion at the clip end, rather than having a plunger like most ballpoints. On the high-end side for a simple ballpoint pen, but definitely worth is for the way it looks and feels in the hand.

Pilot Prismee Ballpoint

Here's a cute ballpoint from Tokyo Pen Shop, the Pilot Prismee Ballpoint with a 0.7m tip. I loved the beautiful jewel-like colors, and chose a clear blue sapphire to try out. The pen clip pushes down the ink cartridge and there is a side release to retract it.

As far as ballpoints go it's a nice writing pen, definitely looks good, and the colors are pretty. The only drawback is that it cannot be refilled. In the age of recycling, I can't believe Pilot couldn't find a way to make this refillable.

As much as I love the design, I'm not planning on buying a replacement when this one is finished. But that won't be for some time, so I'll enjoy the Prismee while the ink lasts.