Is this a fake Parker Gel refill, or has the quality dropped off a cliff??

[Flounder]

I would like to have asked Parker themselves, but was amazed to see there is nothing but a 9-5 phone number for all regions outside of the US.

 

If anyone has a bought Parker gel refills from a retail store recently, are they metal bodied, marked made in France .7[mm], and 5.90mm in diameter (like my empty refill in the attached photo), or are they entirely bendy light plastic except for 8mm by the ball tip, made in China on the packet, marked M, and just 5.54mm in diameter?

 

Also very lightweight...hmmm.

[mr T.]

The quality of the genuine (metal) Parker gel refills wasn''t already that good in my opinion and definitely not worth te money. According to the Parker website, genuine refills are still made in France. On Reddit there are also this post, this post and this post about the newer plastic gel refills from China. 

[Mark from Yorkshire]

Agree with @mr T.. I use Monteverde gel refills instead. That is what the last two Parker pens running Parker gel refills will be replaced with. I hate Parker refills. 

[Flounder]

Thanks to both of your detailed replies, I figured they might actually really be something Parker are putting their name to.

 

Did some digging and eventually found this page taken from the Parker 2025 trade catalogue. It is the only official reference I can find to these cheapened refills, which Parker are calling "Gel Economy offering the same convenience and reliability as our existing refills at a more affordable price point"

 

They are not especially cheap as mentioned by members above! 

 

Given the necessity of greater wall thickness in plastic refills,  surely there is less space for ink. It is also regrettable that big retailers are selling these as the original Gel refills, with the same photo too. I didn't see any difference until the package came from Staples.

 

 

[Flounder]

As a follow up to this thread:

Firstly, Staples UK customer service were great and gave me a refund.

 

As remarked in the reddit discussions @mr T. mentioned, I have also found that these 'Gel Economy' refills jam in a Parker 75 Cisele cycling the knock, more often than not. It's just madness to me that Parker would trash their reputation by selling these.

 

To avoid similar disappointment, check with retailers that their stock matches the SKU/EAN codes for the "Gel Refill" NOT the "Gel Economy" in this page taken from the Parker trade catalogue (2025).

 

Thanks again for the info above @mr T. and @Mark from Yorkshire

[mr T.]

23 hours ago, Flounder said:

To avoid similar disappointment, check with retailers that their stock matches the SKU/EAN codes for the "Gel Refill" NOT the "Gel Economy" in this page taken from the Parker trade catalogue (2025).

What I find interesting here is that all the SKU/EAN codes, even the refills that are made in China, have the SKU/EAN country code for France or Monaco (300 – 379)

[Black Spot]

yup one more reason to use a fountain pen.

[Danny Kaffee]

The Parker gels are now hot garbage. I highly recommend the Schneider Gelion instead. Made in Germany. Writes incredibly smooth. It's better than Monteverde too.