The Pilot Opt .5

The time has come for my first review! I have chosen to review the Pilot Opt .5 as it was one of the first pens that I came to admire, not only for the design but for the lead advancing mechanism (I was a "shaker virgin" before I bought it.) My lead of choice for now is Pentel Ain line (HB) which is just what I happened to be on for my most recent purchase, since I don't yet have a lead preference.

Oh, she's a looker...

I've found the Opt to be a fantastic pen that writes smoothly and is very well balanced. The grip is reasonably comfortable and fits flush with the barrel of the pen.  I don't like pens that have barrels that bulge out from the body of the pen. The shaker mechanism, which was foreign to me until I purchased this, works magnificently. A quick wrist flick moves a weight which advances the lead. There have only been a couple times when I have found it was necessary to have this at my disposal, such as chemistry class where I need to use a pencil, but the professor talks really fast, and I don't have enough time to reach up and click the pencil. The click mechanism on the top of the pen works just like a normal pencil, so nothing special there.

There are two characteristics that make this pen special though. The full line, which can be found at jetpens.com was designed based on the idea that colorful writing utensils, while very pretty, tend to stick out quite awkwardly in a professional environment.  I can see myself at a gala event with this baby peeking out of a pocket.  This pencil caught my eye specifically in the black and white stripe variants.

Alluring, yet still practical.

The second interesting note on this pen is the clip at the end of the barrel.  A large spring is used on the clip, which allows the user to attach the pen to a rather large notebook if necessary.  I am a big fan of pen cases (which I am currently looking to upgrade) so I wouldn't be using the clip much, but I can see it being extremely useful for people who do. I've decided that from here on out, as often as possible, I will display real use of each instrument, so here are some notes from a history class I'm in about Ancient Rome:

HB is my personal preference when it comes to leads

So there you have it! My first review wasn't as hard as I feared. A review of the Uni Kuru Toga will come next!

Salvete Omnes!