Pen Review — Pilot Juice Up Gel Pens
I love a good juicy pen. So the promise of juiciness in the name of the Pilot Juice Up made me very eager to pick it up and write with it.
It was a very gratifying writing experience. The ink comes out fast and thick — just how I like it — and flows really smoothly.
When I encounter a pen with really good ink flow, I like to really put it through its paces by writing as fast as I can to see whether it skips. And this pen seems to be a champion athlete of the pen world — there was no skipping at all, just excellent uninterrupted ink flow.
One of my favourite things about gel pens is how deliciously glossy the ink is when it first hits the page. I always wish it would keep that wet, glossy look but mostly it doesn’t. This pen does really well in that respect. The pigment ink retains its colour saturation when dry. The red Juice Up 04 I chose to test writes in a very pleasing vibrant shade of red.
Its ‘juiciness’ does mean that the ink takes a little while to dry. I often write at a furious pace and a little carelessly, and I sometimes smear my writing. This happened a few times with the Juice Up. So, I suspect that this might not be the ideal pen for left-handers. But it still works very well for a right-hander like me.
I’m quite enamoured with the Juice Up’s stylish body design — I like the visual effect of pens widening subtly towards the tip.
The stylish, metal conical tip is another appealing aesthetic choice, as is the coloured indicator below the clip, which shows whether the tip is extended or retracted.
I know that I must be a true pen nerd because I’m intrigued by the timbre of push clip sounds. The clicking sound of this push clip is quite satisfying.
I like the feel of the grip too — it feels smooth, soft and not too spongy. Although perhaps a little extra softness would have helped with dissipating finger pressure during long writing sessions.
This pen gets a big inky stamp of approval from me. The Juice Up really lives to its name — it’s deliciously juicy to write with.