Baron Fig Squire Pen Review
A little over a week ago, we were lucky to get our hands on this new Baron Fig Squire pen directly from our friends over at Baron Fig (check it out on the Baron Fig website), which was a welcome surprise. I was looking forward to eventually trying this pen out, and now that I’ve had my hands on it for a week or so, I have to say it has exceeded my expectations both visually and functionally. I usually don’t spill the beans in the first paragraph of a review, however this pen is worth of the early praise.
The Baron Fig Squire comes in a sturdy box with a perfectly cut foam cushion for the pen to rest snugly in. When I initially opened the box I was actually a little taken back by how smooth and minimalist the design of this pen was. Upon picking it up out of the box it was also pretty evident that this was a pretty solidly constructed pen. I was hard pressed to find any cheap feeling plastic, sloppy assembly, or messy graphics. Both visually and in the hand the Baron Fig Squire left a fantastic first impression on me.
The Baron Fig Squire pen comes in both silver and charcoal body colors, the one you are looking at here for our Squire review is the charcoal version. Regardless of the color of the bod of each Baron Fig Squire, you will find two simple and subtle branding touches on the body. On this side is the cool looking sword, which is a tip of the hat to the old saying that “the pen is mightier than the sword.”
Here is the flip side of the Baron Fig Squire where you find the simple all caps “BARON FIG” branding placed. Both the sword logo and the BARON FIG design appear to be laser etched into the pen, so its nice to know that they are not only crisp and clean looking, but they also are not likely to fade or look worn over time. I think its worth addressing the lack of clip on this pen because although I usually prefer a pen with a clip, I think putting a clip on a pen with such a beautiful and elegant design, would have been a huge mistake, so I’m gad they did not do this.
The body of the Baron Fig Squire has a very slight taper to it which was hard to even see with the naked eye, let alone photograph, but I believe the picture above somewhat captures it. The very top of the pen is slightly thinner than the bottom of the pen where the grip is. It basically has a slight torpedo shape to it, but again, its almost unnoticeable to the naked eye. The way the grip section bulges out slightly makes gives the pen a great and comfortable grip. Although they say a picture is worth 1000 words, there aren’t enough good pictures (at least coming as a result of my poor photography skills) that can convey how smooth the body of this pen is. I cant tell you how many times in the course of having this pen, I’ve picked it up to just fiddle with it because of how smooth it is and how comfortable it feels in your hand.
One thing that surprised me when I broke down the pen for the first time was the length of the twist knob that is used to expose and retract the tip of the pen. On the surface the knob is sleek subtle and small, but twisting it to remove it shows how long it actually is relative to the overall 5 inch length of the entire pen. My only guess is that the extra length here helps keep the impeccable balance of the pen in order. The Baron Fig Squire refill is a basically the same as what you will find in a Retro 51 Tornado, and can be replaced with Parker style refills. The Baron Fig version is however custom to the pen and has their branding placed on it as well. If you want an excellent list and primer on Parker style refills, you should check out the amazing post over on The Well Appointed Desk that covers this topic in extensive detail.
Earlier in the review I mentioned that the Baron Fig Squire was 5 inches long, but just to put that in perspective I think one of the best pens to compare it to for size purposes is the Sharpie Pen Grip. The Baron Fig Squire comes in about half an inch shorter than that version of the Sharpie Pen when uncapped. The rubbery grip section of the Sharpie Pen is slightly thinner than the grip section of the Squire. Hopefully that puts it in a little perspective since many of you have probably been able to use the Sharpie Pen in the past.
Baron Fig Squire Review Writing Experience:
In order to write with the Baron Fig Squire, it requires a simple twist of the smooth knob at the top of the pen. It requires about a 90 degree clockwise twist which terminates with a cushioned bump so you know by feel that the tip has been extended. A simple counter clockwise twist of about 90 degrees will retract the tip back into the body of the pen. If I had one VERY minor quibble with this pen it would be that for me, a guy with average size hands, it is a little difficult to extend and retract the tip with one hand.
As I said before, the Baron Fig Squire comes loaded up with a refill similar to what you will find in a Retro 51, which provides for a very smooth and bold writing experience. I felt a little bit bad not doing my writing sample in a Baron Fig notebook because they are great notebooks, but I really love my Black n’ Red notebooks so I wanted to bring this perfect storm of pen and paper together to get the most enjoyment out of writing with this gorgeous pen. Beyond the well documented great performance of this type of refill, the feel of the pen in your hand as you write with it is fantastic. Not only is is super smooth to the touch, but it is also just about as perfectly balanced as I can imagine a pen being. The length of the pen is perfect for me as its not too long as to get top heavy in long writing sessions but also not so short that the back end rests awkwardly in the space between your thumb and forefinger. Its got the perfect balance and perfect resting spot when writing which almost makes you forget you are even holding it. I really cant think of a reason not to recommend this pen, its just fantastic all ’round and that certainly isn’t just because we got this one for free, its truly a fantastic pen in my book. You can grab yours over at the Baron Fig (Baron Fig website) because you aren’t getting mine. ?
SOURCE:http://officesupplygeek.com/pen-review/gel-pens/baron-fig-squire-pen-review/