By Phillip Tucker
Leave
it to the French! You want a simple little pen that you can tuck away
in a pocket or purse. It needs to be inexpensive, write nicely, and most
of all, it should be cool. Well, how about
a small safety pen? How small? Four and a half inches long, half an inch
across. How cool? Very!
Stypen is a French company, created in 1934 in Paris. They've been making pens since 1952, when their Visor pen paved the way for the use of injection moulding in pen construction. Today they are well known in Europe for stylish and affordable pens.
Less well known in the US, but that is slowly changing as more of their pens make it across the ocean. In addition to making pens under their own name, they manufacture pens under license for several well known brands.
The
Stypen UP is a small pen, no doubt about that. It's shortness is what
draws the eye in at first. Only four and a half inches long, it's definitely
one of the more compact pens around today. The diameter is a half inch
at the widest point, which puts it right in with most "standard sized"
pens. Parker Sonnet, Pelikan M400, etc. I found it very comfortable, but
then I like slim pens. The length didn't bother me as much as I thought
it might, either. It's short, but that turned out to not really affect
the balance in the hand.
The UP is a real featherweight, since in addition to being short, it's also constructed of lightweight plastics. It's about the ultimate in portability because of this. It's a pen that literally disappears in the average pocket. You won't know it's there until you reach for it! The light weight makes it easy to write with. You might forget you're holding it, but it definitely won't tire your hand.
As
you might guess from the low price point, the nib is steel. I suppose
you would have to call it a "cheap nib", but it sure doesn't
feel like on on paper. It's as smooth as any of the other modern steel
nib pens I have tried. There is a fair sized piece of tipping material.
(I'm told I can't call it Iridium any more, since it's not likely to be
made of Iridium!)
I tend to divide steel nibs into three groups, there are the top of the line ones, they're no different than a high end gold nib, just made of steel. Then there are the "mid range" nibs, they usually have smaller chunks of tipping material, and might not come in sizes other than plain medium or fine, but they are still nicely finished, and offer good performance at a reasonable price. Then there are the "bargain nibs", these are the ones that come in on the bottom of the scale. Often no tipping material at all, they just fold over the end of the nib to form the writing surface.
So the Stypen UP falls in the middle group, not bad performance from a $20 pen. This is a cartridge/converter only pen, if that matters to you. I know it does to some folks. That's what you get for having such a short barrel! The ink flow seemed to be quite reliable, but I only had the sample for a week or so. Got through a cartridge. In other words, not an exhaustive testing period!
Operation
is simple enough. It's a click on cap, and once the cap is removed, turning
the end of the barrel extends the nib. You can first post the cap and
turn that, or just use the knob on the barrel end, either way. The nib
is a very modern looking design. It's an angular shape, with neat but
I suspect functionally useless "ventilation holes" adorning
it. This theme is repeated in the clip design, a gently curved shape,
again with holes. The UP is thoroughly modern in appearance. It's not
a "classic" design!
But for the money, the UP is a very cool pen. I think that it will appeal to younger users, and maybe those who are into the "high tech" look. The retracting nib, and ventilated nib design just speak to the depths of the techno-geek in me. It's not the ideal "one pen" for me, but it's handy enough, and inexpensive enough to be a great addition to the briefcase or day planner. And it gives me something to play with at work when things get boring during staff meetings!