The Avery eGEL Retractable Pen

Until a few weeks ago, I had no idea that Avery (most commonly known for their labels) made pens as well.  I was aware of their highlighters, but it turns out that their line of eGEL Pens are brand new, so of course I grabbed some from Amazon to check them out.  I only picked up the black version, but it they are also available in red and blue.

Body of the Avery eGEL Retractable Pen

Visually, the Avery eGEL looks pretty nice.  The translucent body, black accents, black rubber grip, and silver tip make for a nice looking pen that is stylish in an understated kind of way.  The clip is interesting, you can see in the photo of the packaging that it has an oblong shaped hole towards the end of it, which I don’t think serves an actual purpose, but still looks just fine.  The grip is quite comfortable.  It is made from a softer and tacky rubber with a bit of a taper towards the center, which flares back out at the base providing a bit of nice extra leverage to help get comfortable while writing.

Inside the Avery eGEL Retractable Pen

The insides of the Avery eGEL retractable pen are pretty much what you would expect.  Nothing fancy going on in there, but I thought a quick photo would be appreciated.  I have not seen any refills available for these yet, but I am assuming that since they are so new, maybe refills are still on the way.

Avery eGEL Retractable Pen Writing Sample

I really enjoyed (and still am enjoying) writing with the Avery eGEL.  The ink is a very bold black that I have yet to see show any signs of skipping or blotching, and the tip of the pen glides very easily over the paper.  As I mentioned before, the tapered rubber grip is very comfortable and would probably be great for long writing sessions, and the pen itself has a nice balance, although you might be able to make a case for it being slightly bottom heavy.  They dry time for the ink in the Avery eGEL was pretty reasonable, as it took somewhere between 2 and 3 seconds to completely dry.

Avery eGEL Retractable Pen Writing Sample After Water

One of the claims on the package of the Avery eGEL retractable pen is that it is water and fade resistant, so I figured I should test that out here.  The scan above is of the original writing sample after I ran it under water for about 20 seconds, and rubbed a paper towel across it to dry it.  The ink never ran while being run under the water, and the act of wiping the water off with a paper towel only caused the ink to smear slightly, satisfying my standards for something that is water-resistant, but not waterproof.  In addition to being water and fade resistant, the ink is also noted to be acid free.

All ’round I think that the Avery eGEL retractable pen is a great choice with its .7mm smooth, bold ink, and simple yet appealing design.  At this point I am pretty sure that my next Amazon order will have some of the blue and red versions of this pen in it because I am looking forward to seeing if the other ink colors in this line are as bold and as well-behaved.  These are certainly a great option if you are looking for a new pen to take for a spin, so head on over to Amazon and grab yourself some of these Avery eGEL Pens.

©2016, Brian Greene. All rights reserved.