I have used a standard Lamy fountain pen for 11 years in school, and later several higher-end products (ball pens and fountain pens). But a few years ago I discovered that I really like writing with the Bic Cristal [0]. It's reliable and writing feels very smooth (even better than with some Lamy products I own). I also like that it has exactly the same shape as a classic pencil. Of course it is also very relaxing to know I can get a pack of 50 for 14 EUR. You can gnaw away on it, roll over it accidentally with you chair, lose it, break it in half - doesn't matter, because you can easily afford to have 20 of these on your desk at any time.
I feel the same way but with cheaper Japanese ball pens, my favorite being. I do have to disagree that a Bic Cristal feels "smooth" though. I think it doesn't glide as well as your average Japanese offerings although it does dry exceptionally well.
Personally I'm partial to the Zebra Sarasa Clip [0].
The Bic Cristal is my all-time favourite pen, to the point where I don’t really understand why other pens exist. I was recently thinking of getting a Mont Blanc for fancy business writing (contract signing), but went with the Cristal. Not kidding.
You mean a Mont Blanc ballpoint pen? Because I wouldn't use fountain pens with their water-based inks for signing contracts (even inks that claim to be waterproof).
I also realized I like smooth ball points, used to use the finer Pilot gelpoints in school. The Caran D'ache ballpoint is quite nice for a more luxury product
I've had quite a few nice pens over the years. For me, Lamy Safari with its triangular grip is peak ergonomics, and its price-per-usability is fantastic. I tend to have a claw-like grip, and the Safari forces me to hold it in a way that my hand doesn't cramp after 3 minutes. It's great. I love it.
But for quick jotting, like making shopping lists or bullet journal notetaking, I'm on board with this list's top ballpoint pick, the Uni Jetstream. If all ballpoints were this smooth and pleasant to use, I never would've bothered investigating fountain pens. I think they're fantastic, supremely reasonably priced, and rugged enough to lose in the bottom of a bag without leaking all over stuff.
I love my Safaris, but when I need to jot something down, I reach for the Jetstream.
I'm also a big fan of the Jestreams, in particular the "Uni Jetstream Standard Ballpoint Pen - 0.5 mm". 5-6 years ago on a similar thread here or elsewhere, found a pointer to them and got a few, and I really like the precise line it makes, so I can do (what one of my coworkers called) "microwriting" between other lines of text. I use them mostly for note taking and bullet journaling. I've since gotten a few of the dozen packs, they are reasonably priced.
I wish I had a better solution for todo lists though. For a couple years I used a book and pen for managing my todo list, but always felt like an automated solution would just be better. I tried a Kindle Scribe and used that for around a year. It was a good "basic" writing experience, but really brought very little over just pen and paper (except that I never had to struggle with keeping the pages laying flat). I decided to try an Onyx Boox Note 3 as a "better Scribe", but shortly after that I abandoned the todo list entirely. Tried taskninja, but never stuck there either.
Not really. I have a Travelers Notebook with their own lined paper. I got that for the goofiest of reasons: so I could feel like Indiana Jones when I was taking notes for my Diablo game. I’ve started using it for bullet journaling as an experiment.
The stock nib is also excellent when inverted (writing with the pen rolled over so that the “top” of the nib is now the side touching the paper). This is extremely useful when annotating diagrams, for example, as the writing is hyper fine.
I wanted to love TWSBI but our honeymoon period ended when nearly all of my barrels developed hairline fractures.
I love Safaris too, but unfortunately I handwrite very seldom and the Safaris tend to dry out quite quickly in my experience. I've got the Kaweco Sport, which sends to last much longer, probably because of its tight screw-top seal.
I've definitely gravitated to the bold gel pens for most purposes. Some inks actually even work as better replacements in some more expensive pens although I rarely bother.
Pens are all well and good, but what are people's favorite notebooks? I've found that the paper is perhaps just as important as the pen in a satisfactory writing experience.
I've used Leuchtturm1917 notebooks (1) as my journals for several years and recommend them; the paper is smooth and good for writing and drawing. My local art store carries them, which is a plus - I love buying local.
I've settled on the B5 10"x7" size (2) with blank pages. I love that it has two ribbons for keeping my place, and a handy pocket (I keep stamps and stickers in mine). The hardcover versions are sturdy, which is perfect because my notebook goes everywhere with me.
At first I used the ruled and or dotted versions, but now prefer blank pages for drawing.
Just want to say, I've had incredible customer service experiences from Jetpens. If high end stationary is important to you, I highly recommend this store.
I've embraced the Pulaman over the past year. It's grungy when used on rougher paper, and wet enough to bleed through lighter weights, but the lines are full of character. It's a fountain pen with a marker tip - it fills in a certain complementary thing that Pilot nibs don't have.
I have also become a champion for Bic Gelocity, because they figured out a quick-dry gel formula that has similar viscosity and reliability to their classic ballpoints. Viscous ink keeps my writing legible, and the gel needs less pressure, so it's a great EDC writer.
Some of my bigger explorations have been with graphite - I have both new mechanicals, cheap stuff, lead holders, and vintage pencils. There is a lot of reason to go mechanical for reliability, but cheap mechanicals like the Bic pencil are unreliable - it's worth it to go for a Pentel. Similar story with lead holders - I have some from Daiso that do the job but aren't as tight as brand names. The nice thing about wood is that it handles well - the weight is lighter than metal, and it stays balanced as you wear it down. As well, for drawing, being able to cut the point you want makes a difference. There are woodless pencils which are quite a bit heavier and more brittle if dropped, but they are nice to work with to get something similar to a long point sharpen without having to get out a razor and whittle it by hand.
+1 for Pentel Pulaman. They have a weird hybrid nib that's somewhere between a felt tip and a technical pen, and you can vary the line thickness a lot. The nib flattens a bit with age, so you end up with an almost brush-like feel.
Wow! What fun reading this niche interest. The Pilot FriXion sounds fun, for spycraft, or to recreate the Acme disappearing reappearing ink from who framed Roger rabbit.
"If you accidentally make your writing disappear, you may be able to get it to reappear by placing the paper in a freezer that reaches below 14°F (-10°C)."
Should have category for more innovative pen, what's new in the writing technology last yer? Their videos on overengineered Japanese stationary are great.
I always enjoy reading this list yearly, and the research that goes into it. As someone who prefers thicker gel pens I used the Uniball Signo 207 as I could easily find these locally as well. Then after reading their recommendations I switched to the Zebra Sarasa Dry because I always smear my writing.
Through Jetpens I’ve also discovered my favorite mechanical pencil, the Uni Kuru Toga.
I have recently discovered the Kuru Toga pencil and it's rapidly becoming my favorite pencil too! Sometimes the lead is a bit shorter than I'd like -- I may check out the Kuru Toga Dive which allows you to customize the default lead length.
Yes! I have tried the G2, Pilot Precise V5, Uni-ball Jetstream, Lamy Safari, Pilot Hi-Tec-C, Fisher Space Pen and others over the years and the Vision Elite is by far my favorite!
I really like fountain pens and would love a Lamy Safari, Parker 51, Pilot 74, or any of the other pens that have caught my interest over the years. Like many people with similar interests, though, I know they'd just collect dust.
I did buy a few Uni Kuro Toga pencils a few years ago (the cheaper models). They're neat. And they collect dust.
If nothing else, I enjoy reading articles like this. It may be a world I'll continue to peer into from the outside, but it looks like an enjoyable one.
I'm not a fan of the uni Jetstream pens. Yes, they do a great job of transferring ink to a page, but they do it a bit too well. Personally, I need a bit more resistance between pen and page. Otherwise, my already terrible handwriting just looks even worse because I end up writing faster. Sometimes, friction is good.
The Uni-ball Signo UM-151 (0.38mm) is my go-to, but lately I've also been warming to the Pentel Hybrid Technica (0.4mm). Compared to the Uni-Ball, it's slightly less consistent, but I prefer the color, it being among the blackest blacks I've seen in any gel pen.
Been using the bullet journal method for two years and journaling on paper for over thirty years, and I must say that nothing comes close to fountain pens for handwriting. But for bullet journals (drawing tables, lines, calendars) gel pens are an excellent choice.
I like the Jetstream, but for some reason they dry out or the ball seems to get clogged (with skin oils or paper fibers, maybe?) after some time using them.
I use the BIC 4-Color retractable ball pens for the last 40 years when I have an option. There have been some variations in color ink, grippy hold, ball size, and even replacing an ink with pencil lead.
It is thick so easier to hold for me, has the multiple colors which I use in underlining and just writing, inexpensive compared to four different color pens, it just works, and just as portable as any other pen.
Since my favorite type of pen, which are very short pens that fit everywhere and don't take much space isn't in the list, my recommendations go for Penco Drafting Pen and the Penco Bullet Pen. Penco.jp is also a pretty cool website. I have no affiliation with the brand other than really liking these two pens. I must have about 12 bullet pens in different pockets of jackets and pants so I'm never without a pen.
I see a lot of love for the Bic Cristal, Personally, I love the Muji Gel Ink 0.38, I'm an infrequent writer, so take it with a huge grain of salt, but I find it a really pleasant pen, and cheap enough that I can have them wherever I need them.
I don't think Jetpens makes any pens themselves, although they are a retailer and sell all of these pens so it's definitely advertising. However, Jetpens in generally reputable and their recommendations are generally good. HN typically likes posts about tools, so it's not too surprising a good tool recommendation post is popular here
Do the rankings ever change much year over year? For instance, with intro fountain pens, it will always be things like the platinum preppy, pilot metro, kaweco sport.
I prefer to write with a pencil almost all the time, but my absolute favourite pens are bog standard Bic Cristal (the ones with the rubber grip are even better but not sure you can get them any more). The reason is that I have never in my life picked one up that didn't start writing instantly, no matter how old or battered it is.
Ballpoint pens are ergonomically really bad if you write a lot. The reason many people still use fountain pen is that you just move pen on the paper, no pressure needed. New gel pens get you 90% of that with ease to use almost equal to a ballpoint, their takes longer to dry is the only real drawback.
There are quick drying gel pens. I have some Zebra Sansa Dry’s that are pretty much impossible to smudge.
I have some fountain pens just because I like overly complicating simple things. One good paper, they are awesome. Unfortunately, I’m mostly writing ephemeral notes on lower quality paper so a ball point (or pencil) makes a lot more sense.
The time to dry factor is why I purposely seek out the 0.38 pilot g2. I’m not sure how anyone can stand the default 0.7. It just gets all over your hand and smears the pages.
Like you - I predominantly use pencil. The mechanical "pencil" I always keep on me is actually an Ohto MF-20K3B multi pen - it means I can have a nice black pen as well as a good mechanical pencil.
For left handed writing switching to the uni-ball jetstream (RT SXN-210 or Sport SXN-150S) was a noticeable improvement for me. I do not know how they compare to the ones recommended for left-handed writers on the site.
In left to right languages lefties are draging their hand across what they just wrote and so need something that dries fast or it smudges. I suppose right handed hebrew writers would have the same issue (are their other bidirectional languages? )
Funny! A lengthy review of writing implements, and comments about them, without a single mention of mechanical (clutch) pencils. Like the Pentel P205 (0.5mm leads), and various other sizes of pencil and leads available. Vary the lead diameter and hardness to suit the use. Personally I use 0.5mm, 2B almost always.
For technical work, where it's nice to be able to erase mistakes, they're perfect. For daily personal note taking, the erasability is fairly irrelevant.
Now mechanical pencils are so cheap you're best to buy dozen packs (because although they last forever you will lose them now and then), and the leads can be bought cheap in very large quantities via Aliexpress and such. Don't buy leads in the tiny. expensive packs from local stationers.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bic_Cristal
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