Freak369's Full Review: BIC America Round Stic Grip Ballpoint Pens
When I first met Chris it wasn’t under the most amiable conditions; in fact, it’s something that we still joke about – so what makes it so funny? We met in the emergency room and, well, he was my doctor. I won’t get into the details of it since most of my reviews are already too verbose … but suffice it to say one of the things I remember about our first meeting was that he was forever saying “Where the hell is my pen”, not exactly something you want to hear your primary care physician saying over and over again. I mean, if he can’t keep track of a pen how is he going to be able to treat you? Ten months later, it’s still a running joke – finally I have someone that is on the same quest for that perfect pen. Sadly, Chris is forever losing his pens so I never buy him anything that costs more than a few dollars – so, Chris, sweetie, you’ll never get a Cross Ion until you can go a full two weeks without losing a pen.
BIC Round Stic Ballpoint Pen – Blue
Since Chris is forever losing his pens for work, I try to keep a lot of pens on hand for him to grab a handful of when he walks out the door. The biggest difference between he and I, when it comes to pens, is that he prefers blue ink where as I am a steadfast black ink person. This works out good in the end since we never get into scuffles about pens – but on occasion he has been known to snake a few of the black gel pens. Over the past few months the hospital that he works at has been redoing their charting system and more than half of the actual paperwork has been eliminated but he still has to do patient notes, sign off on charts and the usual emergency room stuff. Gel pens aren’t practical for him since the ink usually takes longer to dry than standard roller ball ink so I try to stick with basic pens and trust me on this, pens don’t get more basic than the BIC Round Stic. No, there’s no clicking here, just a basic cap with a clip on it. No fancy sparkling ink or gold plated rolling mechanism, just good old BIC ingenuity at a price that will fit anyone’s budget.
I have used these in the past but never really liked the blue ink, I am a hard core pen junkie and pride myself on being pretty open minded when it comes to pens but the blue ink just didn’t cut it for me. Chris, on the other hand, thinks that these are the greatest thing since sliced bagels and even though he loses at least one a shift, says that they are amongst his favorite pen to use at work. Now, I have to add this – a lot of companies that deal with the hospital show up with free stuff – everything from pens to notebooks, key chains to oven mitts – anything to keep their name in the minds of the staff and purchasing office. Believe it or not, this version of the BIC pen is the one that most commonly floats through the hospital as a perk from companies. Their name stamped on them in bold letters with logos on the cap – but at the end of the day – it’s still the same old BIC pen. Chris is sort of funny about taking the free stuff, he doesn’t want a .29 cent pen to sway his decision making when prescribing medications, suggesting post care products or anything of that nature. So what does that mean? I spend a little more time than usual picking out pens these days, but you’ll never hear me complain about that!
Even though these are basic, inexpensive pens that doesn’t mean that you are getting a cheap product. The plastic barrel is strong and won’t crack under most circumstances and the cap will put up with a lot of use without having the clip snap or warp. These have been stepped on, left on the dashboard of Chris’ vehicle, put through the washer [but thankfully not the dryer] and used by the boys and so far not a single on has leaked or the barrels cracked. If you know how hard my boys can be on office supplies, mainly pens, you can appreciate that statement. As far as the writing goes, the ink does flow nicely with no skipping or spitting and works great when you are using carbon paper or need to press hard to make several copies. The ink dries lightening fast and almost never smudges or smears but the downside is that once the ink gets on your hand or wrist, you are in for a good time trying to get it off.
When I say that this is a basic pen, I really honestly mean it. There’s a basic pull off cap that attaches securely to either end of the pen, a standard sized barrel and a nice ink flow. When I use these it’s usually only to write a quick note or jot down a phone number but I will admit that these, barring the blue ink, are a great pick for anyone from students to professions – and anyone in between. Lose them and it’s no big deal since you can pick them up in a variety of sizes – anything from a single pen for about .30 - .50 cents to a box for about $3.00 - $4.00 dollars – and in most cases they are less than that if you can get them when the school sales are going on. You can find these almost everywhere, drugstores, general retail locations and of course office supply stores carry these in small and large quantities. Aside from blue you can also pick these up in black, red and green so if blue isn’t your color you do have some options available to you.
The Bottom Line
These are basic pens but great for people that tend to lose them or for busy offices where pens often tend to walk off or get misplaced. They are inexpensive, available in four colors and will stand up to a lot of use and abuse before they run out of ink. Even though these aren’t my first choice when it comes to writing, they are a great thing to have around for those who lose pens, don’t want to invest a lot of money in pens or you have a workplace where things mysteriously grow legs and walk away. To check out the complete line of BIC products, visit their official website at www.bicworld.com.
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