Friday, April 20, 2012

Review: Itoya Paper Skater Gel Pen

Have you ever heard of an Itoya Paper Skater? I had no idea what they were until a friend sent one for review. I am so glad I was introduced to this pen. It is up there in my list of favorites already. And it's not even a fountain pen!
Itoya Paper Skater
Features (from Itoya)
  • Superior writing performance
  • Acid free, water-based gel ink rolls smoothly
  • Distinctive stainless-steel needle-point tip design for rigidity
  • 0.7 mm low-friction roller ball
  • Fits pens that take Parker®* style refills
This is a nice, clean, and simple pen. It seems so...innocent. Maybe it's the white. But I love the simple writing on it and the not too round and not too boxy shape of it.
Itoya Paper Skater
It's fairly light but this isn't a problem because the ink almost hops off the nib to get to your page. The grip is ideally comfortable - not too soft or hard - and not tacky at all. The cap clicks beautifully and posts just as nicely. The shape of the clip makes me think of skis and gliding on a waxed snowboard over snow - smooth and effortless (well, effortless to watch anyway). That is how this pen writes. It is so smooth and so effortless, I was actually surprised when I first wrote with it! The tip just glided across the page. It's beautiful to write with. As you can see, there are no skipping issues.
Itoya Paper Skater Writing Sample
Sorry, sorry, I wrote ballpoint there but the ink is in fact a gel. It feels like a ballpoint/gel ink amalgAMAZING.
It's also refillable!! Thank goodness because I only have one of these, and I'm already cringing at the thought of it running out!


Price
Amazon - $3.99
Art Stuff - $2.99
Penwa - $2.40


Overall
If you can get your hands on one of these, I highly recommend it. You just have to experience the way it writes! It's so awesome. Personally, I will always keep one of these in my pencil case from now on.

10 comments:

RMinNJ said...

What type of refill does it take?  The Itoya Aquaroller?  Or the AquaGel?     Sadly, Itoya told me their blue
AquaGel (GPR7) is discontinued.

rapid_butterfly said...

it does rather look like a Pelikan M205  in some ways...

GourmetPens said...

I think this one has the GPR7 in black... but I did have a look at their refill page, check it out here: http://www.itoya.com/Catalogs/Refills/pen_refills.htm. This one is under the 2nd column. I believe the O means it can take any of those refills so it looks like there are many options available... I can't imagine why they would discontinue the GPR7!!!!! Noooo!

GourmetPens said...

Bingo - the M205! It is a very nice needle point. I'm really happy with it!

Posted Pen said...

Oh yes, this pen does look good, especially with it being so understated.  I shall keep my eye out for one, thanks for the review!

GourmetPens said...

Isn't it awesome? I like shiny pens but this one, to me, has the perfect design!! It doesn't even need shine to look great.

Shangching CH said...

How does it compare to Pilot V5 or Uni-Ball Vision Needle?  It is wonderful that this pen is refillable, as long as the manufacturer does not discontinue it...

GourmetPens said...

Very different as those two are liquid inks. This one writes with thicker lines and has more "glide" because of the ink being gel. The V5/Vision needle are very nice for liquid ink pens and I actually like both of them a lot. But the Paper Skater's ink smells way better :) I hope Itoya doesn't discontinue! I would be crushed!!

Shangching CH said...

Wow, for once I prefer the solvent scent more than you do!  Yes, I used to sniff V5.  Don't remember much of Vision though.

abitnerdy said...

What! The pen looks gorgeous and sounds wonderful. Loved the review :) 

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