Uni Power Tank 1.0 (Blue Ink)
JetPens.com supported the #PensPlease campaign by donating four pens. Previously I reviewed a Pilot Acroball.
Today's review is for the Uni Power Tank. This particular model is blue ink and has a 1.0 mm tip. Since this company makes one of my absolute favorite pens I had reason to be excited when I saw this included with the pens provided to me by JetPens.
Today's review is for the Uni Power Tank. This particular model is blue ink and has a 1.0 mm tip. Since this company makes one of my absolute favorite pens I had reason to be excited when I saw this included with the pens provided to me by JetPens.
Out of the package I did not know what this pen was supposed to be, so I treated it like any other ink pen. Despite my early excitement, I was disappointed when I started testing it.
Within a sentence or two of writing I can feel discomfort in my arm from writing with this pen; Not unbearable, but instantly noticeable. I would not want to use this pen for extended periods, so for all practical purposes that meant this pen is a no-go for me.
This pen also underperformed in terms of smoothness. It felt like something (I can't pretend to say what) was holding it back just slightly as it worked across the page. To its credit the ink did not skip at all. It lays down clean, solid lines.
I wouldn't say writing with the pen was rough, but it paled in comparison to other pens I tested. Even though it has become slightly more smooth with continued use, I still rate it the lowest of the four. This was a shame, because from a tactile perspective I liked how the pen's grip felt in my fingers.
An Unexpected Discovery
After a few days of being disappointed with the lackluster (by comparison) performance of the Uni Power Tank I did some research and found out why it might have felt a little different: the Power Tank is not your ordinary ballpoint pen.
Instead, the Power Tank is built with internalized compressed air (I'm borrowing that language from the JetPens.com description). This is supposed to enable it to write in all sorts of unusual situations. You can see this is no gimmick when you unscrew the pen and see the cartridge inside. It's not your ordinary ink pen cartridge: it looks like your ordinary ink pen cartridge trapped inside a solid plastic container.
Note that you will have to unscrew this pen from the top, not near the tip like many other pens. This was a little unusual for me, and I did not realize the pen was refillable until I was writing this review.
I have no doubt that there are people whose work environment requires a pen that can handle extreme situations. My job is not usually one of those, so a pen that can work at the South Pole and underwater (but I would not advise using it underwater while at the South Pole) is a tough sell.
About all I can do at the thought of requiring a pen like that is to imagine under what scenarios somebody might actually need it:
Within a sentence or two of writing I can feel discomfort in my arm from writing with this pen; Not unbearable, but instantly noticeable. I would not want to use this pen for extended periods, so for all practical purposes that meant this pen is a no-go for me.
This pen also underperformed in terms of smoothness. It felt like something (I can't pretend to say what) was holding it back just slightly as it worked across the page. To its credit the ink did not skip at all. It lays down clean, solid lines.
I wouldn't say writing with the pen was rough, but it paled in comparison to other pens I tested. Even though it has become slightly more smooth with continued use, I still rate it the lowest of the four. This was a shame, because from a tactile perspective I liked how the pen's grip felt in my fingers.
An Unexpected Discovery
After a few days of being disappointed with the lackluster (by comparison) performance of the Uni Power Tank I did some research and found out why it might have felt a little different: the Power Tank is not your ordinary ballpoint pen.
Instead, the Power Tank is built with internalized compressed air (I'm borrowing that language from the JetPens.com description). This is supposed to enable it to write in all sorts of unusual situations. You can see this is no gimmick when you unscrew the pen and see the cartridge inside. It's not your ordinary ink pen cartridge: it looks like your ordinary ink pen cartridge trapped inside a solid plastic container.
Note that you will have to unscrew this pen from the top, not near the tip like many other pens. This was a little unusual for me, and I did not realize the pen was refillable until I was writing this review.
I have no doubt that there are people whose work environment requires a pen that can handle extreme situations. My job is not usually one of those, so a pen that can work at the South Pole and underwater (but I would not advise using it underwater while at the South Pole) is a tough sell.
About all I can do at the thought of requiring a pen like that is to imagine under what scenarios somebody might actually need it:
If you are looking for a rugged, all-conditions sort of pen then I've got no hesitation recommending this one to you. My needs are different, and it just isn't the best fit for my needs. Simple as that.
I knew that I would not be able to feel like I had done a fair job as a reviewer if I did not test the claims that this pen could write on wet surfaces. This actually is impressive, so take a look:
I took a sticky note to the water fountain, soaked the front of the note, and then wrote on it wet. The top was written by the Uni Power Tank; the bottom was written by my Pilot Dr. Grip Gel.
Both were written while the note was soaked, I was essentially writing in a puddle. The Power Tank wrote as plainly as if it were dry paper. You can try not to be impressed, but I am.
Both were written while the note was soaked, I was essentially writing in a puddle. The Power Tank wrote as plainly as if it were dry paper. You can try not to be impressed, but I am.
Final Thoughts: As an everyday writing pen for your desk job, there are other pens that can top the Uni Power Tank. This pen stands to excel in outdoor and extreme environments, where most office pens would fall flat.
This pen will never become my favorite office pen, but it will almost certainly be in my pocket if I'm heading outside for the day.
JetPens.com sells this pen in different colors and tip sizes. Considering its "extreme" capabilities, its price tag (currently $3.30) seems exceptionally reasonable.
This pen will never become my favorite office pen, but it will almost certainly be in my pocket if I'm heading outside for the day.
JetPens.com sells this pen in different colors and tip sizes. Considering its "extreme" capabilities, its price tag (currently $3.30) seems exceptionally reasonable.