BIC WideBody – Thick Around The Middle With Some Junk In The Trunk!
Written: Jan 05 '04 (Updated Nov 09 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very nice ink flow, rubber comfort grip, wide barrel, three colors to choose from.
Cons: Not refillable!
The Bottom Line: The WideBody is a great pen for anyone that's looking for style and functionality at an affordable price.
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| Freak369's Full Review: BIC WideBody??? Retractable Ballpoint Pens SCWB11-... |
When it comes to picking out the perfect pen, you have to take a lot of things into consideration. The ink flow, feel of the barrel and tip are three things that I judge a pen on so when I received the BIC WideBody in my stocking this year I was more than a little curious about hot it would compare to other BIC products. Most of the time I choose black ink over all other colors – unless of course I come across a deep dark purple. When I ripped open the cardboard package the first thing I noticed about this is that it’s a lot fatter than other ballpoint pens and the barrel is frosted giving it a nicer look to it than the regular pens. I knew almost instantly that I’d get hooked on the WideBody series but never expected everyone in the house to get addicted to them as well. If you consider yourself a “picky pen person” then the WideBody is most definitely a ballpoint that you have to check out.
BIC WideBody Retractable Ballpoint Pen
As I already mentioned, this was one of the many small treats that were crammed in my stocking this past Christmas. My motto on pens is this “If it has ink, chances are I’ll love it”. This one is a little different from the standard ballpoints and rollerballs – the fat body makes it easy to write with an the rubbed comfort grip near the tip allows you to write for extended periods of time without major hand cramps. I received the black ink version of the WideBody and have since also picked up the red and blue varieties for my boys. I saw the way they were looking at this one and knew that if I didn’t pick a few of them – chances are mine would be “missing” in short order. The boys liked the wide body and the overall feel of the pen but they went crazy over the ink flow. This gives you a nice thick line with no skipping or breaks, even when writing for a long period of time. I tried the black ink out on some different papers [copy, vellum, loose leaf etc] and it got high marks on all of them.
The rubber comfort grip is a nice touch and is great for students, doctors, lawyers or anyone that does a lot of writing. It gives your fingers a real break, reduces the chances of cramps and you don’t end up with that nasty looking indentation in your finger when you are done writing. This, combined with the wider than normal barrel, makes it a great pen. The tip is retractable so you never have to worry about losing a cap and the plastic pocket clip is strong and flexes a little so there’s less of a chance that it will break if clipped on to something thick like a sweater or jacket. I doubt BIC will ever make the WideBody into a capped pen since the cap would be almost twice the size of a normal one and if you lose it, you are pretty much out in the cold since no other cap will fit it.
Things To Know
• There are several different varieties of the WideBody, the basic version [black, blue and red], ones with solid colored barrels [not frosted] and the new Ice series [pink, blue, purple, green and orange] with clear tips and retractors. Essentially these are all the same pen with small variations of barrel color. The Ice version isn’t available in the United States yet the BIC representative that I spoke with said that if there is enough of an interest in the standard line, eventually they’ll start distribution them here.
• I received this as a gift but a few days later found myself picking up a few more for the brood to use. I was a little shocked at the price of these - $1.29 each! I expected them to be at least $2.00 but sort of forgot that these weren't refillable – the disposables are usually a little cheaper than those that can be refilled. Stores like Target and Wal-Mart have just started carrying these and prices range from $1.19 to $1.49 depending on the area. A great price for a great pen!
• There aren't many cons when it comes to this pen but the fact that you can't purchase refills for it strikes me as odd. Most of the higher scale pens that BIC has put out of the past few years have been ones where you could purchase replacement ink cartridges. Alas, this one is disposable but the good news is that you will get a lot of writing out if it before you need to pitch it. My son used mine for a few days [before he got his own], wrote over 30 pages in his journal and the ink supply didn’t even budge. That’s another perk about the frosted barrel – you can see exactly how much ink is left so you can restock before it dies.
The Bottom Line
If you are looking for both comfort and style in a ballpoint pen, I highly suggest checking out any of the pens in the WideBody series. Personally I prefer the black ink over the blue or red but both that’s just my preference. Be sure to look for displays of these pens at your local office supply store so you can try them out first to see if they are something that you’d be interested in purchasing. I’d suggest these for students, professionals, writers or just to have within reach at your desk. These are a must have for those who have wrist ailments that are further aggravated by writing and the larger barrel makes it a great pick for those with arthritis.
As always, thanks for the read!
~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~
© 2004 Freak369
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Recommended:
Yes
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