Best Writing Pen

Bradw3451

Bradw3451

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Nov 13, 2014
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Looking for suggestions of pens that you’ve purchased and feel write the smoothest. I’ve owned several EDC style pens over the years. From Hinderer to Mont Blanc, but haven’t ever found the one. I tend to dislike most rollerball pens, but gravitate towards something like a Uniball Vision Elite. Of course, I’m yet to find a EDC pen that works with that cartridge.
 
I think you hit the nail on the head, it's the cartridge that makes the difference. For years I was partial to the regular Parker jotter in stainless as my personal pen and there are numerous 'nicer pens' that take that cartridge. That said I don't write much longhand, just jot occassional notes, mostly on post it's or fill out the occational form, signature, etc. I have used smoother better writing pens, but the presurized cartridges are more reliable in my use, so they work better for me. I have a few titanium bolt action pens I rotate as edc, as well as numerous jotters as backups around. (In the car, in bags, on my desk, etc.) good luck on your quest. BigIdesign makes a pen that adjust to tons of different cartridges, might want to see if that one will work.

Grizz
 
Why not just get a pen using one of your preferred cartridges? Nothing there qualifies as "EDC"?
 
I haven't started looking yet, but I would like to find a nice Ti pen that runs on Pilot G2 gel cartridges...I use a pen all day long at work and the G2 is the nicest writing pen I have used! It would be nice in a premium pen.
 
RocketFoot said:
I haven't started looking yet, but I would like to find a nice Ti pen that runs on Pilot G2 gel cartridges...I use a pen all day long at work and the G2 is the nicest writing pen I have used! It would be nice in a premium pen.
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I agree. I have used a wide variety of pen cartridges, and the Pilot G2 is my absolute favorite. Smooth writing; sharp, dark ink. Tactile Turn pens all use Pilot G2 cartridges, so that makes it easy for me. As simple as plain steel or titanium, or as fancy as full mokume or zirconium.
 
gdwtvb said:
BigIdesign makes a pen that adjust to tons of different cartridges, might want to see if that one will work.
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It doesn't look like theirs will work with the Vision Elite, which looking at the refills, doesn't surprise me. It doesn't work with the Uni Power Tank refills either. I haven't used the Uni Vision Elite, so I can't say what compares to it.

RocketFoot said:
I haven't started looking yet, but I would like to find a nice Ti pen that runs on Pilot G2 gel cartridges...I use a pen all day long at work and the G2 is the nicest writing pen I have used! It would be nice in a premium pen.
Click to expand...

There's quite a few that use the Pilot G2. Along with the Parker style, it's the most commonly used cartridge for machined pens. Some are slim, some are pretty thick. Capped, clicky, or bolt action (or "other"). Tons to choose from.

BTW, paper matters as well. If you're journaling or writing letters or the like, quality paper makes a huge difference. Cheap notebook paper, even good printer paper, will still drag your tip, although using a bolder tip alleviates that. I tend towards finer tips, and my favorite writer is the Pilot Hi-tec C 0.4mm. On crummy paper though, it can drag and stick. I expect the same holds true for fountain pens, so if that matters to you, check out sites devoted to fountain pens and there should be paper/notebook reviews as well.
 
I bought a Sunderland a few months ago. Machined aluminum. Takes G2 as well as mount blanc refills. The mount blanc refills screw in.

Pretty slick design and US made from small shop (website says husband and wife team). I am not a big pen guy but I wanted to try something new at work and I am happy with it. $90
 
What pens do you like to carry? Pocket carry? Bag carry?

Doesn’t have to be $70 TI pen. Could be a $3 Walmart pen. Just curious what yall use/edc

Edit: I guess I missed this one. Sorry guys!

I used the G2s for a while in the Navy. Until one started leaking and ruined a pair of NWUs. Not a good day.

I’m looking for a new daily pen. Usually in a bag but who knows. I’m not quite sold on the nice titanium ones. But not really against it. I have a little Zebra 402 and like the steel frame at least. I see a lot of love other places for the Sharpie S Gel. Seem to favor the metal barrel with the Pental Energel ink refills.
 
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I use the pilot precise v5 rt pens at work. They work great for precision when redlining plans and documents and doodling! 😁
 
I would recommend a twsbi eco medium with a bottle of noodlers ink. At least try it once. I have used fountain pens exclusively for a few years now. I find them more enjoyable than ball points or rollerballs, and more reliable. Also cheaper, if you are used to buying expensive rollerball disposable pens. I've tried all the standard fountain pens and am by far impressed with the twsbi for the money it costs
 
Favorite all time pen is the classic Bic. It will write on just about anything. If we're talking darkness and smoothness, I'll third the pilot g2 carts but they do run out quickly.
 
Pentel Energel refills for me. I use them in BigIdea, Tactile Turn and Smooth Precision. It cancelled my love affair with the G2.
 
Another vote for the Pilot G2 pens. Love the rubber grip and easy to see ink level. Only thing I don't like is it takes a minute for the ink to dry. The price you pay for the 1 mm Bold tip. I buy them by the box.
 
Probably my most used pen is my D Rocket Kaze. I think there's a Schneider Gelion refill in it right now. It's one of the polished Zirconium versions, so it's very weighty but still nice and slim. I just love the feel of it. If you're into fountain pens, the Pilot Namiki Falcon is awesome. Probably the most affordable pen you can find with a real gold nib. It honestly writes nicer than some of the fountain pens at 5x the price.
 
I always prefer fountain pens, but I do need to jot quick notes on the fly for work, so I got a bunch of higher end rollerballs/ballpoints. Almost all of the ball pens out there are sized for either the Parker G2 ballpoint refill or the Schmidt rollerball refill. There are a few brand proprietary ones like Cross and Montblanc, and some annoying model specific ones like my Aurora Thesi.

For ballpoint, Montblanc is the smoothest I've found and is also pretty reliable and has decent capacity. The Fisher space pen refill is the most reliable I've tried and will work after years of not being used, but it's not too smooth and the line is ugly and blotchy.

For rollerballs, my favorite is the Pilot G2; smooth, reliable, and inexpensive. The high-end German-made metal refills seem to go dry pretty quickly in storage. The Pilot G2 is supposed to be a Schmidt size refill, but it doesn't fit in some high end rollerballs because the thin section at the grip end is thicker than on a metal refill. I can get them to fit in my Visconti rollerballs by whittling down this section a little, though.

Then there's something that's kind of a hybrid and my favorite find so far: the Kaco G2 refill. This refill is Parker G2 sized, so it will fit in almost all "tactical" ballpoint pens as well as high end twist ballpoints. But it's actually a rollerball refill in ballpoint size. It feels similar to the Pilot G2, a little finer and not quite as reliable. But they work most of the time and when they do, they're very smooth. They are also very inexpensive.
 
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