Pilot – Precise V5 (ballpoint): Pilot, the makers of our best pen overall, also did a good job with the V5. Our testers loved the way this pen writes, and appreciated its uniform and even ink flow. It didn’t bleed or feather, and it required only a small amount of pressure to write. Our only gripe with the V5? It doesn’t have much of a grip, which can make it hard to hold. Pens we don’t recommend By working with a variety of trusted Range Plus Partners, we’re able to offer our customers a wider selection of products. Ink flow: You want a pen that creates a clean, consistent line. It shouldn’t skip, bleed through the paper, or feather out into more tiny lines. Similarly, the ink should come out easily, requiring you to put very little pressure on the pen. If you’ve searched online for pens, you know that there are hundreds and hundreds from which to choose. So, we narrowed down our prospects by focusing only on gel, ballpoint and rollerball pens. These are the pens most commonly used in people’s everyday lives, rather than fountain or calligraphy pens. If you’re only interested in gel pens, we’ve also exclusively reviewed the best gel pens in another post. With nearly a decade of experience in the pen industry, I successfully ran an online pen business for 9 years.

BIC Gel-ocity Quick Dry Ballpoint Pens - Red, Box of 12

uni-ball – Vision & Vision Elite (rollerball): Both uni-ball’s Vision and Vision Elite feathered, bled and smudged. The Vision also failed to deliver a smooth flow or a uniform line. The bottom line My deep-rooted passion for pens and pencils led me to become a part-time blogger, where I've dedicated myself to sharing the wealth of knowledge I've amassed over the years.

36-Count

However, a rollerball’s intense ink can sometimes bleed through paper if you’re not careful, and the pen can leak if it’s left uncapped or taken to high altitudes. Conventional rollerball pens come in three sizes: micro (.5 mm), fine (.7 mm) and bold (.8 mm and wider). Important features to consider When buying partner items like this one, your contract of sale will be with our Range Plus Partner instead of us. They say the pen is mightier than the sword. Tell this to the journaling community and they’ll ask, “Which pen?” We consulted forums like /r/pens/ to find out what inexpensive pens the aficionados were recommending. We browsed through the Pen Addict’s blog for inspiration and consulted The Wirecutter’s pen review, too. A pen can seem like a deceptively simple product, but there’s a lot that goes into making one great. Ask any pen aficionado and they can wax poetic about nibs and ink flow for hours. However, for the purposes of the everyday pen user, there are only a few things you need to keep in mind:

BIC Pen Refills ( 2023) - Pen Vibe The Ultimate Guide to BIC Pen Refills ( 2023) - Pen Vibe

But while there are a number of youthful-looking gel pens on the market (like the Gelly Roll we tested), there are also plenty of quality, businesslike pens that you may not know use gel ink. Gel ink is simply pigment in water-based gel. If you’re looking for strong colors and sharp, featherless lines, then a gel pen is probably a great choice for you. I do favor fountain pens and gel pens for note-taking, though. They’re fast, reliable, and easy on the hand. Depending on what I’m doing, I choose different gel pens. Here are some great choices to consider… 8 Everyday Gel Pens ReviewedIt’s available in four sizes (.38 mm, .5 mm, .7 mm and 1.0 mm) and comes with a comfort grip. (Though, many pen enthusiasts will tell you that these included rubber grips don’t necessarily add to the comfort.) It should be noted that while some of our testers used the pens to freehand draw or doodle, we did not test pens that were created explicitly for drawing purposes. (That’s another review for another time!) Compare the best pens Pen After the focus group, we tested our worst offender and best pens on cheaper notebook and scratch paper, to see how they’d act. We found the results to be just about what we expected; lesser-quality pens wrote even more poorly on cheap paper, and good quality pens wrote about the same, save for a slightly less-smooth flow. The best overall: Pilot – G2

BIC Gel-ocity Quick Dry Ballpoint Pens, Medium Point (0.7 mm

Paper Mate – InkJoy (gel): Though Paper Mate’s ballpoint version of the InkJoy was the best in our tests, we weren’t as impressed by the gel version. We found that it feathered, bled and tended to smudge. They found that the pen didn’t bleed or feather, and it didn’t smudge either. They thought the pen’s grip was solid and comfortable, which led to nice, uniform lines. The one minor discrepancy with the Paper Mate was that each new pen requires a bit of “warming up” the first time around before it stops skipping and starts writing smoothly. At most retailers, the InkJoy will cost you well under a dollar per pen. Other finalists we tested Pens we recommend

8 Mighty Gel Pens to Boost Your Bullet Journaling + Note-taking

Bic – Round Stic Xtra Life (ballpoint): The Bic felt like a standard, uninspired office pen. It was uncomfortable to hold, required a decent amount of pressure to write with, and the ink often felt dry and uneven. Comfort and aesthetics: The pen should look nice sitting out on your desk, but more importantly it should be designed to hold comfortably. Look for lighter pens. They will be easier on your hand than heavy ones. And don’t be fooled by pens with soft grips included on them; they’re not necessarily any more comfortable. You can make your pen even more comfortable to hold by using it correctly. This may seem like an elementary skill, but many of us are doing it wrong (or have forgotten proper form in the age of the keyboard). Remember to: