Zebra PenF-701 Retractable Ballpoint Pen, 0.8mm Fine Point, Stainless Steel Barrel, Ideal for Office Supplies, School Supplies & Teacher Supplies, Black Ink, 3-Pack Plus 2 Refills (29412)

You're in high school. Your pencil case is full of the mismatched assortment of pens without caps and mechanical pencils with half a stick of lead each that you've found on those familiar tiled floors. In fact, you can't even remember the last time you actually bought a pack or pens or pencils (besides of course, a week before the first day of school to avoid detention for not having the obligatory 3 red pens, a hilighter, and whatever else was on the syllabus). On your way to third period, daydreaming about that warm sunny schoolyard on the other side of those wide windows, walking on autopilot, you kick something and hear that familiar rolling sound. You look down, snapped out of your daydream state, praying that you happened to kick the pen just right, and not into the opposite lane of hurried kids. Your eye lands on the silver pen, and you quickly squat down to pick up your prize. Upon picking it up, you stuff it into your pocket, and make your way to third period. When you reach the classroom, you take out the newest addition to your collection of adopted writing utensils, and quickly pen your name across the top right of the handout placed on your desk. You feel a twinge of disappointment as the pen leaves nothing but a slight indent on the paper. Your hand moves to the bottom left of the handout, and you scribble a couple circles to see if the pen has any life left whatsoever. Success! A trail of black ink follows the point of your pen, and you pen your name again in the top right, only this time the results of your penmanship stare back at you in jet black. You complete the handout in around 20 minutes, then turn your head to the homework board, and begin to write down the assigned chapters of The Scarlett Letter that you'll read on the bus this afternoon. As you use the instrument again, you notice how it feels in your hand. It's not heavy, but it's not light as a feather either; it's a kind of heft that makes the pen feel like a quality piece of metal. You observe that this pen's clip looks and feels surprisingly strong, and as you pack up your things in preparation for that long awaited bell, you introduce the pen to it's new family of writing utensils in your pencil case. For the rest of the day, you notice that every time you grab a pen, you feel around for the silver pen each time without even thinking. You like that pen; it's strong yet springy clip, it's smooth rolling action, it's easy hold grip, even the way it clicks open and closed is just different from any other pen you can recall using. It feels like a real writing tool, not some cheap black plastic value pack pen. Days go by, and weeks go by. You've forgotten what your old pens felt like, you've grown fully accustomed to the smooth action of your acquisition. One day while writing a couple paragraphs on the ending of The Scarlett Letter, your pen starts to grow a bit faint. Your hand moves once again to the bottom left of your packet, and you scribble a couple circles into the page. Nothing. Another dead pen doesn't mean much, and you were finished with your response anyway, so you tuck the pen back into your pocket and head to your next class. You walk right past the garbage can without thinking, and after realizing this, you simply take the pen out of your pocket and drop it on the ground from whence it came. You arrive at fifth period and unzip your backpack to take a pen from your trusty stash. You pick a simple black plastic pen, placing it on the left side of your desk. After the teacher demonstrates the topic of the day, you are presented with a worksheet to complete by the end of class. You reach for your pen, remove the cap, and place the cap to the left of your worksheet. You write your name, and realize something is wrong. Instead of gliding smoothly on the surface of the paper, your pen poorly etches black lines. You feel that slight resistance, that friction of pen on paper that you haven't felt in weeks. You're back to the same pen everyone else uses, the uniform standard, the unimaginative piece of black plastic that you've used for the last decade of your life. For the rest of the day you feel a bit off, but you don't understand why, and eventually brush it off after you walk off the bus onto your driveway. The next day, and the day after, you use the same pen, until eventually it too runs dry of ink. You take another black plastic pen from the pile to replace it, and feel no difference from the switch this time. You once again grow used to the friction, the slightly too tight plastic cap, and the lack of any sort of grip that all come standard with every plain black plastic pen. Days go by, weeks go by, years go by. You use pens daily in your work, but you've never thought about stepping outside of that plain, unimaginative uniform standard. One day at work, you roll your chair a bit too far to the side, and roll over your mobile charger. You go on Amazon to buy a new one, and knowing not to buy cheap bulk chargers that charge slow and break quickly, you settle on a $15 charger with $3 shipping. You see that shipping is free if you spend more than $25, and so you think; what is an item that we use daily, but never really think to upgrade? You search for pens on Amazon, below $15, and come across a familiar writing utensil. It's the silver pen! It's been so long that you didn't even remember the brand name, but you could recognize that pen anywhere. You place it in your cart, and both ship to your house within the week. You open the package, slip the pen out of the cardboard back of it's protective plastic bubble, and clip it to your pocket. The next day, you put your lunch in the fridge at work, and grab a post it note to tag it with your name. As you take your pen off your pocket, you click it and feel that perfect amount of resistance. You feel the sturdy grip, the hefty weight in your hand, and begin to pen your name. The pen smoothly glides across the yellow paper square, and you clip the pen to your pocket once more.Yes, it's a $10 pen. Zebra pens are worth it. Absolutely worth it.

It's a great, durable, hefty pen that is perfect for those who work in rough environments. I use this pen almost every day at work, mainly to write notes on a notepad, but occasionally to fill out reports and forms. I've dropped it on the pavement on more than one occasion, and apart from a minor scratch, it still looks brand new. I'll probably be buying another one soon. Well worth the price.

Wow, where to begin? This has become my favorite pen, and I'm a bit of a pen nerd. Never been a huge fan of Zebra F-301's, they were pretty good, but I was used to better. This pen blows every other Zebra, and every other comparable pen out of the water:- It's a ballpoint (oil based ink), but it writes as smooth as a gel or rollerball (liquid ink) pen. This is great because ballpoints last longer, smear less, bleed less, write on more kinds of paper, dry faster, etc. All of the drawbacks of typical ballpoints (having to press down hard, taking a few cm's to get a solid line, streaky line, etc) don't affect this pen. One of the best inks I've used.- There is absolutely NO PLAY in the pen tip! This is usually a huge annoyance to me, and this pen has none. Once out, the pen tip is super solid, no back and forth, and no tapping (from the tip wiggling in the hole) when picking up and putting back on the paper. This is huge, and surprisingly rare.- The size/weight is perfect. Solid but not heavy, thick but not overly so, grippy knurling but doesn't hurt, strong clip but not too tight - I wouldn't change anything about the dimensions.- Stainless steel construction is the best I've seen. Puts the SS Parker Jotter (a former favorite pen of mine) down. This thing will last a lifetime, and looks very attractive in a tough yet refined way. It could be used by anyone from a construction worker to a business executive without looking out of place. Very beautiful with a great finish all around.- Along with being solidly built stainless steel, this thing can make a good emergency defensive tool if needed. If your job or commute has you going through rough areas and you don't want to/can't carry mace or a blade, this pen can be used as a kuboton (Japanese nonlethal defense tool), and isn't as heavy or threatening as "tactical pens".- The price is outstanding! With the quality of the ink and the construction, I'd be happy paying $10-15. The fact that this pen is around $7 is simply amazing, and the refills aren't too expensive either. For this price, I'll probably get the matching mechanical pencil just because.Amazing, amazing pen. Super happy.