The media could not be loaded. I use multicolor pens for taking notes - whether for work, school, or just everyday tasks. I look for pens that give me fine lines, smooth & steady ink flow, don't smudge easily, and aren't super bulky or uncomfortable to use. IMO, this pen works well... so far anyway. (I've only used it for 2 days now.) It's a great value for the price I paid. It's a cheaper pen, so I didn't expect top quality out of it. But it has met my expectations thus far. (I rarely pay more than $8 for a multi-colored or otherwise special kind of pen because I lose them all the time.) This pen certainly outperforms the ultra cheap BIC 4 color pen I was using for a while. (Unfortunately, I threw that one away due to several quality issues, which rendered it mostly useless after a week or so of using it. So... I couldn't include it in my photos. However, I found old notes I took with the BIC; and I was able to compare how the two pens write on paper.) *Please excuse my handwriting in the photos and video. I was working with tools all day and my hands were worn out. The bad writing is solely on me and was not influenced by the pen in any way. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS PEN: It has the 3 basic colors I typically need for work (black, blue, & red). Switching between colors is easy. I don't have to push the buttons hard. The individual ink barrels slide in/out of place smoothly. It's just as simple to slightly push on any button to "close" the pen. It takes hardly any effort to push the buttons down, yet the pen has not accidentally retracted once - even with how hard I press down while writing. The size of the barrel is similar to the basic BIC 4 color pen (1.0mm), except that it tapers at both ends and has a gripping area. This design makes it feel so much smaller in comparison. The writing tip of the pen is well tapered so I can actually see what I'm writing (unlike the BIC and other bulky multi-colored pens, which tend to obstruct my view). The back end of the pen is tapered so it's easier to hook it onto the edge of a pocket or on a lanyard. The grip is not squishy (it's fairly hard), but it has the slightest texture and grooves that make the pen comfortable to handle. The individual ink cartridge tips don't wobble when writing. They stay firmly in place like a regular pen. The ink flows smoothly without skipping - all 3 colors! This pen has not spewed any random globs of ink out so far. I get nice thin, consistent lines. Again, with all 3 colors. The ink dries pretty quickly. It will smudge slightly if you run your finger/hand over it within 1 second or less. (This is probably more important for left-handed writers to know.) However, it's completely dry after that first second. The black ink seems more prone to smudging than the other colors. But again, you'd have to really rub over it within a second of having written something. All 3 colors are rich and provide the same overall performance as one another. This is a common problem I have with other multi-colored pens. Some colors tend not to be as reliable as others. I have not found this to be the case. WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT THIS PEN: It seems like it could break easily - particularly, the clip (which is not essential for writing... so not too big of a deal for me). The writing tip looks like it may crack easily if the pen is thrown or dropped on something hard from a high enough distance. But I really can't speak on the pen's durability for certain. I'll update my review if it breaks down on me quickly and without me putting it thru any crazy abuse. THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MY VIDEO & PHOTOS: I didn't write on my notebook paper because I don't have much left at this time. So, I used envelopes that were either similar in thickness or slightly thicker. I chose one envelope because it was a bit more textured, and I wanted to see if that affected the ink flow. It did not. The video was mostly to show how the pen writes and that the ink only smudges very slightly if you rub on it pretty hard within the first second. My hands were still a little dirty (even slightly greasy) from working with tools all day. I realized the envelope I wrote on for the video was a tiny bit glossy (barely noticeable until I saw it under my bright kitchen lighting later). That may have influenced how the ink seemed to smudge a little more easily than it did on other papers I've used this pen on. I included a photo of the same smudge test I did on a completely matte, but slightly thicker paper. There was no smudging on that paper. I tend to press down pretty hard when writing. If you do the same and tend to take a ton of notes (using both sides of a paper), you may want to avoid really cheap, thin paper... or find a smoother pointed pen. In the photo where I point out how the pen impression can be seen on the opposite side of the old, worn paper... keep in mind, you can also see some impressions from the BIC 4 color pen. That pen had a much rounder tip, and I used it when the paper ...
