Hi All,

Let me start off by saying that this is my first review of anything on this forum. I usually don't like to post much, as I'm still new and feel that I don't have much to add, however this ink has not yet been reviewed and after trying it I thought that I should comment on it.

I recently travelled to China and was lucky enough to find a shop in Hong Kong that sells Hero merchandise, albeit at a very limited choice. They sold only Hero 329 (Star Trek version) and Hero 233 pens (which I haven't seen reviewed here at all, or anywhere for that matter, maybe I'll try that next...) and they also sold Hero Inks (Black, Blue-Black, washable Blue and Red). The prices were unbelievable with the ink bottles selling for 10 Hong Kong dollars (that would be approximately $1.30 US!).

The pen used is a Hero 329 and the paper is cheap lined paper (not sure of the brand).

The ink behaves rather well, except that it has a very mild feathering present on cheaper paper (see image below) and it has a tendency to bleed through slightly. As of now I haven't tried using any other ink in the same pen, so I cannot compare the bleed through to anything else. It is a fast flowing ink that has no start-up problems, lubricates well, and dries virtually instantaneously on paper. Even though it is not highly saturated, it gives an good black colour that is not watery or grey in appearance. The most unexpected feature of this ink, is that appears to be very water resistant (see water test image and *** note below), a definite bonus in my opinion.

Of course this ink is still new to me, so I'll have to see if my opinion changes with time. Also, I am not sure of the pH, so I wouldn't trust it in my good pen.

Overall, I have to say that I like this ink and it appears to be a good overall everyday workhorse. Also given the price I think that this ink is a great value that when matched up with a Hero 329, will give you a pen that you can bring anywhere and let anyone use without worry of it being stolen or ruined.

Grigio



*** Note: The water test was done by drawing lines within a large rectangular box, cutting out the bottom half of the large rectangle and then dividing that piece into thirds. Each third was then treated as labelled (rinsed, 5 minute and 30 minute soak) and put back into its original spot to allow direct comparison against untreated samples.

Edited for Typos
Edit 2: Upon analysis of another ink I can say that the bleed through and feathering is comparable to that seen when using Noodlers AirCorp Blue-Black

I use this ink right now and I really like it. Especially its really deep black colour and the $1.30 price tag
However, it does not behave well on Moleskine paper. No bleeding through if you use a fine nib, but lots of feathering.

But I can't find the RED Hero ink anywhere Only Black, Blue-Black and Washable Blue are imported to Poland.
If you know an online retailer that has the red Hero ink please tell me.

Thanks for the review.

Too bad the ink is not sold in the US -- so far as I know.

Thanks for the comments.
Scribbler77, as far as I know I haven't seen this anywhere in North America either.
Finansista, I haven't seen the red anywhere before either.
I guess they are not highly available, which is too bad.