Freak369's Full Review: Sharpie Mini Assorted 4 Pack Black Blue Green Red
The Sharpie Mini's are all the rage these days; Sanford had a huge media push with them and had contests that revolved around finding the best uses for them. I had to laugh at a recent story on our local news about two girls, ages 12 and 13, that were arrested for defacing a church [inside and out] with Sharpie markers. Not just regular Sharpie markers, the Mini versions. While I am not advocating using these for the purpose of defacing or destroying public or private property I was completely amazed at how much space these girls managed to cover with just a few of the Mini Sharpies. I've had these for a while and openly admit that the size of them does take a while to get used to but they are nice to have with you in case you need to write on something that is plastic, metal or has a slick surface to it. Basically anything that a regular pen or pencil can’t handle.
Sanford Sharpie Assorted Mini Four Pack One each: blue, black, green red
What exactly is a Mini Sharpie? Think of it is as a half sized version of a regular medium tipped Sharpie permanent marker. Everything about it is the same from the ink to the tip, cap to the barrel only in a smaller form. These are nice to have with you if you are labeling boxes or at the post office but for general use they are a little on the small side of things even if you place the cap on the rear of the marker while you are writing with it. The actual size of the Mini is about three and a half inches; the first time I saw them on display I had to laugh and think of the little mini pencils they had at the golf course. They were functional but not something that you would use all the time. Essentially, that is the Sharpie Mini in a nutshell.
Everything about this is identical to the regular medium sized Sharpie; the ink flows nicely but it will seep through thinner sheets of paper or it you dwell too long when writing. It is non-toxic and permanent; it will dye skin and clothing that it comes in contact with so don’t let the size of it fool you. One thing that has changed about the Mini is the metal triangular 'loop' that is fixed to the cap. Sharpie marketed this as something that could be attached to your key ring but I'd caution against that as I tried it and ended up with the cap coming off the marker and it getting ink all over things in my backpack. Even if you snap the cap back on firmly and tightly there is still a chance that it is going to come off. If they were going to market these as being great for key chains they should have changed the way the capping system works so that it has a strong hold on the middle section of the marker.
I was impressed with the tip; even thought you tend to write heavier with something this size it didn't wear out or dull the way I expected it to. The four pack was a no-brainer purchase for me; I got the most basic of colors in the series and the ones that are used the most at the shop. I contemplated on getting a few packs of the larger assortments of colors in the Mini series but that would lead to massive amounts of doodling on walls as well as bickering over the "cool colors". Nope, for the shop they get the black, blue, green and red assortment and if they want more colors they are more than free to go purchase their own.
Anyone that has used a Sharpie will tell you that recapping is a necessity to keep the ink fresh; that goes double for the Mini. Since this is smaller and has less ink to it you really do have to stay on top of recapping when you aren't using it. Not just recapping but making sure that it is pushed all the way back in to place. The four pack can be found almost everywhere although Wal-Mart [as usual] had the best price on them. The four pack was selling for $2.97 the last time I bought them, Staples and Office Depot had them in the $32.29 to $3.59 range which is still cheaper than buying the individually.
The Bottom Line
Even though you can buy these individually for about .99 cents each the four pack is a better deal but I do strongly suggest that you try them out first to see if you are going to like writing with them. These aren't for everyone and they certainly aren't for huge jobs around the office but they are pretty cool to have in your glove compartment, backpack or art kit. If you are a marker or pen fanatic and like to try out new products and haven't gotten these yet then consider the Mini a necessity to try but they aren't exactly the newest kid on the block so stay up to speed on what's going on in the world of office supplies!
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