Disappointed With High-End Ballpoints And Rollers

[Brianm_14]

Well, he is disappointed about the holder part, not about the refill.

I know someone who worked at a stationery shop for 40 years, and according to her the refill are more or less all the same, regardless of the brand stamped upon them.

Sorry, but while she is right in some instances, she is very wrong in many or most others. Buy the refills that are found in the top ball point, gel, or rollerball pens on the market today, and you're buying a superior refill, period.

[MYU]

Sorry, but while she is right in some instances, she is very wrong in many or most others. Buy the refills that are found in the top ball point, gel, or rollerball pens on the market today, and you're buying a superior refill, period.

FYI, you quoted someone from 2016... just don't expect a response (they were last active in Jan of 2017).

 

I absolutely agree with you--refills have totally changed the world of writing instruments. The new compositions are extraordinary, in some cases being so fluid as to put down a line like a firm fine fountain pen nib. And while gels will put down a wet line that dries quickly, they do run down faster than your traditional ballpoints. However, some ballpoint compositions are nicely fluid and conservative. My favorite is the PILOT BRFN30. It's not easy to find but PILOT still makes it, a refill design from the 1970's. The ink inside was dramatically improved. They will write probably twice as much as a gel refill.

[Honeybadgers]

$40 is my limit. If it's gonna be more expensive than a fisher AG-7, it better also give great fellatio.

[1nkulus]

$40 is my limit. If it's gonna be more expensive than a fisher AG-7, it better also give great fellatio.

+1

 

 

I just tend to look for a reasonable body for the refill I intend using.

A $500 body still relies on a $3-4 refill.

[IvoryParker]

I'll just mention the Parker Jotter and leave the thread.

+1

[CoolBreeze]

ST Dupont make beautiful roller ball pens and they are all snap caps that snap with the most beautiful perfection. I've tested a bunch of rollerball refills and I agree with you that the Energel is the best. G2's are terrible and blob all over the place. Uniball 207 and 307 dry up prematurely. I could go on and on. The so-called higher end rollerballs in metal tubes are even worse.

 

I just disassembled a metal body high-end rollerball refill. Its not even full of ink. Its what looks like a bunch of foam or paper soaked in ink wrapped in a cellophane wrapper. No wonder why they dry out - its not even pure ink in the body - its paper!! At least in a gel refill - the whole body is filled with gel.

 

Standard energel refills don't fit in Dupont pens - Dupont puts a longer plug on the end of a standard refill body for some reason. Both Dupont and Monteverde refills (for ST Dupont pens) also dry prematurely. If you pop the little plastic stopper off a gel refill like what is on a g2 and stick it in the bottom of the pen, it is the same height as the additional height of the the dupont plug - and you can use any refill you want.

Edited April 4, 2019 by CoolBreeze

[Iur]

I also enjoy Pentel Energel as well, particularly the green inked version for commenting on the margins of books and magazines.

[WLSpec]

I still think the best rollers and ballpoints are cheap...

 

Pilot G2s and Pentel Energels are my favorites.

 

But I don't like spending a lot of money on non-fountain pens because for me, the refill makes the pen in non-fountains. And the best refills are in cheap pens.

Edited April 21, 2019 by WLSpec

[Iur]

Caran d' Ache 849 ballpoint actually got me interested for a while thanks to its Goliath refills, but I ended up concluding it was not worth it for me.

[1nkulus]

I still think the best rollers and ballpoints are cheap...

 

Pilot G2s and Pentel Energels are my favorites.

 

But I don't like spending a lot of money on non-fountain pens because for me, the refill makes the pen in non-fountains. And the best refills are in cheap pens.

+1

 

My order of preference is Energel, Uni-ball, G2.

[tonydent84]

For gel pens I prefer the Signo 207 or 307.

 

For ballpoints I always use a Fisher Space pen refill (Parker style) in a Sensa body (love that squishy grip, and the pen is perfectly balanced). You can find old Sensa pens on fee-bay.

 

http://www.pensinasia.com/Senverbp66.jpg

 

Sorry for being off-topic - but how do you post a picture like this? Every time I post, it takes up the whole screen, and I have to use some third-party site like Flickr (something I never use, and already forgot my credentials for).

[tonydent84]

I still think the best rollers and ballpoints are cheap...

 

Pilot G2s and Pentel Energels are my favorites.

 

But I don't like spending a lot of money on non-fountain pens because for me, the refill makes the pen in non-fountains. And the best refills are in cheap pens.

 

I second this.

 

I have not found a high-end brand of ballpoints or rollerballs that can compete with cheap disposables in terms of quality.

 

However, I'd favor any high end ballpoint that can take a Parker refill since there are so many brands that make that refill. Recently I've discovered that the Uniball Jetstream makes refills for Parker pens, and I immediately bought them. And yes, they write just like the normal Jetstream pens.

 

For rollerballs, I went with pens that took standard refills, like Waterman, and just used Pilot refills in them (not always G2 refills - Pilot also made some rollerball refills called VBall I think? that were pretty good and were the same size as G2 refills).

 

However, I do love my Cross Classic Century, even if the ballpoint isn't quite as good as others. And I love my Montblanc ballpoints - they just last forever, write fairly dark, and are very reliable.

[Algester]

Caran d' Ache 849 ballpoint actually got me interested for a while thanks to its Goliath refills, but I ended up concluding it was not worth it for me.

I got an 849 but I decided to stick in a Zebra Emulsion D3 refill on it personally its a much better alternative since I like .5 tip sizes

[Conan the Grammarian]

I've almost given up and just decided to carry a Pilot G2 as my main pen. The high-end pens are nice, but the refills are expensive, require a trip to an office supply store, and the simple G2 (or even a Uni 207) write just as well. I gave up on the 207 because the G2 ink is bolder and the G2 is, IMHO, a better-looking pen).

 

If I need a ballpoint, the Zebra line-up (F-301, F-402, or F701) will do the trick with little fuss. The Zebra gel (G-301) is nice but the ink supply is its weak spot. Why Zebra can't just issue a gel refill for its ballpoint (like Parker did), I don't know.

 

Both the G2 and the Zebras fit the requirements for my everyday pen:

• Widely availability of pen and/or refill
• Simple and business-like design <=== should not appeal to a pre-teen girl
• Good ink flow and solid lines on paper
• Fast drying
• Write on a variety of papers <=== gel pens struggle with this one
• Solid click or twist mechanism - no side releases or awkward clip releases
• No flimsy clips and no clips that get snagged on my shirt (I have a well-liked Parker IM with that issue)
• Solid feel
• Prefer capless, but will consider capped for good pen (e.g., Cross rollerball)

I still prefer my older Parkers, Crosses, and Mont Blancs for their style, but getting refills for some of them requires advanced planning, especially the Mont Blanc and the Cross Click Gel.