A GEL YOU CAN LIVE WITH

[fatfinger]

I find my hand and nervous system can change day by day. Some days I prefer a lightweight frictionless pen, some days a heavy steel Chinese pen with more tooth. But always with 'M' nibs.

 

But about the only pen which I'll do voluminous writing with other than an FP is the Bic Gelocity 0.7 gel pen. The rubber grip is wide enough, and it writes with little friction, but enough to keep it under control and give some feedback.

 

Cheap enough; try one.

[Conan the Grammarian]

For gel pens, I just went with the Pilot G2.  It had the advantage of being readily available in most stores, so I could pick up replacements easily, even when traveling.  It's cheap enough that losing one doesn't bother me.  And it does a fairly decent job of writing - not perfect, but when I use a gel pen, it's out of necessity not choice.  YMMV.

[flatline]

Most of the brand name (and even some no-name) gel pens use the same geometry refill, so if you find that you like a particular pen body, you can feed it refills from other brands.

 

Pilot G2 gel refills have slightly bigger tips than normal so while Pilot hosts accept refills from most other brand gel pens, the reverse is not true.

 

Ignoring Pilot, I've confirmed that Uniball Signo, Bic Gelosity, Pentel Energel, Paper Mate Inkjoy gel, Zebra Sarasa, and probably some others I'm forgetting are interchangeable. I happen to have a metal Zebra host I like that I'm running Energel refills in (because I found them for $0.30 a 2-pack in clearance at the grocery after the back to school rush several years ago).

 

--flatline

[Plume145]

I really like an old pocket-sized gel pen that Cross made in the mid-00s (possibly long after, that's just when I got mine...though I'm pretty sure it's no longer being made): the Cross Gelicious. It sits great in the hand, and although I think there are smoother gels, this isn't too bad, especially if you can score a M size refill (I have a pretty good stash of refills right now, but they're all F - they can be a little scratchy). but it's great in the hand, and a great pen for jotting onto post-its while in the throes of projects where you can't have a FP lying around. 

 

Although I'm using it less since I received a Faber-Castell e-motion pencil. It's got a similar shape.  

[es9]

Can't really go wrong with anything that takes a Schmidt capless rollerball refill.  They're not "gel" per se, but they are the best flowing non-FP I've found to date.  The short version (medium) of the refill is the P8127, and the long version (medium) is the 8127.  I personally *love* my Baron Fig Squire, which takes the short version.  It's available in different metals.  The aluminum ones are (unsurprisingly) quite light, while the steel and brass ones are heavier.  They are, however, short pens.  For a longer pen, you could try a Retro 51; I'm pretty sure they also take the short version.  

[MYU]

Pentel EnerGel... is amazing. I find them cheaper than the PILOT G2 and they write just as well. Also, they come in a wider range of widths, even down to 0.3 mm. 

[BigBlot]

On 2/23/2021 at 3:15 PM, Conan the Grammarian said:

For gel pens, I just went with the Pilot G2.  It had the advantage of being readily available in most stores, so I could pick up replacements easily, even when traveling.  It's cheap enough that losing one doesn't bother me.  And it does a fairly decent job of writing - not perfect, but when I use a gel pen, it's out of necessity not choice.  YMMV.

I like how the Pilot G2 writes, but have had issues with the ball point. The housing seems to abruptly shear. The first indication of this is blotting or scratchy writing. Have tossed half-filled G2 pens. Granted this could have been a bad batch, but even though we still have a partial box of blue pens at work, they aren't worth the hassle to me. Had never had this happen with black, but this week tried one and noticed it was suspiciously scratchy. Thus I have a UniBall Signo 207 on my desk at work.

[MYU]

Quote

I like how the Pilot G2 writes, but have had issues with the ball point. The housing seems to abruptly shear. The first indication of this is blotting or scratchy writing. Have tossed half-filled G2 pens. Granted this could have been a bad batch, but even though we still have a partial box of blue pens at work, they aren't worth the hassle to me. Had never had this happen with black, but this week tried one and noticed it was suspiciously scratchy. Thus I have a UniBall Signo 207 on my desk at work.

Best to put the G2 refill inside another pen. It fits in the rOtring 600 rollerball. Uniball Signo 207 is a fine ink refill too.

[BigBlot]

6 hours ago, MYU said:

Best to put the G2 refill inside another pen. It fits in the rOtring 600 rollerball. Uniball Signo 207 is a fine ink refill too.

Wouldn't help. The housing I'm talking about is the part that holds the ball in the tip. When it shears, a fine piece of metal around the ball tears loose, almost like a tiny washer. At that point, it no longer writes.

[AlexItto]

Any of these are as aesthetically pleasant as nice to use? Sorry about the shallowness, but I got into this mostly because of a repulsion to ugly stationery.

Edited February 26, 2021 by AlexItto
typo

[MYU]

14 hours ago, BigBlot said:

Wouldn't help. The housing I'm talking about is the part that holds the ball in the tip. When it shears, a fine piece of metal around the ball tears loose, almost like a tiny washer. At that point, it no longer writes.

I see now. Well, I wonder about a few things. Do you apply above average pressure when you write? Or perhaps construction quality has changed. I've not seen review complaints of tips that give out... unless it happens much later on and people aren't going back to report on it. Frankly, at this point in time I don't write much with roller pen refills so I've had no anecdotal longevity tests like this.

[BigBlot]

7 hours ago, MYU said:

I see now. Well, I wonder about a few things. Do you apply above average pressure when you write? Or perhaps construction quality has changed. I've not seen review complaints of tips that give out... unless it happens much later on and people aren't going back to report on it. Frankly, at this point in time I don't write much with roller pen refills so I've had no anecdotal longevity tests like this.

I don't think that I do. I have a red G2 pen that's still operating. So far, it's showed up in the blue, which makes me wonder if it's a bad batch. These are the 0.38 mm pens, BTW.

[MYU]

I see. Yeah, it could've been a bad batch. PILOT has had smashing success with the G2. I didn't realize they were now offering 0.38 mm. Last I'd seen, 0.5 mm was the smallest.

[flatline]

The 0.38 is a bit scratchy compared to the 0.5, but I know some folks who love it!

[BigBlot]

On 3/3/2021 at 6:18 PM, flatline said:

The 0.38 is a bit scratchy compared to the 0.5, but I know some folks who love it!

It works better for some paperwork at the office, but I've come to prefer the 0.5 for day to day use. This is both with the Pilot G2 and Uniball Signo 207.

[Conan the Grammarian]

On 2/25/2021 at 7:04 AM, BigBlot said:

Thus I have a UniBall Signo 207 on my desk at work.

 

I like the UniBall Signo, but the G2 has brighter colors.

[flatline]

I have some gel pen bodies that I really like, but as long as it's 0.5mm, I'm not very picky about the brand of refill. When my stash of refills gets low, I'll buy whatever 0.5 refills (or pens I can use the refills from) that I find in the less than $1 each price range. Most brand name gel pens are in the $1.50 to $2.50 range in my local stores, but a couple of times a year I can find them on sale and then I'll stock up. Target recently had the 0.5mm Sharpie gel pens on sale for about $0.80 each and Office Max often has their TUL pens on sale for about the same price.

 

My biggest score was several years ago when the "back to school" supplies went on clearance at the local grocery store. I picked up a dozen or so 2-packs of Energels for $0.30 per pack ($0.15 per pen!). Some of them were 0.7mm and even 1.0mm, but at that price, I'm still game.

 

--flatline

[Geslina]

I use gel pens at work, black only, I’ve tried them all.  My favorites, in no particular order, are Zebra Sarasa Clip, Uniball Signo Dx, and the Uniball 307.  The first two come in a wide array of colors, the one I love the most is the Uniball Signo in Bordeaux Black, a deep cool toned burgundy.

[Estycollector]

I use either a Pilot Precise V5 or an Ohto Flash Dry gel .5 in a vintage Parker 45 flighter type BP. 

[MYU]

On 4/2/2021 at 2:14 AM, Geslina said:

I use gel pens at work, black only, I’ve tried them all.  My favorites, in no particular order, are Zebra Sarasa Clip, Uniball Signo Dx, and the Uniball 307.  The first two come in a wide array of colors, the one I love the most is the Uniball Signo in Bordeaux Black, a deep cool toned burgundy.

Fascinating -- I'd no idea of such a color, Bordeaux Black. Unfortunately, they don't seem to offer these as refills, only in the pen. Given the decent pen construction, you'd think they would offer refills as a more "green" minded approach. But Uniball's website doesn't show any.