Customer Reviews

Cross Ion and Matrix Gel Ink Refill, Nucleus Black, 1 per card (8516-1)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have 2 cross ion pens, which work fine out of the box. I've also tried 12 different refills, and more than half of them stopped working after a few days or don't work at all. I've had the best luck with black (3/4 are good), but the other colors are all very sketchy. Purple doesn't work at all, oranges and reds and green might work if you write slow enough. On the other hand, Cross will replace the refills for free, but it's still a hassle and you'll likely get non-working refills as a replacement too.

As with all the previous reviews, I too have had absolutely no luck with these gel refils. They have lasted 2 days to 2 weeks, with the ink flow suddenly stopping. I have NEVER emptied a cartridge yet, of any color! This has be absolutely frustrating when I have wanted to take notes or make a quick note for someone. Stay away from this product and anything that uses it. It is an absolute waste of money.

My Cross Ion pen worked great but every refill I have purchased so far has failed within a few days to a couple of months (of light use). Some refills have completely dried up and others the ink flow is such that you can only write very slowly. Good pens but unfortunately they are let down by poor quality refills.

The Cross Ion ballpoint pen is a clever sexy pen that is normally a joy to write with - the ink is deep black, the line strong and oddly malleable, with a smooth flow over paper in any direction. Unfortunately, the ink cartridges suffer from a major flaw - they occasionally stop writing, with lots of ink still in them. So, within one pack of five, one cartidge might write until it is empty and another dry up after two days with no difference in use. That is why one should always buy a five cartridge pack.

I like blue ink - I've purchased at least 4 dozen blue refills - They dry up before I can use them or they dry up shortly after installation - The pen is a super idea for a blue collar guy - It fits in the pocket of my jeans but they need to solve the ink problem -

When I purchased my Cross ION pen, I was ecstatic. I was able to carry the pen in my pant's pocket and it wrote smoothly. Unfortunately, although the refills have been rather expensive, the last four or five that I have bought have not been dependable at all--they hardly write! So I like the pen, but I hate the refills. I am now looking for a new pen, because the pen is obviously worthless without dependable refills being available.

I've run into the same problem with refills, but I found this solution works reasonably well. The problem seems to occur when you haven't used the pen for a while--like a week. The ink stops flowing. I use a small spring clamp (the ones we all use for clipping paper together in the office), and clamp the cartridge at the middle. Then squeeze it with your fingers, to exert even more pressure, while scribbling on paper. Eventually, the ink will start flowing, and then you're good to go. Remember to use the pen on daily a basis, even if just to scribble, to keep the ink flowing, and it will work fine. I've been on the same cartridge for months now, using these tips.

I like the pen's small size, easy access, (you can clip it most anywhere and it is not too bulky or long) and I like the feel in your hand. I have had three of these pens. I liked the first two so much I passed them on to friends who thought they were handy and would not fall out of your shirt pocket or break in your pants pocket and none of us had problems with the ink cartridge, all the cartridges lasted a month or more of daily writing.
I then bought 3 new ones, they must have been from a bad batch or something, because the pens were fine but all 3 of the ink cartridges were not. I wrote less than a month with each and they stopped writing, despite appearing to be full of ink. The last one lasted less than a week. I opened the last one up to check if there was ink in it and found that it was ink, albeit very viscous. Unfortunately surgery did not improve its writing capacity. So in the trash it went. Does anybody know if Cross changed suppliers after introducing it ?

When these pens work they are amazing, however, the refills are very bad. They may write beautifully for up to a month, but, although it looks like there is still plenty of ink in the cartridge, the pen will no longer write. It has come to the point where I test them before I buy them at the store and if they fail to deliver, I return them. This is a real problem buying through mail order, but I do love the Ion when it works.

My wife & I have experienced the same problem with numerous cartridges failing long before the ink is used up. Cross has been good about sending free replacements but it's a bit of a hassle to be contacting them all the time. I tried the workaround that T. Barker suggested back in Feb of 2009 -- squeeze the cartridge while scribbling. Instead of the ink flowing out the tip, the cap popped off & it made a mess of my fingers & the counter top I was working on. I've found a better solution. Heat up a little bit of water in the microwave or a tea kettle until it's close to boiling. Dip about an inch and a half of the tip of the cartridge into the water for a minute or two. Then scribble on a piece of paper. It might take a couple of tries, but it worked for me & there's no risk of ink squirting out of the wrong end.