I spend way more money on jetpens's selection of notebooks than pens though. Also, I tend to prefer pencil, and will recommend the Pentel Kerry.
---------
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The future of online stores is jetpens and websites like it. Jetpens is useful because I trust their reviews.
They're a store, yes, but more importantly, they're a trustworthy source of information. Amazon reviews are no longer trusted by me, but all of the discussion / reviews from Jetpens has been 100% accurate in my experience. They've managed to build up this relationship with their customers (such as myself) where I will trust their reviews and prefer to buy from them.
Bonus points: a shop like Jetpens organizes their journals in A5, B5, A4, (etc. etc.) sizes. Amazon does not. Custom browsing experiences / categorizations is a big deal. Logically presenting Jetpen's catalog to the user makes me more likely to use their site and end up buying something.
I always look for small suppliers of a small niche. The people tend to know something about what they sell. It is worth paying a little more just to get good advice from someone who cares more than I do about the subject.
Agreed 100%. I have spent a ton of money with JetPens and I will continue to do so.
Not only is their store built, organized, and curated specifically for the items they sell and their customers, they also have knowledgeable and passionate staff members that write fantastic articles about high end stationery. I'm constantly learning new things.
When I was a student I think I read online that (for water based inks) laser printer paper works well and better than a lot of notebook paper. I think something about feathering or drying time but I don’t really remember. I’m not sure how true it was and I preferred having loose leaf paper with no lines so I was pretty happy feeling like I was getting well suited paper on the cheap.
How many people read the reviews on Jetpens and then buy the pen from Amazon though. Obviously not so many to put them out of business, but that's always the danger.
> The future of online stores is jetpens and websites like it. Jetpens is useful because I trust their reviews.
Why does everything always have to be "the future of ____" or mutually exclusive one way or the other? Online specialty stores exist just like they did in real life in the past. They are not really competing for the same customers.
Amazon doesn't even organize or allow you to search for SHOES by size. Their search is about forcing crap down your throat and is actively hostile to getting what you want. I wish the reviews were the worst of it.
Jet Pens is a dangerous site. They'll convince you to part with your money far too easily.
Studio Ghibli pens. I mean, how can you not buy them?!
On a slightly more serious note - I agree with the Uniball Signo recommendations. They're good, reliable pens. I don't care for writing with Frixion pens, but they are the player in the erasable pen arena.
I really appreciate how they provide samples with metadata on how each pen/paper works. Even if you disagree with their "Best of" lists, they give you the data you need to make informed buying choices. Something all too absent for other online ordering.
And they have a better selection of really fine point pens than other sites.
I bought a couple of Frixion pens after reading a similar thread here. I like them. But keep them away from kids, Stiftung Warentest (essentially, German Consumer Affairs) found lead in the ink and recommends other pens.
Fountain pens completely changed how I write. I've always gripped ballpoints like my life depended on it and gotten hand cramps from how hard I press them down. I don't want to, and can temporarily stop doing that when I consciously notice, but then I forget and go back to trying to stab the desktop through the paper.
A Lamy Safari's triangular shape makes it physically hard to hold the "wrong" way. It nudges me to write with my fingertips, not my wrist. The effect on my hand pain, and my ability to hand-write long bits of test, was immediate and huge.
I wouldn't have thought that simply switching pens would make such an enormous difference in my ability to put ink on paper. It sure did, though.
I bought the TWISBI ECO on a lark. I was hesitant because I already had the GO and the ECO was just more expensive.
Well boy-howdy is the ECO not only leagues better than the GO, but I much prefer to all my other pens.
Folks recommend the really cheap platinum preppy pens, but be warned they are super scratchy. I would go a size up from what you normally prefer wrt to nib (if you are new, try M as F and EF are extremely scratchy IMHO).
The opposite is true about the TWISBI in my experience. Go a size down. Their F nibs write quite fat.
Then again, I mostly write on cheap paper so this advice def doesn't apply to e.g. Rhodia pads.
Finally, I don't love the metropolitan. Feels great in the hand but I always find myself reaching for the smooth writing I get from my Eco.
> Folks recommend the really cheap platinum preppy pens, but be warned they are super scratchy.
The reason people recommend the platinum is that its cheap and its cap system is especially good for avoiding dry-out. To me, the platinum preppy feels like a rounded pencil. I think its a good pen, but my reservation is that the plastic is a bit brittle on the preppy. I'd personally probably go with the Pilot Kakuno, or the more expensive Platinum prefonte, or if you're really worried about costs, the interesting and fraught world of Chinese fountain pens
> I would go a size up from what you normally prefer wrt to nib (if you are new, try M as F and EF are extremely scratchy IMHO).
This is a feature of all the Japanese pens - they tend to have a finer grind. The European and other pens (e.g., Lamy) are about what you expect.
> Finally, I don't love the metropolitan. Feels great in the hand but I always find myself reaching for the smooth writing I get from my Eco.
The Metropolitan is a love-or-hate pen for some people, due to hand feel. I personally like it. If you can hold one, that'd be best. I think a couple of things make the Metro a better beginning pen than the Eco, if you like how it feels in your hand. It's cheaper; its got a metal body and cap (can be banged around), its got better QC (The first Eco I was given had the infamous 'barrel crack'. The second just flat didn't write. I'm a bit miffed at the brand), It can take cartridges or its included converter-sac, and it is by far one of the easiest pens to tear down and clean. The Eco can be taken apart with its special wrench too, but people commonly crack it in the process.
I just wish pilot sold the nibs separately for repair, like Lamy does, of TWSBI does with their more expensive pens.
For the crowd around here: I'd also say that one of the joys of a fountain pen is that you can tune, smooth, and even grind your own nibs if you're that adventurous.
My unsolicited advice to JetPens owner: This is the first time I've ever seen the Jetpens site, and it's amazing. The guides are great, and I instantly trust the advice.
I have a $100 cart though, and I'm not going to checkout because there is no Apple Pay or Shop Pay or Amazon Pay option. Sorry I'm too lazy to add my data to yet another e-com site!
Wow, I'm shocked at the level of depth in this site. I thought for sure something like "best pens for your lab notebook" would be SEO drivel, but they actually test against things like alcohol and acetone, and consider writing on vials and containers and such.
Ah jeez. I have 9 tabs open on JetPens now. 30 minutes ago I was reading the linked article and now I'm comparing pocket planner dimensions and researching the practicality of retractable fountain pens. I've been thoroughly nerd-sniped.
Featured in this list are two of my favorite fountain pens, the Pilot Vanishing Point and the Lamy 2000. Both of these in my collection write very well and both have unique and interesting designs.
The Pilot Vanishing Point doesn't need a cap, the nib is exposed and protected in a manner akin to clicking a ball point in and out. Mine works perfectly.
The Lamy 2000 is sleek and modern looking with a sophisticated design. It looks like a fountain pen that one might see in a Star Trek movie, but this model has been around since the mid 1960's. After half a century, the design is still the favorite of my collection. It operates flawlessly.
I own the other, less expensive fountain pens mentioned as well; they would be good choices too. I started out with some of these and I still like them, but it is easy to get hooked on buying more fountain pens and fancy inks.
My Pilot vanishing broke on me within about 2 months of use, sadly. I've since purchased a Sailor 1911 demonstrator which writes super smoothly. It's been my main pen for the past couple years, love it.
I can vouch for the Pentel EnerGel recommendation.
As a left-handed person who tends to smudge a lot of other inks, EnerGels write smoothly without smudging. They're also cheap enough to buy a whole pack and not worry about losing them.
this isn't the first time i've seen this article (or the version from another year i guess) and it always brings me a lot of joy to see a list of "the best" of something, clearly written by somebody who cares a lot about the subject and really believes that what they're writing is the truth.
and the conclusion is that the best ones are the normal ones you can get in every store, you don't need to custom order weird stuff from japan. you don't need to hack together something out of the parts of two different things. the best rollerball pen is the one i've got a dozen of in my cupboard, and i can buy more of at the office supply store down the street.
I heartily agree with their fountain pen choices. The Pilot Metropolitan is insanely good for a cheap pen that you can take anywhere and the TWSBI GO is my go-to daily driver. It leads me to believe that the rest of the reviews are likely good.
I bought a moonman m2 a long time ago and really love it but also if I travel with it I end up bringing a whole cleanup kit because even with care I tend to have at least once where ink comes out into the cap.
Is this just a fact of life with fountain pens in general? I love the writing but keeping them clean & operational has been non-trivial for me.
The Nevada State Bank once recommended a Uni-ball 207 (any pigment ink pen will probably do) to prevent check washing fraud: [video] https://youtu.be/zhR-koBU4zM
I have a bag of BIC Cristal pens that I've been working through for over a decade now. There are still a few left. What am I missing?
I've used a lot of random pens when signing my name at various places of business, and none of them seemed better to me than a BIC Cristal. In fact, many are so much worse that I usually bring my own BIC Cristal to places where I know I'll be filling out paperwork.
My favorite are the Bic Round Stic pens. I like to write small, and I find that most other pens have more flow than I want.
It also helps that they're dirt cheap, so I can just get a big bunch like you and I don't have to care if I lose one here or there.
Ironically, I find that if I only have a few pens, I start to lose them over time, but if I have a large amount, I actually accumulate pens. Not sure how that works.
Surprised no one has mentioned …The main practical one is line thickness. You can’t physically write as small. You can pack a ton of information with a 0.3mm or 0.25 ball point that is not possible with the bic where nearly triple that is considered “fine” by comparison.
Those pens have considerable resistance but I find pilot hi-tec-c 0.4mm write as smoothly as a Bic but a far cleaner line and is a good compromise for everyday use. It’s not like most of these pens are particularly expensive or anything either.
you've never used a better pen? a hi-tecpoint v5? A pilot fineliner?
There's nothing wrong with bic cristals except that its kind of the most basic pen. Are there better pen experiences out there? many many better experiences. But it sounds like thats not interesting to you, so there's no reason for you to seek them out.
A bic pen isn't a bad pen, it is stunningly successful type of pen.
There are meaningful differences between how it feels to write with a fountain pen or other type of nice pen vs a bic but there is no reason you might not just prefer how a bic writes.
I like the relaxed, but controlled feeling of a fountain pen. Writing with bic like pens my whole life I got into the habit of gripping the pen hard and pressing down hard and it made me hate writing.
I have a bunch of Uni-ball Jetstream pens that I'm real happy about. I learned about those from this site in one of their previous articles.
I can't tell if they're saying the Jetstream is no longer as good as it was, or these other new pens are even better, or they're just kind of pushing something new.
I'm tempted to order some of the Pentel Energels, Pilot Multiball, etc.. I'm not a highlighter person so don't care about that one. I guess the other thing is knowing some other options to look for in a pinch. The Uni-ball Jetstream is not commonly found in stores near me. I generally have to order them. If the Pentel/Pilot options are more common I need to keep that in mind.
Their specific articles on left handedness explain a ton.. I never connected any of the effects (cramping, calluses, scraping the paper, etc..) other than smudging because I never really thought about how righties are pulling across the paper in left-to-right languages and lefties are pushing across the paper. It also explains why fountain pens are so brutal for lefties. They're so annoying maybe it explains why they used to try so hard to get left handed people to learn to switch for writing. I actually think I'd have been fine if forced to switch.
My silliest pen story was walking into a fancy pen store and the sales person was a total snob. He lost a sure fire sale instantly based on judging me on my clothes or something. None of the pens had prices and when I asked about one he said if I had to ask I couldn't afford it. I wanted to come back and say I could buy every pen in the store or maybe the whole store, which I might have very well been able to. They went out of business. (Part of this was they were renting space in the mall, they didn't own their premises)
When people act that way to me, I just laugh and walk away. It feels much better than being mad, and they often look confused rather than smug. I have no problem with not rewarding them with a sale. Sometimes they'll even backpedal, I just say "Have a great day, bye!"
As a fellow southpaw, I was convinced to buy a bunch of their recommended pens (IIRC their standalone "best pens for lefties" article is more thorough than the left section in the "best pens of $current_year" article).
The Pentel EnerGel (specifically, the "Pentel EnerGel Alloy Gel Pen - 0.7 mm - Black Ink - Silver Body") is the best pen I've ever used. It feels magically smooth with minimal smudging. For me it writes much better than the Jetstream, although if you do a ton of writing you might prefer the grip on those. I also really like the multiball (for writing on non-paper surfaces), the power tank (aka the poor man's space pen) and the Sarasa dry gel pens (less smooth than the Energel but the designs are fun)
I did this rabbit hole about 15 years ago and have a couple vanishing points as a result. Today Zebra Sarasa at work. Fountain pens are fun but fiddly with refills and blots. Fun to write with.
[+] [-] dragontamer|2 years ago|reply
---------
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The future of online stores is jetpens and websites like it. Jetpens is useful because I trust their reviews.
They're a store, yes, but more importantly, they're a trustworthy source of information. Amazon reviews are no longer trusted by me, but all of the discussion / reviews from Jetpens has been 100% accurate in my experience. They've managed to build up this relationship with their customers (such as myself) where I will trust their reviews and prefer to buy from them.
Bonus points: a shop like Jetpens organizes their journals in A5, B5, A4, (etc. etc.) sizes. Amazon does not. Custom browsing experiences / categorizations is a big deal. Logically presenting Jetpen's catalog to the user makes me more likely to use their site and end up buying something.
[+] [-] bluGill|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dcchambers|2 years ago|reply
Not only is their store built, organized, and curated specifically for the items they sell and their customers, they also have knowledgeable and passionate staff members that write fantastic articles about high end stationery. I'm constantly learning new things.
[+] [-] gorgoiler|2 years ago|reply
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/connectors/circular-connector...
[+] [-] dan-robertson|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aidenn0|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jstr_|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aidenn0|2 years ago|reply
You can pry my Zebra DelGuard from my cold, dead hands.
[+] [-] turzmo|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Razengan|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sublinear|2 years ago|reply
Why does everything always have to be "the future of ____" or mutually exclusive one way or the other? Online specialty stores exist just like they did in real life in the past. They are not really competing for the same customers.
[+] [-] cleansingfire|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] falcolas|2 years ago|reply
Studio Ghibli pens. I mean, how can you not buy them?!
On a slightly more serious note - I agree with the Uniball Signo recommendations. They're good, reliable pens. I don't care for writing with Frixion pens, but they are the player in the erasable pen arena.
I really appreciate how they provide samples with metadata on how each pen/paper works. Even if you disagree with their "Best of" lists, they give you the data you need to make informed buying choices. Something all too absent for other online ordering.
And they have a better selection of really fine point pens than other sites.
[+] [-] morsch|2 years ago|reply
https://www.test.de/Stifte-und-Tinten-im-Test-Unterm-Strich-...
[+] [-] unknown|2 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] entelechy0|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kstrauser|2 years ago|reply
A Lamy Safari's triangular shape makes it physically hard to hold the "wrong" way. It nudges me to write with my fingertips, not my wrist. The effect on my hand pain, and my ability to hand-write long bits of test, was immediate and huge.
I wouldn't have thought that simply switching pens would make such an enormous difference in my ability to put ink on paper. It sure did, though.
[+] [-] jszymborski|2 years ago|reply
Well boy-howdy is the ECO not only leagues better than the GO, but I much prefer to all my other pens.
Folks recommend the really cheap platinum preppy pens, but be warned they are super scratchy. I would go a size up from what you normally prefer wrt to nib (if you are new, try M as F and EF are extremely scratchy IMHO).
The opposite is true about the TWISBI in my experience. Go a size down. Their F nibs write quite fat.
Then again, I mostly write on cheap paper so this advice def doesn't apply to e.g. Rhodia pads.
Finally, I don't love the metropolitan. Feels great in the hand but I always find myself reaching for the smooth writing I get from my Eco.
[+] [-] NullInvictus|2 years ago|reply
The reason people recommend the platinum is that its cheap and its cap system is especially good for avoiding dry-out. To me, the platinum preppy feels like a rounded pencil. I think its a good pen, but my reservation is that the plastic is a bit brittle on the preppy. I'd personally probably go with the Pilot Kakuno, or the more expensive Platinum prefonte, or if you're really worried about costs, the interesting and fraught world of Chinese fountain pens
> I would go a size up from what you normally prefer wrt to nib (if you are new, try M as F and EF are extremely scratchy IMHO).
This is a feature of all the Japanese pens - they tend to have a finer grind. The European and other pens (e.g., Lamy) are about what you expect.
> Finally, I don't love the metropolitan. Feels great in the hand but I always find myself reaching for the smooth writing I get from my Eco.
The Metropolitan is a love-or-hate pen for some people, due to hand feel. I personally like it. If you can hold one, that'd be best. I think a couple of things make the Metro a better beginning pen than the Eco, if you like how it feels in your hand. It's cheaper; its got a metal body and cap (can be banged around), its got better QC (The first Eco I was given had the infamous 'barrel crack'. The second just flat didn't write. I'm a bit miffed at the brand), It can take cartridges or its included converter-sac, and it is by far one of the easiest pens to tear down and clean. The Eco can be taken apart with its special wrench too, but people commonly crack it in the process.
I just wish pilot sold the nibs separately for repair, like Lamy does, of TWSBI does with their more expensive pens.
For the crowd around here: I'd also say that one of the joys of a fountain pen is that you can tune, smooth, and even grind your own nibs if you're that adventurous.
[+] [-] BeetleB|2 years ago|reply
The Metropolitan was my favorite until I got a PenBBS and custom nib for it.
[+] [-] jayroh|2 years ago|reply
Why? Because I'm about to drop ~$40 on pens as a result of the post, and discussion here.
Echoing other people's sentiments here - love the site, love the density, love the niche'ness, love the information.
[+] [-] bklyn11201|2 years ago|reply
I have a $100 cart though, and I'm not going to checkout because there is no Apple Pay or Shop Pay or Amazon Pay option. Sorry I'm too lazy to add my data to yet another e-com site!
[+] [-] unknown|2 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] mNovak|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Infernal|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] todd8|2 years ago|reply
The Pilot Vanishing Point doesn't need a cap, the nib is exposed and protected in a manner akin to clicking a ball point in and out. Mine works perfectly.
The Lamy 2000 is sleek and modern looking with a sophisticated design. It looks like a fountain pen that one might see in a Star Trek movie, but this model has been around since the mid 1960's. After half a century, the design is still the favorite of my collection. It operates flawlessly.
I own the other, less expensive fountain pens mentioned as well; they would be good choices too. I started out with some of these and I still like them, but it is easy to get hooked on buying more fountain pens and fancy inks.
[+] [-] mwlp|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TheFreim|2 years ago|reply
Have mine inked right now, I'd say it's my favorite pen currently.
[+] [-] ablyveiled|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bmarquez|2 years ago|reply
As a left-handed person who tends to smudge a lot of other inks, EnerGels write smoothly without smudging. They're also cheap enough to buy a whole pack and not worry about losing them.
[+] [-] upmostly|2 years ago|reply
It's the same feeling I had when I visited my first website.
It's that same feeling I got when we had software instead of web apps.
Tangible springs to mind.
[+] [-] notatoad|2 years ago|reply
and the conclusion is that the best ones are the normal ones you can get in every store, you don't need to custom order weird stuff from japan. you don't need to hack together something out of the parts of two different things. the best rollerball pen is the one i've got a dozen of in my cupboard, and i can buy more of at the office supply store down the street.
[+] [-] chrisweekly|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] eschneider|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rektide|2 years ago|reply
Is this just a fact of life with fountain pens in general? I love the writing but keeping them clean & operational has been non-trivial for me.
[+] [-] doabell|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] warner25|2 years ago|reply
I've used a lot of random pens when signing my name at various places of business, and none of them seemed better to me than a BIC Cristal. In fact, many are so much worse that I usually bring my own BIC Cristal to places where I know I'll be filling out paperwork.
[+] [-] nordsieck|2 years ago|reply
It also helps that they're dirt cheap, so I can just get a big bunch like you and I don't have to care if I lose one here or there.
Ironically, I find that if I only have a few pens, I start to lose them over time, but if I have a large amount, I actually accumulate pens. Not sure how that works.
[+] [-] riceart|2 years ago|reply
Those pens have considerable resistance but I find pilot hi-tec-c 0.4mm write as smoothly as a Bic but a far cleaner line and is a good compromise for everyday use. It’s not like most of these pens are particularly expensive or anything either.
[+] [-] wrp|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] giraffe_lady|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] LegitShady|2 years ago|reply
There's nothing wrong with bic cristals except that its kind of the most basic pen. Are there better pen experiences out there? many many better experiences. But it sounds like thats not interesting to you, so there's no reason for you to seek them out.
[+] [-] dumpsterlid|2 years ago|reply
There are meaningful differences between how it feels to write with a fountain pen or other type of nice pen vs a bic but there is no reason you might not just prefer how a bic writes.
I like the relaxed, but controlled feeling of a fountain pen. Writing with bic like pens my whole life I got into the habit of gripping the pen hard and pressing down hard and it made me hate writing.
[+] [-] ben7799|2 years ago|reply
I have a bunch of Uni-ball Jetstream pens that I'm real happy about. I learned about those from this site in one of their previous articles.
I can't tell if they're saying the Jetstream is no longer as good as it was, or these other new pens are even better, or they're just kind of pushing something new.
I'm tempted to order some of the Pentel Energels, Pilot Multiball, etc.. I'm not a highlighter person so don't care about that one. I guess the other thing is knowing some other options to look for in a pinch. The Uni-ball Jetstream is not commonly found in stores near me. I generally have to order them. If the Pentel/Pilot options are more common I need to keep that in mind.
Their specific articles on left handedness explain a ton.. I never connected any of the effects (cramping, calluses, scraping the paper, etc..) other than smudging because I never really thought about how righties are pulling across the paper in left-to-right languages and lefties are pushing across the paper. It also explains why fountain pens are so brutal for lefties. They're so annoying maybe it explains why they used to try so hard to get left handed people to learn to switch for writing. I actually think I'd have been fine if forced to switch.
My silliest pen story was walking into a fancy pen store and the sales person was a total snob. He lost a sure fire sale instantly based on judging me on my clothes or something. None of the pens had prices and when I asked about one he said if I had to ask I couldn't afford it. I wanted to come back and say I could buy every pen in the store or maybe the whole store, which I might have very well been able to. They went out of business. (Part of this was they were renting space in the mall, they didn't own their premises)
[+] [-] rationalist|2 years ago|reply
When people act that way to me, I just laugh and walk away. It feels much better than being mad, and they often look confused rather than smug. I have no problem with not rewarding them with a sale. Sometimes they'll even backpedal, I just say "Have a great day, bye!"
[+] [-] Rebelgecko|2 years ago|reply
The Pentel EnerGel (specifically, the "Pentel EnerGel Alloy Gel Pen - 0.7 mm - Black Ink - Silver Body") is the best pen I've ever used. It feels magically smooth with minimal smudging. For me it writes much better than the Jetstream, although if you do a ton of writing you might prefer the grip on those. I also really like the multiball (for writing on non-paper surfaces), the power tank (aka the poor man's space pen) and the Sarasa dry gel pens (less smooth than the Energel but the designs are fun)
[+] [-] zohvek|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mewse-hn|2 years ago|reply
Ended up landing on sharpie s-gel metal pen bodies (there's a blacked out variation that is appealing) with pentel energel refills.
I am really fond of the zebra G-750 (all metal gel pen, also blacked out) but I'm able to get a dozen of the above combo very, very cheap.
[+] [-] Maxburn|2 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DennisP|2 years ago|reply
https://www.jetpens.com/blog/The-Best-Pens-for-Writing-Check...