Friday, October 7, 2011

Yoropen Superior Ergonomic Ballpoint Pen

In my never ending search for  unusual, creatively designed writing instruments, and being a left-handed writer, what attracted me to the Yoropen initially was its totally ergonomic design.  Lefties generally have a tendency to drag their hand across paper as the pen leads the way.  The ergonomics of the Yoropen allow you to grip it in such a way, that you circumvent the drag effect when writing. 

It touts a tripod rubber grip that supports hand rotation when writing.  It has finger support, so when finger angles change, writing strain is reduced.  It allows visual space, making it easier to see what your writing. 

Created by Bao Shen Liu in Taiwan, he set out to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of conventional writing instruments.  Mr. Liu realized, from his research, that a change in the angle that the pen meets the paper could make it more user friendly.  His result is the Yoropen.  The Yoropen comes in three varieties: Standard, Superior, and Executive.  For this review, I am examining the Superior model. 

Design
The architecture of the Superior Yoropen is very unusual and quite interesting.  Constructed of black plastic, with a thick triangular rubber grip toward the tip, what's obvious is that this pen was designed with cursive writing in mind.  And one of its focal points is the left-handed writer.  At 15 cm long uncapped, the pen is quite lengthy.  The tip, as well as the narrowing body, makes it reminiscent of a calligraphy pen.  The pen has a comfortable feel when gripping, and its construction allows you to have a better visual angle when pushing it across paper.

 My Yoropen has a black ink medium tip cartridge and inks smoothly on paper, drying rather quickly.  I would have liked to see Yoropen employ a needle point cartridge, possibly of the 0.5 mm variety.  That would compliment its design quite nicely.  That aside, the pen delivers.  The rubber grip can be adjusted by turning it as needed to increase your grip comfort level. 


When deconstructing the Yoropen, the ink cartridge has a "Z" shape in order to acomodate the pen barrel.  It is secured by a plastic tip holder that screws into the pen body.  It goes in and exits quite easily regardless of its shape.

All in all, I find this pen quite user friendly, and more importantly left-hand user friendly. 
I highly recommend the Yoropen Superior Ergonomic Ballpoint Pen.

2 comments:

  1. Hi,

    I have just read your comments about the Yoropen.
    If you think the Yoropen is ergonomic, you should take a look at the Swan Neck Pen.
    The Swan Neck Pen is both ergonomically and aesthetically pleasing, which is very important, especially for children.
    The Swan Neck Pen was designed especially for the left-handed writer, unlike the Yoropen which was not originally designed for the left-hander.
    The Swan Neck Pen works the same way for right-handers writing from right-to-left, such as in Arabic.
    The Yopopen's 12mm dia triangular grip is too big for young children, and my left-handed children could not get on with it.
    They love their Swan Neck Pen and also think it look's 'cool'.
    Their school grades have improved greatly as well as their overall confidence.
    Their Teachers have commented how much happier they are in school now, and the school have even bought loads of Swan Neck Pen's for all the other pupils who are finding handwriting a challenge.
    The Swan Neck Pen really is a revolutionary pen.
    Nobody need ever have to adopt an awkward writing style ever again or suffer from wrist pain or smudging etc, if they use a Swan Neck Pen.

    Kind regards,

    Geoff

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  2. Hello,
    I also have a swan neck pen.
    I used to hate going to school because all my mates would take the micky out of the way I used to hold my 'straight' pen and write.
    I always got covered in ink and my writing was terrible, and I was so slow at writing.
    Not now !, thanks to the brilliant swan neck pen.
    I now love school and have started writing my own stories now that I can write more quickly and neatly.
    I would definitely recommend the swan neck pen to anyone who has trouble with their handwriting.
    Lisa (age 13)

    ReplyDelete