Rollerball Pens of 2021
unsharpen.com
unsharpen.com
"The Pilot G2 is a retractable gel pen. It’s famous for being one of the best office pens of all time as well as being of the top “gateway pens.” A gateway pen being one of the pens who don’t generally care about pens use, grow attached to, and start to realize that not all pens write the same. Many offices, restaurants, banks, and other venues had purchased Pilot G2s in bulk, people have used them them, and started to realize that they are smoother and write better than a normal bulk pen. "
Exactly my experience - I first used the Pilot G-2 07 in 2005, and have spent the last 15 years refusing to use nothing else. I have friends in Australia who, after borrowing my pen, used to raid the office supplies for them every time they visited the USA, and they were a great present to bring.
I reach for it, lo and behold, it's a G-2.
1. "smudge factor" - does this ink dry quickly? 2. "dropped pen on point from distance" - is the pen resilient when dropped on/close its point? 3. "consistency factor over time"- does the pen deliver flow throughout its lifetime?
For #1, the experience is immediately soured if the pen is lifted onto my hand seconds after writing. Some brands have this problem - and it sucks. Ex: if writing quickly in a pocket moleskine, close it, and then open to find lifting on the other page.
For #2, most pens dropped on their head distorts the roller ball action. I've lost a few pens to this problem.
#3 some pens I've had in this list will not last the whole way through - either the ball rolls too much ink, or jams over the lifetime, rendering the remaining experience less than ideal.
I've been journaling for a few years, daily, and always carried a roller pen of various brands. My go to continues to be the uniball vision, which is good, but still is subjected to all above.
I have a stack of used Moleskines. For years I used them exclusively, buying them in bulk. Honestly, I gritted my teeth a little each time I picked one up. I love the ergonomics and the size, but the paper is awful.
I'm not alone in this opinion[0]; an unopinionated Google search turns up plenty of similar criticism. The surface is too slick and hard to absorb ink well, so nearly everything smears. It's also oddly prone to ghosting through to the other side, especially with felt tip pens. It's hard to win.
[0] https://www.google.com/search?q=moleskine+paper+quality
I tried everything with them: fountain pens, gel ink, liquid rollerballs, fat and fine felt tips, space pens. What worked best were cheap-ass Bics, but only because the ink is basically colored glue, and they're punishing to write with.
I've since switched to artist sketch books, like Pentalic Nature Sketch[1]. I don't care about the brand. I just go to my local art supply store and buy something in the right size with good-feeling paper. There are some ergonomic compromises (e.g., maybe you don't like spirals), but the paper is first-class, and that's become my priority. I get my Hi-Tec-C refills from JetPens, and they have some good notebook advice[2].
[1] https://www.pentalic.com/nature-sketch/ [2] https://www.jetpens.com/blog/the-best-notebooks-for-every-us...
Currently I have multiple Pentalic Traveller Pocket Journals lying around (https://www.pentalic.com/traveler-pocket-journal/), they are basically “Moleskine except the paper isn’t waxy trash that your ink slides off of”. No spiral binding, either, they’re perfect bound.
I was complaining in another comment about the ink refill that came with a Waterman pen I was given not working well. And, yes, it was specifically on the Moleskins I use that I was having a problem. I'd have to get the pen "started" on another piece of paper to write reliably. (The Uni-ball gel pens are fine.)
I don't believe that ballpoints have better ink properties. Quite the reverse. I believe they make more predictable marks on low-quality paper, but that's one of only a few benefits.
Ballpoints tend to have large balls and produce a fat line. I like finer lines with more detail.
Ballpoints tend to have thick ink. It doesn't dry quickly on the page.
Ballpoint ink tends to accumulate on the edge of the ball, and leave periodic ink turds on the paper.
Ballpoints tend to require a lot of pressure to produce a line. I want to use as little pressure as possible.
Put another way, I want a pen that with little pressure produces a fine line that is easy to modulate (thick or thin, dark or light) and dries fast. I've yet to find a ball point that comes close to those properties.
The thing I love about any ballpoints though is that they are pressure-sensitive - they produce a lighter line with less pressure, which is great for sketches and shading. I find that rollers are either on or off.
I never experienced the ballpoint ink not drying, in fact the opposite - ballpoint is usually dry instantly, while with rollers I have to be mindful and wait a few seconds or more with pooled ink.
The only issue I found ballpoint has that roller doesn't is the "ink turds" you mention. These happen especially when I try to draw long straight lines (maybe even with a ruler). At the end of the line if I'm not careful I can end up with a giant drop of ink that can turn into an unsightly smudge. But, I found a way around it - I need to keep rotating the pen so that different sides of the ball enclosure collect the ink, letting the collected ink get pulled into the paper.
Ballpoints feel rough, take a decent amount of force, and have fairly weak and uneven-looking lines.
My dad developed a proto-paper for Moleskine, it was perfect but way too expensive for them, 4$ for a A5 Notebook :(
(I've used Moleskines as my go-to field notebook for fifteen years or so, until making the switch to Leuchtturm a couple of years ago - the paper is vastly better, ink dries faster, less bleeding, pages are even numbered - overall an even better product than the moleskines (which I am still very fond of, mind)
My only complaint about it is that the clip and casing are not great. The Pilot G2 actually has the perfect case but is too inky for my tastes (and stores usually dont carry the 0.38/0.5 widths). The dream pen would have the Pilot G2 case with the uniball signo 207 needle cartridge.
EDIT: It turns out the uniball signo 207 is actually a gel pen, not a rollerball!
When you find a pen from another vendor/restaurant/etc that you LOVE, take a few minutes to find who ordered them and get the same supplier/SKU. They'll gladly share that info in my experience.
Bulk pen quality is so over the map, even when it claims to be the same model number, I've found it to vary among suppliers.
All that being said, I've lost who we got ours from and can't recommend one myself!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZWYUA4/
It's nice and heavy, with a good knurled grip. I can write all day with it, and it makes me want to work.
https://www.jetpens.com/Pentel-Twist-Erase-III-Mechanical-Pe...
Though, you do need to carry it in a case of some sort, because the tip doesn't retract.
It has a sponge-like core in the ink chamber and compensates the changes quite well.
I also haven't flown in a year or more.
Taking the time, slowing down and being aware of writing immediately resets my handwriting.
Also, the smoothness of the pens affect your handwriting legibility. A fast pen like a Uni Jetstream makes my writing worse. OTOH, a slightly resistant roller, a gel pen or ideally a fountain pen brings out the best in my handwriting.
I practiced print and cursive letters, then my more eligible letter pairings and words in a more deliberate fashion.
I used this book, no affiliation other than I liked it: https://handwritingsuccess.com/write-now/
Inspired by this Slate article: https://slate.com/human-interest/2009/09/why-your-kids-have-...
https://sites.google.com/view/briem/free-books/handwriting-r...
I think the secret key is rhythm.
I find if I conscientiously try and write slower, it markedly improves.
It took a while, but I believe he was right - as the fountain pen forced me to write slower and more deliberately, it did improve my handwriting.
(I still (35 years later) mostly write with a fountain pen, always carrying my grandfather's Souverän 400 in my shirt pocket - it was gifted to me once I had learned to write properly.)
A math-heavy job did wonders for my handwriting.
If maintenance becomes bothersome, maybe you should look into good converters and simple water-based inks. You can easily use a fountain pen like this during many months before you need to go through one cleaning cycle. For cleaning, you can buy some special cleaning agents which you can use just like ink.
Some other pen setups like vintage piston fillers and saturated inks can be high maintenance. It makes a big difference to choose a simple ink and a simple pen. The latter can be as easy to use as a rollerball.
Most modern "simple" (or boring) inks contain detergents to keep pens clean too. Waterman, Parker, Lamy and Pelikan (esp. 4001 series) are non-staining inside pens. Most of the standard blues (e.g.: Waterman Serenity Blue and Lamy Blue esp.) self destruct in water while resist time unless left under the sun (4001 blue is explicitly discouraged for archiving).
This means you can just put your pen section in a cup of water and wait until all water turns transparent again. Then rinse under the tap, let it dry and re-fill. It's this easy.
There are faster methods (I rinse & dry a daily driver pen in 5 minutes tops), but we're at HN and not in FPN[0]. :)
P.S.: I'm a fountain pen nut, AMA if you want.
AFAIK this is only good advice if your tap water isn't too hard as apparently this can damage the nib.
In my country, bottled water is very cheap hence it's used a lot in the household. I prefer bottled water for dunking my pens.
In any way, a pen doesn't stay in room temperature water more than 24 hours and inks already have cleaners inside. For a frequently used pen, you don't need to clean it more than 3-4 times a year.
It's always possible to "power wash" a pen with a bulb syringe and some water in 5 minutes but it needs some experience and willingness.
As am I! Been collecting since childhood. I've spent more money than I care to admit on pens and ink...
For bad papers, I have had a lot of luck with Pilot F or EF nibs and Herbin Lie de Thé ink. It's a dry setup, but not too dry, and that Herbin has just enough lubrication to make it pleasant.
I have a bit of a 'habit' myself, but I can't say I experience any need for real maintenance.
Also if you change the ink brand. Or colours.
Get the .7mm or the .5mm. Skip the 1.0mm.
Since I'm a underwriter, I can also use the 1.0mm one.
P.S.: really like your nametag.
Good luck with the pens, hope you like them.
I liked some of the other gel pens I've tried but they all smudge like crazy. This Sharpie one writes great and doesn't smudge at all.
Bold tips are a must so the left-handed angle-of-attack doesn't leave us scratching and gashing the paper. This one is particularly smooth.
They're cheap, feel pretty good to write with, and the ink dries almost instantly (although it depends a bit on what kind of paper you're writing on).
Let me tell you my requirements - My first and foremost need is thickness, as thicc as it can be. I won’t settle for anything less than 1.0 mm nib and black color, so that the writing should stand out in contrast to the white page.
Last year a similar discussion [1] had cropped up on HN, and based on the suggestions I got there, I finalized Uniball Gel Impact. It's smooth, has good thickness, and feels like an almost 1.0 mm thicc pen. The writing stands out on the paper and also the contrast is unmissable. The only downside I feel is that I runs out quickly, within a couple of hours. It's quite a departure from my used to feeling of having ball pens which last for weeks and even months. Smudge is there, and the ink takes about 4-5 seconds to dry.
The only other gel pen which I find competitive to Uniball Gel Impact is Pilot V10 and Baoke. Pilot V10 ain't that smooth but lasts longer. Baoke is almost as same as Uniball, just 10% less. If Uniball Gel Impact = 10/10 then Baoke = 9/10.
If anyone here knows any other decent black gel pen that's 1.0 mm in nib thickness, please let me know.
https://www.pilotpen.eu/en/collections/must-have/frixion-fam...
The cap on the capped version covers the eraser during use.
Why on earth didn't they just put the eraser on the cap?
EDIT: well, they do like it:
Then I discovered oil-based Pilot pens: those can lay around unused for months or years and then will write as soon as I need that. So after moving out, I bought a couple dozens of them and sprinkled them around the apartment and in my backpack. Never even knew if anyone else makes pens with oil-based ink.
I did, however, encounter one of such pens leaking. But one in about fifteen years seems pretty good.
That's so cool, can you share the word?
The word has another meaning of decorating something with paint. But despite the identical constituent parts, the underlying etymology is slightly different, as far as I understand: ‘make-write’ is closer in meaning to the similar ‘расписываться’—either ‘to sign’ or ‘while writing a text, get in the flow of writing’.
This inflectional derivation is pretty much identical to how English has hundreds of compound words where simple verbs are smacked together with adverbs, e.g. ‘put on’, ‘put up’ and such—most of them with entirely idiomatic meanings.
https://us.bic.com/en_us/bic-velocity-bold-retractable-ball-...
The Uniball Signo (gel) is notable for its ability to write well on a lot of different surfaces. I use them for line work when painting rocks.
This was a fun read. Not sure why, but I could buy one of any nice pen despite having plenty already. I just love nice tools.
I’ve skipped on the uniball vision elite for a while now. After reading this and the comments it seems like I need to give it a shot.
The Signo 307 refill has a fraud-proof ink formula - so if you are going to be signing documents, you better use this.
With good paper it writes like a dream.
Anyone have a recommendation?
"two of my favourites are Uni-ball Onyx micro and Pilot Hi-tecpoint V5" I used uni-ball an others I found in Europe or China. Once I bought a pen called BE-α-DX5. Not sure where I bought it the first time, just bought it by chance but really liked it. They are produced by a Japanese SME company: https://www.zebrapen.com/ No idea if they are famous or not.
"My" pen is available at Amazon in packs of 10: https://www.amazon.com/Zebra-Dx5-Liq-Ink-Rollerball/dp/B000T...
0.7 and 1.0 gives nice writing experience. doesn't spread ink around or to underneath paper. ink doesn't jam (once? in last 5 years..) doesn't get damaged on light/few falls (on heavier falls the retractable action could get damaged).
overall lasts long for the price tag (the one I am using now is close to 1 year old, still writing well)
Oil carrier vs Water carrier
(a serious concern if you are signing a long lived document like your passport, is: how durable is this signature?)