TIJ Ballpoint Pen Pro+: Overengineered Click Pen

 

    Last time I talked and reviewed the TIJ Pen R Extreme, which is a machined cap pen from the Taiwanese manufacturer called...well, TIJ. Now I want to move over and review their click pen, which on their website, is called ‘TIJ Pen Pro+’, or ‘TIJ Ball Pen Pro+’. I just gonna call it the Pro+ from here on out.

    The Pro+ is a click pen made out entirely out of titanium, with the exception of its grip which is made out of wood, that has the manufacturer’s name engraved on it. According to the product page, the wood that I chose is called Red Sandalwood, which is this really deep dark red-brown color, polished to catch the light.

    I really do like the grip, as it gives the pen some personality, and most importantly some ergonomics. It provides some extra girth (pen body diameter according to TIJ’s website is 9.7mm), while the wood itself also provides some nice warmth to the fingers.

    Much like its capped pen brethren, the Pro+ features TIJ’s unique Zero-Gap technology, which is essentially just to say that the gap in the nose cone where the refill tip comes out is relatively much smaller than what we would normally find on the market. Because of this, the edge of the gap rests on the metal shoulders of the tip, securing it tightly as it gets press against the former.

    This Zero-Gap tech is meant to eliminate any tip wobble since there is literally no gap between the edge and the tip. Thus allowing for a steady, and comfortable writing experience since there is no wasted movement due to tip wombles, nor any potentially clicking noises when metal tip meets the edge.

    This is basically what drew me to TIJ’s pens in the first place. A patented, their words, invention which is designed to help in improving writing performance. Maybe tip wobble, or wiggle, is not a big of a deal for majority of people, but for me, I really do enjoy writing with this pen, as every time the ballpoint is put to paper, and every stroke or flick as letters is formed into words and then into sentences. There is no wasted and awkward feeling, because the pen now feels like one solid piece of a writing instrument. The tactile and feedback transmitting through the pen to my hands, without obstruction is just an enticing feeling.

    Until I tried pushing the tip a little harder. For context, the unique click mechanism (which I get to later) the pen uses, also provides a sort of spring cushioning feature. So if I press the tip hard enough, the refill will be pushed back, in the body. I actually do not see how this feature can be useful except maybe saving the pen tip from damage if I drop the pen nose cone first with the said tip extended. When the spring inside gets push back, it gets rid of that awesome solid writing experience I had been having.

    I had been trying to write with a lighter hand even with ballpoint pens, so I don’t actually apply enough force to activate the spring cushioning. But however, I used this pen during my office work, which involves carbon paper, so I have to use some extra force, which actually does push the refill back in.

    Of course, that is only one scenario where I felt the whole Zero-Gap tech’s advantage gets somewhat nulled. Otherwise, whenever I just use the pen for notes, and even some journaling, it has been a fun experience.

    Besides the Zero-Gap tech, this pen can boast the ability to accommodate a lot of refills. A feature that makes it possible is the use of these screwable 5mm pen tube accessories, which can help in extending the length of the pen body to allow longer refills, or just take them out so the pen is on its default length, which allows its to hold and use shorter refills like a Parker G2-styled refill.

With these pen tubes, the pen becomes 15mm longer

    

My favourite set up, where the grip section is 5mm further from the nose cone

    The Pro+ can use up to a total of 3 tubes, extending for an extra 15mm in length. I can even choose where these tubes can be screwed on, so the grip section can be further or closer to the nose cone. This does help in finding the most comfortable position when I am using the pen, if I do use the pen tubes. 

    In the pen’s product page, TIJ even gave a link to excel sheets where they list what refills the pen accommodates according to how many 5mm pen tubes attached, which can help in giving an idea what we should expect to fit in this pen.

    Finally, the click mechanism is apparently something TIJ made themselves. While I do not really know how click pen mechanisms actually work, I believe the one in the Pro+ works differently while doing the same thing as any click pen. I suggest going to their product page for a better understanding, although I also believe the English translation is a little rough.

    Essentially, the mechanism is created to be as quiet as possible, and from my experience so far, it only makes a mild grating noise as titanium meets titanium, and as far as my ears can pick up, nothing else. When clicking to extend the pen tip out, there is this substantial tension in the second half of the travel before it fully pressed down. I wouldn’t call this a fidgeting mechanism, which would be considered the point of the design.

    Another feature of this mechanism actually also helps in both its Zero-Gap feature, and its compatibility with multiple refills. I can adjust this positional anchor inside its body, according to the length of the refill I decided to use at the moment. In the slot where I can access the anchor, there are these spaces which are meant to help in positioning the anchor, although I find that it technically can put anywhere alongside the length of the body of the click mechanism. To unlock the anchor requires unscrewing it with the help of this L-shaped Allen key that comes included with the pen.

    The refills is held to the mechanism by this lock ring tube which has this white plastic inserted inside, called teflon, according to their website.

    This, with the screwable 5mm pen tubes, it is a matter of testing and experimenting with the position of the anchor and how many pen tubes I should use. Which would take some time to get use to and to figure out. But in exchange, a lot of refills will work in this pen.

    However there is one massive caveat that I found out. Despite the pen’s ability to accommodate a lot of refills, there are some biases. Basically refills with the typical conical tips works the best so far, since the around shoulders rest perfectly against the gap in the nose cone.

    Now anything besides that are considered a tight squeeze. I attempted to use a Pilot Juice Up refill, and while it definitely works, the pen tip is just a millimeter away from just sticking out from the gap even when not retracted. So thankfully it is still kinda works, but it does prick my senses to know the refill tip is so close to be exposed even when in the retracted state.

The Pilot Juice Up refill, just barely meet the gap in the nose cone

    But now the one refill that I found is not a good fit, even though it still technically works, is the needle tip like the Pentel Energel Infree refills. When retracted, even when I placed the anchor the furthest back of the mechanism, and use all three 5mm body tubes, the tip does stick out of the gap!

    If I even try to put the achor a slot further back, or remove a 5mm body tube, the tip will be retracted further from the gap, but unfortunately it does not sit on it snugly, hence the tip will wiggle once extended. Essentially, with this needle-tip, it is either I have it retracted well but the Zero-Gap aspect will not work, or have that work but the tip will be exposed, even when retracted.

The Energel Infree needle tip sticking out, even retracted

    So yeah unfortunately, the best refills to use in this pen is anything with a conical tip. But regarding the Pentel Energel Infree refill, at least the basic Energel refill has that aforementioned tip. Despite the poor ability to use refills of any other writing tips, I still think it does fulfill its purpose to be able to accommodate many different refills and when it works, it really does work.

    Besides all the drawbacks I mentioned, there is still the issue of price. I bought this for 5080 New Taiwanese Dollars, or around $160. This is kinda steep if someone is just looking for a pen to use daily. But as an writing instrument hobbyist, who likes journaling and works in office and would like something to last a long time, all these features in a titanium body, and a comfortable grip section is worth the price.

    So in conclusion, despite the hiccup with the pickiness of the tip type, I still believe the Pro+ is still overall an amazing click pen, that does offer promises of a solid and excellent writing experience despite being a ballpoint-tip pen, especially when paired with a smooth, consistent and even saturated refill of my choice, without sacrificing the said writing experience, while being comfortable thanks to the wooden grip section.