When I saw the XXL from Bic I was really curious about it. There are a lot of different chunky style pens that are marketed towards people who have problems gripping regular sized pens so the basic design and style of it isn't a new concept. I grabbed one of them and started using it at the shop; within two weeks it broke; the area above the comfort grip started to become loose when ever I would use it and eventually it just fell apart. Thinking that it might be a fluke or that it got stepped on and no one bothered to tell me, I bought another one and the same thing happened. This was about a year ago, Bic may have changed the design on it or improved the threading but I'm not going to spend another $1.50 to see if that's the case.

Bic XXL Ballpoint Pen

The overall design of the pen leads you to believe that it is going to be super comfortable to write with; to some degree that is true but the chunky size of it might be a little too extreme for some people to adapt to. After all, it is called the XXL not the XL or L. In that regard it definitely earns its place in pen history as being one of the largest and thickest pens. It comes is a handful of color combinations and I was tempted to get one of the newer metallic pens but remembered the past two incidents and decided against it. Until I see something on the package that states that it is 'new and improved', I won't throw good money after bad on the XXL.

As far as the writing, it is smooth but it does take a while to get used to the thickness of it. Basically, its about as thick as two and a half to three stick type pens. The comfort grip is made of foam instead of rubber so you will have to contend with the foam getting dirty and the grease from your fingers building up on it. If you are one of those people that carry a pen with you at all times but can never seem to find it at the bottom of your purse or backpack, this could be the answer to your prayers because it is hard to misplace this beast. It's a retractable pen, I can't see them making this in a capped version because the cap would be so honking huge it would be scary. The clicker isn't loud but it isn’t quiet, it retracts smoothly and the side clip makes it easy to attach to pen loops or binders.

You can get this in a choice of black or blue ink but I am not sure if they sell refills for it; given that two of them fell apart on me, it wasn't something that I ever had a need to call about or ask about at the office supply store. The pen looks nice and can be extremely helpful for people with arthritis or who have trouble grabbing and writing with regular pens but there are better products out there if you need that type of writing assistance. If this were a regular sized pen I would have to say that it would be comparable to the writing quality of the Bic 4 Color Clicker Pen or the Cristal Grip. The tip is 1.0 mm so it is thick; the ink is smooth and dark and doesn't clump or smear.

These have a suggested retail price of about $1.49 and are sold in larger office supply stores as well as Wal-Mart and Target. Online stores that carry them sell them for a bit more and if you are shopping at a site that caters to older persons or those with hand problems, expect to pay twice as much for this 'specialty' product. I think the problem with this is the design; when you are holding it you are exerting more pressure on it to keep a solid grip on it and that means that the mid section takes more of a beating over the long run. That's just my guess on why two of them came loose and broke in the same place. Maybe I am just a pen goon that is too hard on them.

The Bottom Line

Normally I am completely impressed with Bic products but I am disappointed with the XXL. As I said, they very well could have redesigned the pen to have a stronger mid section but until I see that on the package, this is one pen that I won't be buying. Bic does have a quality guarantee that you will be satisfied with your purchase or they will replace the item or refund your purchase price but it would cost me more to mail it back to them than what it cost to buy it.


As always, thanks for the visit…

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2007 Freak369


Other Bic pen reviews
Bic Grip Black, Bic Grip Red, Bic Atlantis Retractable Blue, Bic Atlantis Retractable Black, Bic 4 Color Clicker, Bic Cristal Grip, Bic Z4 4-Color Pack, Bic WideBody Black, Bic WideBody Red, Bic WideBody Blue, Bic Intensity Gel Pens, Bic Velocity Five Color Pack, Bic Intensity Five Pack Gel Pens, Bic Z4+ Black



Recommended: Yes