It seems Mitsubishi Uni is on a roll with another halo product that’s flying off the shelves in Japan. The Zento series of hybrid ink rollerball pens was launched in Jan this year and the high end ‘Signature Model’ quickly gain popularity for its excellent design, materials, finishing and usability.
Out of the box, you get the Metallic Black equipped with a 0.5mm refill and a Silver with 0.38mm. These are capped designs with a magnetic lock, ala the Kuru Toga Dive.
The matching slotted metal clip is affixed to a small circular pillar with ‘uni’ molded into it. This is a common design accent across the Zento product range. However the rest of the models sport a colored wire clip that is more akin to previous Uniball One models.
The Signature Model features substantial metal construction: to the best of my discernment, the entire cap is aluminum; the grip section feels more weighty, perhaps some plated brass, while the tail end feels light and is probably aluminum again.
The outsides of the grip section and tail end have an unknown composite molded over it. The matte finish feels naturally grippy but I have no information if it is a coating or if it’s some kind of hard rubber-silicone. There is no ‘give’; it doesn’t squish. If I had to compare, I’d say it feels similar to the Tombow Zoom 505 grip.
Here’s a peek inside the Silver model. The matte metallic finish on the cap and mid-section feel exquisite – exactly how I’d hoped the KT Dive would’ve been made.
Lastly, a quick side by side with my only Dive, a Dense Green model. I did a ‘what if’ edit on X to see how Uni could make matching models for the Dive series. At this time the MSRP of 3300 yen makes it a premium priced product, but there are plenty of Japanese fans posting emptied out display units everywhere. A definite hit for Uni.
In the meantime, I think the Zento will make an excellent pairing with the CDT Kerry and the limited all-black Kerry.
Since I first saw the teaser on X I have been very interested in knowing more about this specific design from the Zento series. So thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I do feel the two originals colors have also a Zoom vibe(minus the clip part)
Also the what if series looks killer!
I wonder if I can get these through any proxy to England
Follow up- checked its being sold for more than double the msrp on mercari
You’re right about the Zoom vibes. And to be sure, I think Tombow needs to learn from the Uni Zento. The metallic black and silver applications on the Zento’s cap and mid-section MATCH 100%… something that Tombow had problems with on the flagship C1.
I saw X posts of Mercari listings of the Signature Model selling for 6-7000_ yen :-/
Is this how halo products are supposed to work? Generating hype and feeding on the frenzy through artificial scarcity? Orenznero was like that for 24-36 months. Dive still hasn’t ramped up production (and probably won’t). How long did the plastic MoonSwatch take to calm down?
I almost paid $45 USD for an Orenz Nero during the peak hype. I waited. Ended up getting one for $18 USD about a year later. This didn’t work for the Dive, though.
Was that $42 locally in Chile? That would’ve been a good price. I think in the USA, it actually dropped to about as low as $30 on discount as it was being discontinued, then shot up like a rocket to $50 and $60… then $100+. I ended up buying two of them, one for about $55 USD and the other was about $45 USD, but lightly used–none with sticker or box.
I purchased the 0.7mm Uniball Zento pens and I loved how the ink wrote. That black model is definitely something I would like to purchase at some point.
When the Dive was released in limited edition colors first, it was JDM only and prices soared to crazy heights on the resale market. If you were lucky to be one of the few to nab one at the original retail price… what a lottery win. People went on to flip them for 3 to 4 times as much. When they finally went on sale for USA customers, the price was $40 USD and they were snapped up within a few hours. Scalpers were all prepared to pounce. And when stock came back, the price was up to $70 USD and it happened again–scalper scourge. So now it’s $98 USD and has remained there. So ridiculous.
Anyway, the Zento Signature looks really interesting.
I find it odd how Uni approached this whole Zento line. Look at the individual price of the clicky Zento pens. $2.09 USD. You’d figure they’d use a slightly different name for the Signature edition, if it’s going to cost 25 times as much. I’m assuming the whole body is plastic, versus all metal for the Signature model?
Correct. There is also an intermediate 'Flow Model’ at 1000 yen with a thin metal sheathed over plastic lower body. The Signature Model is mostly metal, even under the grippy plastic upper and lower sections.
FYI… there are eBay accounts that are “proxy flippers.” Account japan-only-item is one of them. They don’t actually have this item. It’s listed on Mercari Japan or Yahoo Auctions Japan for a lot less. What happens is, if an eBay account buys it, the seller immediately turns around and makes the purchase where it’s listed in Japan. Yes, it means there’s a delay in the item shipping from Japan, but that’s easily padded into the time for shipping from Japan to another country, like the USA.
How do I know this? Because the same images will be used for both listings! I’ve witnessed this not only on writing instruments but other types of small items. I had a couple of cases where I was planning to buy an item from Mercari Japan and upon checking eBay for possible listings to compare prices, I noticed duplicate photos. When making the purchase on Mercari, within a day the eBay listings were pulled.
You can sometimes notice this very easily by searching for an item and sorting criteria by highest price first. Take a look at this particular pencil by Newman, listed on eBay 3 times and one of them that account mentioned above:
Keeping these in the thread for easier tracking and comparison. The Tombow Zoom C1 lists for 7,700 yen (!) in case anyone forgot. Feels unjustified given the standards achieved by uni at half the price.
So in doing a direct comparison, the ZENTO Signature feels more premium and higher quality than the TOMBOW C1? If so, that’s rather sad. The C1 is like an updated LAMY 2000, with an intriguing “floating” style plunger. I wonder if the ZENTO Signature will eventually drop down in price. Right now it’s more than the a lightly used C1 in box, on average over at Mercari.
