We’ve all gone down rabbit-holes in our life before, and we’ve all regretted it on the other side. Let me make this clear before I get started: I have no regrets!
Getting ready for school is a challenge. What do I need—folders, pencils, compasses, rulers, and pens! Turns out I took that last part a bit too seriously. But hear me out, have you ever heard someone talk about why they spent so much on a mattress? Let me quote my mother:
I sleep in my bed for hours every night. Wouldn’t you want a good mattress too? —My Mother
Anyways, I think the same applies to pens. I write with my pen for hours a day, so wouldn’t I want a nice pen? Now I definitely took this too far once I got a fountain pen (the Pilot Metropolitan for those wondering), but I thought I might still share my thoughts on everyday pens too!
This blog post will be my ranking from #1-#13 of all the pens I could find through my scavenging.
The Pens
Uniball 207 Plus 0.7mm
A strong contender already (since I love Uniball!) this pen turned out to be amazing! It has very little resistance, and almost no scratch at all.
Uniball Zento 0.7mm
Similar to the Uniball 207 Plus, yet slightly more scratchy. It might be great for some, but not for me.
Pilot FriXon 0.7mm
The FriXon isn’t my favorite Pilot by any means, but the fact that its an erasable—and a good one at that—makes it a great pen for those who want to erase!
Pilot Precise V7 0.7mm
The Precise is well…precise! The lines are solid, they don’t bleed too much, and the writing experience is smoother than with the cult-followed G2!
Pilot G2 0.7mm
Finally, everyone’s favorite. I won’t even disagree, the G2 is a great pen. I just love some pens more, not that I don’t love the G2 also!
Pigma Micron 0.05mm
No fun to write with. No fun at all. But I mean, 0.05mm! It’s such a small line, and for those who want to write small this pen is great! I also have heard great reviews of the more normal sizes (e.g. the 0.7mm).
PaperMate Profile 1.4mm
The PaperMate Profile is…I mean let’s put it this way, if I were stuck on a dessert island, I’d be totally okay with using this pen. But I mean, I would never go to the store to buy one myself.
Pilot Precise Gel 0.7mm
As the French say, C’est pas mon truc! This pen is not my favorite, and I don’t really see a reason why it would be anybody’s, but if its what you have I wouldn’t break down in tears quite yet.
BIC RoundStic 1.0mm
There are some who are loyal to this pen no matter what.
Mr. President!
PaperMate Profile Ball 1.4mm
This pen exists. I can confidently say this pen exists. This is my mothers favorite pen. She might be a psychopath. It’s almost too smooth to write with, and the ink looks horrible too!
Uniball One 0.7mm
The only use of this pen is dark ink. Really dark ink. Really dark ink. This pen has a world record for its ink! The writing experience is no fun, and not at all what I expected from a Uniball.
PaperMate InkJoy 300RT 1.0mm
I saw someone using one of these and I stopped them and handed them a Uniball 207+. There are no upsides to this pen!
Pentel EnerGel 0.7mm
I’ve heard its good for left-handed witches, but luckily I am a right-handed wizard! I need no quick drying ink. The writing experience is bad to say the least.
PaperMate Stic 0.8mm
No. Why? They aren’t even easy to buy! It’s a hundred times easier to find BIC Stic rather than this landfill intermediary product.
My Conclusions
If you want the best, get a fountain! They make boring notes fun. If you want a good pen, get a Uniball (except the One). I generally really like using Uniballs. As I reread this post, I can see myself slowly devolve into a pure rage and hatred for the pens at the bottom. My handwriting on my testing sheet of paper slowly turned from a Lisa Simpson to a Bart Simpson.
Peace out,
~Ilan Bernstein