Last week I was given a red pen by the head of the English department at the school where I work. She been given a bunch by a salesman of some sort who was promoting something or other that had obviously left her unimpressed. (It had something to do with education, which doesn’t impress me, either; if it had been a Pilot representative, though, I still would not be speaking to her.)

I decided I was going to use the new pen for marking exams. Then, today, I changed my mind.

The pen is a Pilot Patint, which I believe is called the Pilot SnapClick outside of Japan. (As you’ll soon see, that’s a much better name.) With the oversized clip (with built in lanyard hole) it looks a lot like a Zebra Sarasa but the Patint’s website claims it has a longer ink refill that gives it 45% more ink.

The tip is deployed with the nock and retracted by squeezing the clip. The nock has a satisfying click and and squeezing the clip gives a satisfying snap. It is probably the noisiest pen I’ve ever used and the six of us who comprise the native English speaker staff did our best to drive the rest of the staff out of the office as we repeatedly clicked and snapped our new pens. A rocking motion with the tip of the thumb allows you to click and snap in rapid succession without having to move your hand.

Then today I tried to write with it and realized it was just a ballpoint pen, and not even a gel refill. The contoured rubber grip is comfortable, but I was underwhelmed with the thin line and decided I would only use red ink for the junior high school second years and would switch pens when I started marking my high school exams.

I wrote a little more and decided I would only use it for my worst class.

That idea lasted right up until I actually started marking today. I put the Patint away and broke out the TWSBI Classic Mini I used last time and started marking. It was a lot more comfortable to hold and I like the better line.

Oddly, this has been my only attempt to delay marking today. I’m actually almost finished with my junior high school second years. The Patint is still on my desk, though. Every now and then I stop and make some click and snap noises as a way to relieve stress by transferring it to others.