Pen Review — Zebra Click Art Markers
Felt-tip markers are my favourite writing implement, so I was very excited about trying the new markers released by Zebra — Zebra Click Art. And I wasn’t the least bit disappointed. The Click Art is a delight to write with and it might well become one of my favourite markers.
The Clickarts come in 36 colours. I chose the gorgeous aqua blue as my writing colour.
The first thing that struck me about this pen was the pleasing scratching sound of its felt tip on the paper. I could also feel the very gentle scratchiness under my hand as I wrote — a pleasing scratchiness, not an annoying one.
My favourite thing about fibre tips is their softness as they move across the paper, and this pen is a perfect example of that. There’s a sort of warmth to the way that the fibres make contact with the paper that contrasts with the hard coldness of a steel nib. (I liken this to the difference between running on grass and running on concrete.) I love how visceral the experience of writing with this pen is.
I really like the thickness of the line, too. Some people might find the 0.6 mm line a bit thick for their liking, but my handwriting is large and spacious and that thickness suits me perfectly.
But possibly the best thing about these pens is how vibrant the ink colours are. I get bored with the standard black and blue ink colours and love writing in more interesting colours. Each of the Clickart colours is really vivid and there is a richness to the tone. The dark colours are deep and complex and the bright colours are stunningly vibrant. The bubblegum pink looks good enough to eat.
I was really impressed with the quality of the ink: it comes out fast and is glossy and vibrant. It takes a little while to dry (I smudged my writing a few times as a result), but it retains its vibrancy when it’s dry. And because the Clickarts are water-based, you don’t get the funny smell that you sometimes get when you use markers as writing implements.
Even though this pen is designed as a marker rather than a writing pen, I’m really enjoying using it for writing. Its slim pen-like body is comfortable to hold. At 15 centimetres in length, it’s fractionally longer than a standard writing pen, but I don’t think that this makes much difference to the weight balance or the ease of writing. I wasn’t particularly bothered by the absence of a grip either.
The external design of the pen really appealed to me as well. The shape of the barrel makes me think of an elongated 1960’s toy submarine. The rounded push clip enhances the design beautifully. I’m also really charmed by the little window that shows a red dot when the tip is extended and a black one when it’s retracted.
The pen has two designs that protect the tip. A clever little plug that fits onto the end when the tip is retracted and specially-designed tip material that absorbs moisture from the air.
I’m really pleased that Zebra has designed tip protection features for this Click Art marker because I really love this pen and I want it to last a long time.
