Review: Pentel Pocket Brush Pen

When Pentel asked me if I wanted to review the Pocket Brush Pen, I couldn't say yes fast enough. I've seen a lot of tweets and reviews about this pen, and always wanted to try it, but I just never got around to picking one up, mostly because it's an artist's pen and drawing isn't my forte, despite being a master doodler. So I was pretty excited when it showed up in my mail box.

I'll admit I was actually shocked when I opened up the pen and the tip was a fine brush point, despite the word "brush" in the name. I'm not sure what I expected, but the fact that the end looked like a paint brush really made me dig this pen even more. I loaded the ink cartridge and held the pen upside down (per the instructions) and watched as the ink flowed into the bristles. That part was pretty cool, to be honest. The barrel is plastic, and it's a good size for holding in your hand in different positions. Also it's refillable, which is always a big plus in my book.

Okay, so then I got down to business and fiddled around with it. I basically just played around with the pen, doodling silly things and seeing how fine of a line I could make and then how thick of a line it would produce. The ink flowed really nicely, after a few test swipes in the margins of the paper. I drew with this on Doane Paper's Writing Pad (which honestly, is my favorite paper to write and doodle on). The ink didn't bleed through to the back of the page, and it didn't smear when I ran my hand over it right after writing. I really enjoyed how the lines came out based on how I held the pen and the pressure I used. For someone who doesn't seriously draw, this pen made me feel a bit like a real artist. I imagine it would also be useful for calligraphy work, something else I am not good at. (And I'm not going to post pictures of my attempt! Ha!)

Here's a sample of the lines this pen can do (with a steady hand):

And here's a couple of doodles I did with the pen:



I really enjoyed playing with this pen, and I can see why so many artists use it for their fine art needs. It's definitely worth a look, if you're an illustrator type looking for a pen that can do what a paint brush can do. Really nice lines with the ability to feather them off, and the ink flows well. I was impressed, and you can be sure I'll be filling up more pages with doodles now that I have this in my arsenal. No giveaway this time, I'm keeping this one for myself.

(Disclaimer: I was provided this pen for free from Pentel as a PEN-fessional. Your mileage may vary.)