REVIEWS – I’m a stationery addict. That means I love pens and notebooks and I’m always excited when I’m offered a new one to try. The newest pen that I have had the pleasure of reviewing is the Verge SENS minimalistic pen. Let’s take a look at this successfully funded Kickstarted campaign pen.
What is it?
The SENS minimalistic pen from Verge is a pen with a simple but elegant minimalistic design.
Design and features
Made of aircraft aluminum in your choice of color for the barrel and cap, I was sent the space grey pen with the black cap. Other color choices include black, gold, and silver.
When it comes to the design of the SENS pen, it really doesn’t get much more minimal or elegant than this pen. As you can see, there are just four parts if you include the ink refill.
The knurled cap / twist mechanism activates the refill by extending and retracting it with an ultra smooth motion.
Continued untwisting removes the cap so that you can replace the Schmidt P8126 Capless System rollerball pen refill which comes with the pen in your choice of blue or black ink. If this refill isn’t your favorite, you’ll be glad to know that you can use any Parker style G2 refill with this pen.
I happened to be checking the name of the refill while writing this review and noticed that there was tiny writing on the end of the cap. I was delighted to see that the letters spell out GOOD LUCK which made me smile 🙂
The smooth satin-finished aluminum barrel of the SENS pen is slightly teardrop-shaped, which gives it a nice balance in your hand while you’re writing.
Note: During the Kickstarter campaign, buyers were able to choose the barrel color and cap color to customize the pen to their own preferences. I was given that option when I was offered the review pen, but I don’t see that same option when buying the SENS pen from the Verge site.
What I like
- Simple minimalist design
- Smooth extend and retract mechanism
- Well balanced
What I’d change
- Offer a pocket clip
Final thoughts
The Verge SENS pen checks a lot of boxes for me. First of all, it has a simple but elegant design that appeals to me. Secondly, it doesn’t have a cap that you have to remove in order to use the pen. Thirdly, you can customize the pen by choosing a different body color and twist cap color. Last but most importantly, it feels good when you write with it. It’s well balanced and has just enough heft/weight to make it feel like a quality writing tool.
Price: $55.00
Where to buy: Verge and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Verge.
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Just as a matter of interest since you are into pens, do you have and use any of the really good higher end fountain pens?
Don, I’ve yet to be bitten by the fountain pen bug.
Head over to reddit.com/r/fountainpens.
This design is disturbingly similar to the Baron Fig Squire.
Does the SENS have a spring-loaded retractor that will keep the tip from peeking out part way? The snappy twist mechanism in the Squire was one of the few points I thought set it apart.
I’m not in love with that pen, and I know the mechanisms and refills on these design-fetish pens all come from OEMs like Schmidt anyhow, but the teardrop taper and clipless design were at least fairly fresh when Baron Fig released theirs. The fact that this pen details for an identical price is… Well, I guess it’s a confirmation of the business model more than anything.
Daniel, this pen has a spring but not a special detractor mechanism as far as I know.
Baron Fig and Verge are just a cheap rip off designs of the original AJOTO pen. As a pen addict, I strongly recommend you to research AJOTO and give a try. It’s more expensive but the quality and the business transparency is quite far from the two brands mentions before.
ps: I love your blog <3