Pilot Hi-Tec-C Hype: I Don't Get It

[flatline]

I needed to get above the $25 level on JetPens to get the free shipping so I grabbed a Hi-Tec-C pen with a .4 tip since there was so much raving about this pen over the last couple of years.

 

I got it last week and my impressions are not good. When I start writing with it, I get about a word in before the ink stops flowing and then starts flowing again. After that, it's good until I stop using the pen. If I set the pen down for more than a couple of minutes, I have to get it going again. I've found reviews online that seem to describe this behavior, so I don't think that it's just I have an example of a bad pen.

 

The fine line is pretty cool and maybe if I were an artist, having a pen that can give super fine lines might be tremendous, but as someone who uses pens for writing, as long as a pen is fine enough, there's not any additional benefit to me if the line gets finer than that, especially if that makes things scratchy. For comparison, when using mechanical pencils, I find that 0.4 lead is sufficiently thin that I don't have to adjust my writing (most of my pencils are 0.3 since I didn't know that 0.4 even existed until after my pencil collecting days were largely over).

 

The purple color is pretty nice. If all the colors are as nice as the purple, then perhaps that explains some of the excitement over this pen, but there are lots of pens these days with nice colors.

 

Is there something special about this pen that I'm just not getting or is it that it was the first pen on the scene that satisfied some market demand and now that there are reasonable competitors, folks have remained loyal to it like with the G2?

 

I'll use this thing up, but I don't think I'll get another.

 

--flatline

[pararis]

I tried one because the Jet Pens folk seem so "hi" on them. Got the 0.4 in blue. So far no flow problems as you've described. What's good is that it provides a consistent and precise line, nice for printing. I don't draw. It's okay, for something that's not a fountain pen. Since I have little need for such a tool, I probably won't get another, but it's interesting to try.

[Algester]

I like the Style fit better though <_<

or are these hi-tec-c the G-tec look alikes? if ever I still dont like them due to the fragility of the tips themselves

[flatline]

The pen cap says "Pilot G-TEC-C4".

 

I haven't noticed any issue with the tip yet.

 

--flatline

[Algester]

ohh those ok just a reminder DONT DROP THEM they as fragile as palladium nibs but instead of being able to bring them back to shape once they are bent they can no longer write

the hype around them during my early years was because they are "cool", but here's what I think for a needle point precision gel pen it certainly was the cheapest of the lot it didnt help that "fake" refills also started to pop up as far as I knew there were fake Pilot refills for the G-tec line back then

and this was a time that Pilot only produced blue, black and red refills for the line up late 90s

Edited May 26, 2017 by Algester

[flatline]

I've continued to use the pen this last week and I've learned to pause for a second or so after I start writing to allow the ink flow to get started. It's not ideal, but I can live with it.

 

I do like needle tip pens. I wish there were more available.

 

--flatline

[MYU]

^ You might want to try a Rapidograph/stylograph.

[flatline]

After further experimentation, I find that the degree of the ink flow problem is dependent on the paper I'm using and the angle at which I'm holding the pen. On the ARC paper that I use for meeting notes, it's super hard to get the ink flowing and in order to keep it flowing, I have to keep writing at the same angle. In my Black&Red journal, it's easy to get it going (I just have to start slow) and it continues to write without issue without being sensitive to the angle I'm writing at. Similar positive results with the Piccadilly journals I use for various purposes.

 

I don't have any real understanding on what the issue actually is, but it's been kind of fun experimenting.

 

The Slicci doesn't seem to care about what paper I'm using. It just writes perfectly every time.

 

--flatline