Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Review: Pilot G-Tec-C4 .4mm Black

This was a pen that I was super excited to try out. The Pilot G-Tec-C4 is the American version of the immensely popular Pilot Hi-Tec-C line of pens.  It is a micro tip gel pen. As usual when I get my hopes up for a pen (Kaweco Sport) I was initially dissapointed.

Gtec1 

The first time I wrote with the G-Tec-C4 I hated it.  I had heard in previous reviews that it took a while for the pen to start writing, but what I experienced was horrid.  I was furiously scribbling on the paper for over a minute before it started writing. A pen not writing is one of my biggest pet peeves, I hate scribbling circles on my notebook pages until it writes.  When it did finally start to write the lines were filled with white space and it was a scratchy pen.  To be honest I wasn't ready for the mico tip.  I hated it.

gtec3 

But then I gave it a couple of days rest in my pencil case and tried it out again.  This time it wrote write away (and hasn't stopped yet) and there was still some white space, but not as much as before.  Best of all the scratchiness disappeared.  It was a quality writing experience. The lines had a little white space but were otherwise crisp and dark.  The ink was super black and it dried in no time at all.

After the initial start up problems, which made me almost throw the pens away,  there was only one other problem.  The cheap plastic body of the Pilot G-Tec-C4 is a major drawback.  Although I like the simple design of the pen and I think it looks good for a cheap plastic body, it is extremely fragile and occasionally uncomfortable.  The other night I sat down and the pen broke in my pocket (the pants may have been tight, but not tight enough to break a pen).

gtec2 

Another drawback of the pen's body is its ridged plastic grip and metal cap.  I like to grip my pens low when writing, and while doing this the pressure from my fingers caused the metal cap at the tip of the pen to unscrew itself causing it to wobble and become uncomfortable to write with.  Also your hand begins to get irritated after squeezing onto the ridged grip for too long (i.e. marathon note taking sessions).

Overall the Pilot G-Tec-C4 is a quality pen with a few drawbacks.  It's cheap body and initial refusal to start knock it down a few mummies.  But the G-Tec is a quality introduction into micro tip pens.

sevenmummies 

7 out of 10 mummies

4 comments:

  1. If a gtech won't write, try passing the tip and through a flame from a match very very quickly then test it.. most of the time it will write.. be careful not to burn the plastic.. gtech is not the pen for people who put too much pressure when writing something...

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  2. I love this pen, but I find it so frustrating. It stops working even though there is still plenty of ink left and there is nothing that I can do to get it working again.

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  3. To tell you the truth, the body is really tough.

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  4. i have the same problem since i want to avoid the pressure of the grip ridges I tend to also hold it lower but my index finger hits the metal cap and unscrews it. it's sort of a hassle to screw it back when you're taking notes and the professor is talking real fast

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