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Basic Ballpoints - Favourite Brand?


katiedav

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So this isn't a really niche question - or maybe it is here :huh: .

So, basic ballpoint pens - the kind a teacher marks your work with. What's your favourite brand?

BiC Cristal

Staedler

Papermate

Uniball

Pilot

Parker (arguably not basic, I suppose)

Zebra

STABILO

 

I've written a questionnaire on an external site but I'm not sure if I can share the link here?

Let's give it a go :unsure: https://katie482.typeform.com/to/WK9IiH

 

I'd love to hear what you think here, too. I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed to admit but I do appreciate a Papermate InkJoy :rolleyes:

 

Thanks guys!

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I feel misled! You listed Pilot (the Pilot Better Ballpoint being the epitome of the basic ballpoint pen category) and it's not in the questionnaire.

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Your questionnaire was a bit hard for me, because I haven't used either the brands or the particular pens much.

 

The worst about the BIC is that the plastic breaks just like that (the see-through bit). I only used Bic sticks in various forms briefly and don't anymore, for just a touch more there's much better available.

 

The best ballpoints, and the ones I use at this point (almost) exclusively are the Pilot Acroball, uni Jetstream, Schneider Viscoglide and Parker compatible refill pens (Parker, Schneider, Faber Castell - most used refill: Schneider Viscoglide).

 

What many lump into the "ballpoint" area are gel pens, which imo shouldn't be. They are different inks and write differently (gels are smoother, though the ink doesn't last as long).

My favourites are the uni Signo 307 (not the 207, my experience with that one years ago wasn't that great, railroading was an issue and the 307 has an improved ink in it, no issues whatsoever), Pilot G-2.

Other favourites are the Pentel EnerGel and Zebra Sarasa.

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If rollerballs don't count, then I'm not sure the question is meaningful, any more than "what's your favorite candle". I haven't been impressed enough with any ballpoint to notice the difference, and even a $2,000 ballpoint is just a fancy case around a generic disposable.

Edited by Corona688
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The way I took the question was if you limited yourself to the really basic office supply ballpoints, the ones you get a box of a dozen for a buck a piece, what brands do you like?

 

And in that way, there's a reason I have a few boxes of them in my desk, and have been using them since the 90s. When I need a ballpoint for a task, it always performs.

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If rollerballs count, I can get Uni-Ball twelve-packs for $10. That's a pen I know still works after I stuff it in a bag and forget about it fifteen years.

 

The only ballpoints I ever bought on purpose were retractable Papermates which remain mostly in the box.

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I have for the better part of 40 years or more a Parker guy when it comes to ballpoints. Yes, I used bic sticks of various sorts. I have also used Pilot G2's extensively in a work environment. Before I got red ink for my fountain pens.

 

But for the pen I kept in my pocket it has been either a Parker Jotter, then a Jotter Flighter, a Classic Flighter (set with MP) and Insignia Flighter (set). I also have a Latitude Flighter and a 45 Flighter set. My favorite is the 45 Flighter. But I always bought Flighter style pens after breaking a couple of Jotters with plastic barrel's due in part to cold weather.

Brad

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling
"None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

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Linc, they are cheap, good quality, write well, gels, ballpoints, Linc Markline wooden pencils also.

/http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/858372_558495127508117_649985064_o.jpg
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I've used Parker Jotters for more then 40 years ... Always been happy with them!

BTW, nice discussione here!

J

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The Lamy Noto is a smooth reliable ballpoint - for under 4Euro if you look around.

Less is More - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Less is a Bore - Robert Venturi

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As I like a broad point: Papermate Profile 1.4 and Bic Velocity 1.6 are favorites. Sonetimes I put the filler in a more expensive pen body if I can adapt it.

Almost forgot the Zebra F301 1.6mm

Edited by Studio97
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I've used Parker Jotters for more then 40 years ... Always been happy with them!

BTW, nice discussione here!

J

+1

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This teacher graded every paper I ever marked with a fountain pen. The arthritis in my writing hand makes ballpoints painful to use and gels only marginally better. That said, when I had to fill out those carbonless forms that school administrators seem to love I used a Zebra gel.

Dave Campbell
Retired Science Teacher and Active Pen Addict
Every day is a chance to reduce my level of ignorance.

fpn_1425200643__fpn_1425160066__super_pi

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