Favorite ballpoint...

[Black Rose]

The Zebra F-301. It comes in full-size and compact. It writes smoothly and reliably. And it's available at any office supply store.

 

Its stablemate, the F-402 isn't bad either (they use the same refills). It's bit thicker, so it's easier to hold, but it has a gel grip which is a bit disconcerting.

And don't forget their stainless steel big brother, the F-701.

 

I just wish Zebra would make a Gel refill to fit their F series pens.

[joshk]

The Zebra F-301. It comes in full-size and compact. It writes smoothly and reliably. And it's available at any office supply store.

 

Its stablemate, the F-402 isn't bad either (they use the same refills). It's bit thicker, so it's easier to hold, but it has a gel grip which is a bit disconcerting.

And don't forget their stainless steel big brother, the F-701.

 

I just wish Zebra would make a Gel refill to fit their F series pens.

 

I actually have both, but I prefer the lighter weight F-301 to the F-701 most days.

[welfvet]

The endless freebies I liberate from drug companies and the like at meetings and conferences! Usually manage to hold on to at least one before the next opportunity to load up comes around.

 

Sometimes they have really nice solid pens, but more often they are the cheap plastic throwaways. These are used for notes in the field.

 

One day I'd like a Parker Duofold BP. I like the shape and it seems to suit most of the finishes Parker have used. Use might be limited as I would also not want to have that damaged by having it out in the field.

[Bearcat]

Mont Blanc Mark Twain Writer's Edition.....

[stuartk]

For decades, my one and only BP was a very old Cross 14K gold pen my grandparents gave to me, but alas my old arthritic hands can no longer deal with its slim girth. Hopefully my daughter will pick it up from my desk some day. So, these days I use push button / click BPs with a Fisher standard size blue refill which comes with an adapter to fit all pens accepting what I refer to as "Parker-style" refills. I like all things mechanical, so one the coolest BPs for me is the Fisher telescoping pen, it's a pull rather than a push. After reading through this thread, however, I'm definitely going to check out a Michael's Fat Boy. My other fav is an old Papermate Profile #3 also known as a Husky or Jumbo.

 

You might also want to look at a few Parker pens. The IM, Reflex, and Frontier are all fatter pens than the Jotter or your old Cross pen. From the pictures, I'd say they're similar in thickness to the Fisher telescoping pen.

 

The Fat Boy pens sound kind of fragile. There's a whole little story on the web site about how you have to be extra careful about the pushbutton mechanism. It also looks like he only warranties them for 30 days.

[Michael R.]

These are some I regularly carry to work (of course in addition to a fountain pen):

 

1. Montblanc Starwalker Duoé
   
2. Lamy 2000 2000 LE (all brushed stainless steel; my friend usually uses one of her wooden, titanium or ceramic 2000s)
   
3. Lamy Unic
   
4. Sheaffer Legacy
   

 

One day I'd love to get a Montblanc Writer Edition ballpoint like the A. Christie, Oscar Wilde or Fitzgerald as well.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[rminj]

 

The Fat Boy pens sound kind of fragile. There's a whole little story on the web site about how you have to be extra careful about the pushbutton mechanism. It also looks like he only warranties them for 30 days.

 

My Michaels Fat Boy chopper pen has been the most indestructible pen I've ever owned. I've have it 2 years of regular use and the push button is really durable. While the pens are not cheap and the warranty seems minuscule, the build quality of the pen is such that it doesn't need a giant warranty. It will definitely outlast my Cross pens with their lifetime warranty...it makes all my Parker and Cross pens seem cheap and fragile...as if they cut every corner to save on cost. It's great that Michael offers replacement parts for the pen; what other manufacturer does that..they rather one throw the whole thing away and buy another pen (which does not make any sense if one is buying a durable fine pen).

 

The cost of the durability seem to be weight and girth..one either likes it or they don't. Still it goes to

show what a manufacturer can construct and offer for those that want a long lasting pen.

[bigmac53]

My favorite ballpoint is nothig special, just your regular old Dr. Grip, standard refill.

[Papermate]

The standard Jetstream RT refills drop right into the Energel Alloy 407, as will many others.

[Russ Prechtl]

In no prticular order....

 

County Comm Embassy Pen in stainless steel (machined from a solid block!)

Aurora Optima Matte or smooth resin

Waterford Kilbarry Edge

Rotring Tikky 3-in-1 Multi Pen

[Chthulhu]

Sheaffer Sentinel in brushed chrome, Parker Jotter in stainless steel, Papermate Slim Profile in gold plate.

[wacbzz]

Pelikan K400 with a Bold Fisher refill. I use it every single day at work.

 

I used to have a MB Stainless Steel BP filled with the Bold MB refill...but I stupidly "gave" that away in a trade for some (bleep) FP's when I was first getting into them. Can you say "Sucker?'

[Merrib]

I personally like the good old Retro 51 pens and they use Parker ball or gel refills which is always a plus.

[dapv]

wacbzz: I also use a Pelikan K400 (b w/g) with a Fisher refill, and my backup is an old Parker Jotter. I prefer the push-button versus the twist.

[max dog]

The timeless classic, Cross Classic Century gold filled or sterling ball points. Light, compact, and elegant work horse of a pen. It's an icon in writing instrument design. Probably the best ball point pen ever built. One always accompanies my fountain pens.

Edited July 6, 2011 by max dog

[DanF]

I used to love the Parker Jotters, had one that was brushed steel (?) and the entire cap functioned as the push button to advance the ballpoint out into writing position. But at some point I discovered that they were just too skinny to write with, and happened upon a Schaeffer No Nonsense pen, with it's screw on cap and fountain pen like section, and that did it for me. Then they went out of production and I was lost for a while, until rediscovering fountain pens years later. Skinny pens are my pet peeve, I just can't abide them. I now use a nice, fat rollerball of my own making when I have to use something other than a fountain pen, for carbons and such.

 

Dan

[ommoran]

I have two that I love - a Taccia Aviator, and a Lamy Studio in stainless steel.

 

Unfortunately, the Studio grew legs... I'm trying to hunt down another...

[elysee]

I do not have a single favorite. However, I my top five favorite types are my Caran D'Ache Hexagonal Collection (with inlaid black lacquer, tortoise lacquer, and carbon fiber) ballpoints, my Elysee ballpoints (top three designs are those displayed in my avatar -- Elysee ballpoint pens are convertible to pencils), my Waterman Rhapsody Caviar (white and blue) ballpoints, my Montblanc Cool Blue Starwalker ballpoint, and my Lamy 2000 Ceramicon limited edition. They all write magnificently with their respective broad ballpoint refill and they have wonderful balance! I always use broad refills in each for a wonderfully smooth ballpoint writing experience (fines and mediums are too scratchy!), and I use the Monteverde refills (soft roll and gel ink (neither type is available for the Lamy) -- broad, of course!) for a little variety from time to time.

Edited July 10, 2011 by elysee

[Nibsnink]

Faber-Castell Emotion or Parker Sonnet are excellent ballpoints when I have to use one.

[pyotrkot]

I like all of the following (waterproof) BP's equally well,

 

Cross Century black and gold - made in USA with blue or black Fine point refills

Cross Century 10k gold - made in USA with blue or black Fine point refills

Original Parker plastic and steel Jotters with Fine QuinkFlow refills

Bankers' grey Parker Jotter slim with Fine QuinkFlow refills

Ballograf Epocas with Ballograf Medium blue or black archival refills

Sheaffer 440 White Dot reminder clip BP with Sheaffer Fine or Medium refills

Kaweco Classic Sport RB body with Parker QuinkFlow Fine refills

 

Rollerballs i use are listed below;

 

Kaweco Classic Sport clear RB (i like to see the ink level) demonstrator with these shortened refills . . .

Uniball Micro 207 gel 0.5 mm conical tip (waterproof)

Pilot Juice 0.38 mm dark red gel with conical tip (waterproof)

Pilot Juice Up blue black 0.4 mm gel with amazinly smooth Synergy tip (waterproof)

Uniball 0.5 mm Jetstream hybrid ink black refills in the thinner Pilot Juice knock clicker bodies

 

Then there are fountain pens, but not the subject of this thread - fortunately ;-)

Edited December 14, 2017 by Inkroyable