Write with Fizz

I recently received the Pilot Soda pen in a Linkys Stationery Box and I was really intrigued.  I hadn't seen this pen before and I hadn't heard or seen any hype or talk about it anywhere. I can see why it was chosen to appear in my Linkys box, it looks very me doesn't it.

Before opening I decided to inspect the packaging, the whole 'write with fizz' thing left me wanting to know more, it really did have me intrigued to say the least. I really thought that this pen was going to be glittery or scented, something a bit different to the usual ball point pen but nothing was glaringly obvious, well to me anyway. So if it wasn't glittery or scented what was all this 'fizz', 'soda' and 'strawberry' about? Why was it so important to be on the packaging if it had nothing to do with the pen?

Whilst I didn't find it strikingly obvious it in fact turns out that this pen has been recycled from an old water bottle thus making it eco friendly and hence all the terms about 'fizz' and 'soda'. I only really fully appreciate the full weight of this concept when I watched this promotional video on YouTube:

Ok so I have established that the pen is eco friendly and has been recycled from waste plastic drinking bottles, which is great news, I think we are all now more conscious of what we are doing to the planet and I am grateful to see more and more products being produced in a more environmentally friendly way. I did my bit with the packaging and made sure to put it into the recycling of course.

But what about it's credentials as an actual pen? Well I am very pleased to say that it is a very nice pen to use indeed. I am not entirely sure what it retails for but from what I can see from looking in various places online it is around the two pound mark, maybe a bit less. kind of middle of the road, everyday pen in terms of price.

The price doesn't quite translate to the quality though. This little pen surprised me no end. It was comfortable to hold and wrote silky smooth like a dream. I had to stop and check that this wasn't a gel pen, no it was the ball point version although they do make a gel one too. I could quite happily see myself writing all day with that pen, it was devine.

The colour I have is Red which you can see from the test below, does have a pink-ish tone to it, although looking at the packaging I thought it was going to be more cerise, the outer pen plastic and the strawberry on the front led me to believe this but no definitely more red than pink. Having looked on the Pilot website these pens are available in: Blackcurrant, Ice-mint Blue, Strawberry Red and Lime Green. I have to admit I would love to try all the other colours, especially the blackcurrant. The marketing department did their job well there, I mean who wouldn't be tempted to try a pen with a name like blackcurrant, a coloured pen at that...full of temptation and promise. I hope I can find one somewhere.

Now then, what everone in the planner and journalling community want to know is about the bleed through and how the pen takes to paper. I can tell you that this writes very smoothly and glides over the surface of many paper types so no problem there - I tried it on various types just to make sure. In terms of bleed through, you can see from the image below that even on the thin Filofax paper this is minimal and I did press quite hard.

To add to the eco credentials this pen is also refillable but I have yet to test that because it has lasted really well so far.

So definitely a thumbs up from me and a pen that I defiitely will be using lots of and want to buy more of. However I still can't help but feel disappointed that it wasn't glittery or fizzy. I think they were a bit too happy on the packaging but then how else would they get you to buy what looks like an ordinary pen?

I just thought I would share this with you as it is not everday that you stumble upon a gem like this.

Image from Pilot website.

PLEASE NOTE: Any of the links in this post are not affiliate links. This review is my own personal opionion on the product / company and has not be sponsored or endorsed. The photography unless otherwise stated / credited is also my own.