Ah, the joy of a good ballpoint pen. Worlds away from the cheap plastic Zebras that I despise.
I love my ballpoint collection as much as my fountain pens, from the Parker Jotter to my latest acquisition, the RIIND Compact Pen.
I may be biased, because I just can't resist that shade of pink!
The pen arrived securely packed in a small cardboard box, which held a plastic tube containing the pen. If you've read any of my other reviews you'll already know that I prefer a somewhat more ornate box, but this tube, while very similar to the one that the Ti2 Techliner comes in, is infinitely more sturdy.
The plastic is thicker, and there's an insert to prevent the pen rattling around which also doubles as a pen stand (I do very much like that feature). It'd be great if it was biodegradable, but I'll keep and reuse it anyway as I always do with pen boxes/tubes/other.
I noticed that the pen is quite unexpectedly lightweight for metal pen of its size, yet it still feels very strong. I can't find any info on the type of metal used, but I'll summon up all my metallic knowledge and assume it is aluminium. Light, strong - it fits the bill.
The overall design of the pen is attractive. I'm partial to knurled grips, and this one is deep enough to afford a firm grip but not deep enough to cause blisters (I'm looking at you, harshly ridged rubber Zebra grips).
It also has an asymmetric clip reminiscent of the clip on a Lamy fountain pen, if a Lamy had a dislocated shoulder, and its design is clever. It acts as if it is hinged - it will pull out quite easily, and return to its original position by itself most of the time. If it doesn't, just gently push it back and it will stay clipped securely to a shirt, pocket, or anything else.
I appreciate the minimal branding approach. There's only a discreet 'RIIND' etched on to the back of the pen, which is pleasantly unobtrusive.
In the hand, it is extremely comfortable as the width and weight are perfect, for me at least. It's also short enough to easily fit in a pocket.
One fascinating feature of the pen is that the mechanism at the top can be turned any way you like. Twist it continuously left, continuously right, alternately right and left, it doesn't matter. Either way, the Parker refill will be extended or retracted.
Disassembly isn't difficult or confusing. Unscrew the nose cone to reveal the spring and refill inside. Refill replacement is simply dropping the new one in, placing the spring on top and screwing the nose cone back on. (Here, a Retro 1951 refill is shown - as you will find below, the Parker didn't work too well).
The black Parker refill is, quite frankly, awful. This isn't RIIND's fault, as in recent years the quality of Parker's refills has gone way downhill. This one conked out after two days of light use. I've had the exact same experience with Parker refills that I have bought for other pens, and as a result I no longer buy them at all if I can avoid it. I did message RIIND about this, and they were open to suggestions for other types of refill - in fact, Clayton from RIIND even expressed a preference for Schmidt refills, so I'm hoping that we'll see RIIND pens with a better alternative refill at some point. In the meantime, you can buy any Parker-style refill you like, and use that instead.
I am very happy with the Compact Pen as it is beautiful, functional and a pleasure to use. RIIND have created a brilliant pocket pen!
Disclaimer: RIIND sent me this product for review purposes. All opinions expressed in this article are my own.