Gel Refills For Ballpoint Pens

[scrawlhand]

Here is a comparison of three gel-refills for ballpoint pens that take the standard Parker-sized refills. If you have any opinions to share or other refills to compare, please contribute

 

 

 

Schneider Gelion 39

 

This refill is made of translucent plastic, so you can always check how much ink is left. It claims to be ISO 14145-2 permanent. The tip is 0,4mm wide.

 

It is quite a good writer, but is sometimes a hard starter after not being used for a certain time.

 

Unfortunately, I sometimes noticed a blob of ink hanging on the tip when pulling the pen out of my shirt pocket. I don't know if the ink is too thin or if the warmth of my body caused it to leak, but I don't trust it anymore and use it only at home.

 

 

Parker Gel Refill Blue

 

This one is my favourite, write-wise. It is very wet, glides without any friction over the paper and starts at once, anytime. It even works at shallower writing angles where most ballpoints quit.

I have to add that this was probably an older refill - the package is blue, gray and black and has the older Parker-logo withe the cursive P on it.

 

 

Parker Gel Refill Red

 

This one came in a newer package than the blue one - red on the right side and with a golden checked pattern on the left.

The colour is a screaming red. It writes drier and narrower than the blue and and has starting issues. It is also very susceptible to the writing angle, if you use it too shallow, it gets even drier.

 

 

Here they are side by side:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b106/Oddlers/gel-refills.jpg

 

 

 

And this piece of paper has been soaked for ten minutes in water:

The blue Parker washed off completely... The red one has surprisingly good water restistance, even though not advertised as permanent.

 

 

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b106/Oddlers/gel-refills-wet.jpg

[rminj]

...

And this piece of paper has been soaked for ten minutes in water:

The blue Parker washed off completely... The red one has surprisingly good water restistance, even though not advertised as permanent.

 

 

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b106/Oddlers/gel-refills-wet.jpg

 

Thanks for a great writeup. I was thinking of doing one with my ballpoint refills to show the Cross folks...

 

I also noticed/realized that the Parker Blue Gel ink is totally not waterproof and offers no water resistance at all. Its really a shame because its the best writing ink I own. I agree with everything you described about it. I suppose if one liked black the Parker black Gel may behave differently to water? I have not tried the Gelions, I heard from one pen site that they had problems with them. They do look to be water resistant though...not sure I would like the .4mm tip though.

 

FWIW I tried the Cross Selectip Blue Gel (in a non-cross pen..I don't own a cross it fits in). The Cross Blue Gel looks

and write quite similar to the Parker blue..some may not even be able to tell the difference in color or writing angle.

It is extremely water resistant (but they all seem that way compared to Parker Blue Gel). But I discovered a downside

to the Cross Selectip Blue Gel(at least the refill I purchased..new packaging,date code 08/08?); after writing 2 pages in my notebook with it I realized the ink has a strong "magic marker" smell to it..it is not pleasant smell...like a

dirty factory. Even the next day I could still smell the pages in my notebook.

 

So I have the Parker blue which is great but water precarious. And I have a Cross blue that is water resistant and works just as well as the Parker..but smells

 

Can't wait to try to try Parker's new Quink flow ballpoints.

 

(What am I writing with today): sigh...a Fisher Blue medium in my Parker Sonnet.

[scrawlhand]

Thanks for your opinions.

 

I am currently waiting for some Monteverde Soft-Roll refills to show up in my mail... I understand they are not gel-refills, but as long as they are writing smooth and consistent, I don't really care what kind of technology or chemistry there is involved.

 

Of course I still prefer fountain pens, but sometimes you need a pen that you can just drop in your pocket and forget about. Also, I occasionally have to use a red pen, but not often enough to keep a fountain pen inked with red ink.

 

I am also eager to try the new Parker refills once they are available around here.

[WillSW]

Has anyone used the Private Reserve Rollerball Gel refills for Parker-style pens? I'm currently using a Visconti, which I like, and a converted Jetstream refill, but I'm still not completely satisfied.

[bomgd3]

I love the Parker gel cartridges, but for the amount that I write, they are just too expensive. I can easily go through $15 worth in a month.

[rminj]

I love the Parker gel cartridges, but for the amount that I write, they are just too expensive. I can easily go through $15 worth in a month.

Maybe try the Itoya gel refills; I have not tried them myself but I see they are cheaper..

 

http://new.penwa.com/catalog/REFILLS-120-1.html

 

I like the Parker gels also..I just can't get over how un-water restistant they are.

 

I tried the blue-black Monteverde. It writes quite well but I am not happy with the color. I may try the blue one. The point is quite broad and it puts out a lot of non-gel ink...if one likes broad points they may be hard to beat.

[51ISH]

I love the Parker gel cartridges, but for the amount that I write, they are just too expensive. I can easily go through $15 worth in a month.

 

 

 

+1...... Couldn't agree more......I had to stop using them for exactly this reason