I wanted to have a set of pens I could keep at work rather than to transport my pens back and forth so when I saw that there was a new series of the Pilot Hi-Tec C series called Maica, I decided I had my excuse so I bought all 12 colors.
Instead of the traditional clear plastic body with a hexagonal shape, the Maica series have a metallic-colored, round, plastic body. At the end of the cap is a blingy, plastic jewel. There is also a small loop on the cap which keeps the pen from rolling away though I suspect its purpose is to hold cell phone charms to really “jazz up” your pen. The caps can be posted onto the end of the pen but it does make them quite long for me. I tend to just lay the cap on the table.
The Maica colors are pretty similar to the Hi Tec C “basic colors” set. The colors available from the Maica line are: Black, Blue Black, Blue, Light Blue (more of a turquoise), Green, Apricot Orange (a yellow-orange), Orange, Brown, Baby Pink, Pink (more magenta), Red, and Violet. The standard Hi-Tec Cs do come in a lot of other colors and a wider range of tip sizes but if you haven’t tried any Hi-Tec Cs yet or are just wanting some good standards, the Maica line offers a good assortment.
The tip of the Maica pens and the metal cap around the tip are exactly the same as a standard Hi-Tec C pen. I disassembled both the Hi-Tec C and the Maica to discover that the ink cartridges were also identical.
What I’m finding surprising is that the price is different. A single Hi-Tec C in the standard plastic body sells for $3.30 while the same Maica is $2.50. Curious. At present, the only refills available for the Hi-Tec C line are black, blue or red but the refills will fit into the Maica body.
In writing, the performance was consistent with the standard Hi-Tec C line. Occasionally, if left sitting for awhile, all the Hi-Tec C pens so need a little “priming” to get going but once they do, they write smoothly and consistently. I tuck a 3×5 inside my notebooks for those occasions when I need to scribble a pen back to life. These are definitely going to make note-taking during meetings more colorful and blingy.
(available through JetPens in sets of 12, sets of 6 or individually in either 0.3 or 0.4 sizes)
