Nice comparisons. I've put my trust on G2 refills in Easyflow 9000 for a couple of years now. But like what you explained, they occasionally run into ink flow problems on glossy papers, actually even regular writing papers made by Rhodia and alike. I've observed at least 5 refills in M/1.0mm size and suspect 2 major problems: 1. Quality control is intermittent. Whether that's the company's fault or retailer's storage problem (like selling an old batch) I can't tell, but 4 out of 5 refills had severe skippy problems. To eliminate it I simply soak/warm the cartridges in a hot water (below boiling level) for a good 5 minutes. They worked fine afterwards. 2. There is something wrong with the ink flow formula, or viscosity. My ick with Easyflow refills is they all need a start up before actually writing consistently, all of them. I can't speak for everyone here, but I did dig this ink flow problem in several websites and bingo got a lot of similar complaints in FPN and reddit. In my case, the hard starts were the first ick. The biggest ick was that after I wrote approximately 5 A5 pages ink flow started to starve bad it dried dead for a couple minutes, happened to all cartridges despite slight differences in time frame. Had to soak them again. Apparently letting the cartridge sit down for a whole day without writing also prolongs the hard starts as well. All of this problem led me into suspecting that the ink formula they use is too smooth, or too low in viscosity that they can't consistently flow because the ink doesn't form up where it should during the writing process. For a ballpoint to suffer an ink flow problem this serious eliminates its very purpose for an everyday writing tool. I can't imagine writing a field report and having to deal with warming up a pen or worse having it starve midway. Apologies for the long comment.
This was a very interesting comment, thank you! Yeah, it’s a shame about the Easyflow 900 as when it works well it gives a lovely sense line and is so smooth to write with. But, for the same reasons you discuss, I have largely given up on them - I can’t be doing with the same problems you mentioned! Currently the Uni Jetstream remains my favourite by far, just so very hard to get hold of… I’ve also just been using the standard fine tip Parker blue refills at work recently (we’re only supposed to use black - I’m being such a rebel! 😂) as at least those write reliably.
Great Pen refills thoughts and options from across the Pond. While I am a fan of the twsbi fountain Pens for my letter writing needs. In my work arena, a combination of gel ink and ballpoint pen work. For my ballpoint pen needs I have settled on the Parker Quinkflow FINE refills in blue and black. I find that these work well. I also lube the ball head x2 a month.
I love fountain pens! I only use ballpoint ink at work because I need reliability and ballpoints are the most reliable- ballpoint ink is relatively horrible in terms of look and feel imho but writes reliably on many different paper types/surfaces. The quinkflow ink is pretty decent but the Jetstream is BY FAR my favourite for ballpoint (just so damn hard to get hold of in the G2 format refills).
Just ordered myself a really nice stilform pen as a christmas gift from grandma. It comes with a "schmidt x stilform" refill which is probably decent enough, but I ordered som jetstream refills. Sadly they aren't available where i live, so ended up paying about 14 euro per refill in order to import them after shipping and customs. Can't wait to get them, and test if it was worth that much!
I had to Google the Stilform pen - looks beautiful! Which colour did you get? Schmidt makes some very nice refills (the Easyflow 9000 I really like) but I hope you’ll love the Jetstream refills - they’re my favourite ballpoint refills anyway, although admittedly they can be painfully expensive… I really hope you’ll like them!! Let me know how you get on when you get them? 😃
@@accoutrements4469 Got the raw titanium one! The aluminium ones have some really nice colors, but I thought that I wanted this pen to last many many years, and titanium seemed perfect for that! (and it was on sale so that helped a bit) The estimated arrival on the jetstream refills isn't until late february, but I'll try to remember to let you know my thoughts!
@@accoutrements4469 Got the pen itself a weak ago now, and it's pretty nice. Has some flaws, but the looks and titanium makes up for it. The most disappointing thing about it was the ink. I was not a fan of the included Schmidt ink. It was very smooth against the paper (a bit too smooth), but it did not write a consistent line at all. It wasn't skipping, but the amount of ink was very uneven leaving some spots looking grey. I'm quite used to writing with fountain pens, so I thought that this might just be how ballpoints are for the most part. But I received the Jetstream ink today. And Wow! It's so much better! Completely consistent thin line, with just enough feedback! And it wrote perfectly from the first touch to the paper, right out of the packaging!
So glad to hear you got the Jetstream and that you like it! It’s easily the best ballpoint refill I’ve found - just a shame they’re so hard to find and so expensive!! Yeah, the Schmidt easy flow 9000… I wanted to love these smooth flowing refills but they leave too fat a line for my tastes and just don’t perform consistently enough and on different types of paper: true ballpoint ink (such as the jetstream) is more reliable and that’s certainly what I need, when I’m at work anyway. Thanks again for letting me know you’re happy with the Jetstream! 😃😃
So many different options available in this Parker G2 style format and loads of different pens take them - some really good pens and compatible refills are out there 👍
Picked up some nicer pens that take lots of different refills and tried a few. I carry a small notebook and take notes all day and i write small. This means i need a reliable clean fine line. I love the uni jetstream but the price makes it difficult to keep buying them.
I have a British Airways Parker Jotter and Pencil set that I purchased about 23 years ago and though I don't often use it, the ink from the refill still works immediately and has it's original pretty blue colour. On the other hand I purchased a jotter in 2019 and either the ink has darkened or somehow I have a blue black refill masquerading as blue...?
That’s some amazing reliability from a 23 year old ink refill! 😵 I suppose ballpoint refills are more durable and reliable than any other types of ink. Hmmm never had a blue-black official Parker G2 refill before though - maybe you got some bad stock?
Which model number Uni-ball Jetstream are you referring to. US Amazon has many different options labelled "Jetstream" and I want to make sure I get the same one you referenced.
It’s the Uni Jetstream SXR-600-05 that I use (the 05 on the end denotes the 0.5mm tip - they do a couple of other sizes too). The only place I’ve been able to source them from at a decent price is Plaza Japan- their shipping is expensive but if you buy some other stuff it works out ok. Although I don’t know if these are easier to find in the USA (I’m in the uk)? There’s been a few sold on eBay uk but people are asking really silly money for them. Hope you can find some ✌️🤞
@@accoutrements4469I use the .7 version and they are amazing. Please if you should try the itoya gpr-7 I believe they sell them at cult pens such a amazing refill!
I've just had a look again for the itoya gpr-7: can't find them anywhere in the uk :o( They do look very similar to the Ohto Flash Dry Gel refills... i have only had mixed success with those though: maybe i bought a bad batch but all the ones i've tested have not written very smoothly & left little gaps in my writing :o(
Nice comparisons.
I've put my trust on G2 refills in Easyflow 9000 for a couple of years now. But like what you explained, they occasionally run into ink flow problems on glossy papers, actually even regular writing papers made by Rhodia and alike. I've observed at least 5 refills in M/1.0mm size and suspect 2 major problems:
1. Quality control is intermittent. Whether that's the company's fault or retailer's storage problem (like selling an old batch) I can't tell, but 4 out of 5 refills had severe skippy problems. To eliminate it I simply soak/warm the cartridges in a hot water (below boiling level) for a good 5 minutes. They worked fine afterwards.
2. There is something wrong with the ink flow formula, or viscosity.
My ick with Easyflow refills is they all need a start up before actually writing consistently, all of them. I can't speak for everyone here, but I did dig this ink flow problem in several websites and bingo got a lot of similar complaints in FPN and reddit. In my case, the hard starts were the first ick. The biggest ick was that after I wrote approximately 5 A5 pages ink flow started to starve bad it dried dead for a couple minutes, happened to all cartridges despite slight differences in time frame. Had to soak them again. Apparently letting the cartridge sit down for a whole day without writing also prolongs the hard starts as well. All of this problem led me into suspecting that the ink formula they use is too smooth, or too low in viscosity that they can't consistently flow because the ink doesn't form up where it should during the writing process.
For a ballpoint to suffer an ink flow problem this serious eliminates its very purpose for an everyday writing tool. I can't imagine writing a field report and having to deal with warming up a pen or worse having it starve midway. Apologies for the long comment.
This was a very interesting comment, thank you! Yeah, it’s a shame about the Easyflow 900 as when it works well it gives a lovely sense line and is so smooth to write with. But, for the same reasons you discuss, I have largely given up on them - I can’t be doing with the same problems you mentioned! Currently the Uni Jetstream remains my favourite by far, just so very hard to get hold of… I’ve also just been using the standard fine tip Parker blue refills at work recently (we’re only supposed to use black - I’m being such a rebel! 😂) as at least those write reliably.
I love your accent man. Thanks for the helpful video
Don’t think anyone’s ever said they like my accent before! lol Thanks 😃 And thank you for liking the video 👍
Give itoya gpr-7 a try one day! I prefer it over Jetstream and every other Parker refill it's truly amazing
I’ve tried looking for those on your recommendation - can’t find them anywhere in the uk (apart from at silly prices)! ☹️
Great Pen refills thoughts and options from across the Pond. While I am a fan of the twsbi fountain Pens for my letter
writing needs. In my work arena, a combination of gel ink and ballpoint pen work. For my ballpoint pen needs I have
settled on the Parker Quinkflow FINE refills in blue and black. I find that these work well. I also lube the ball head x2 a month.
How do you lube the ball head and with what?
@@flytheskymyway many fountain pen stores, and twsbi make a lubricant. I sometimes dab the tip in it. Ideally I wish parker made lubricated ink.
I love fountain pens! I only use ballpoint ink at work because I need reliability and ballpoints are the most reliable- ballpoint ink is relatively horrible in terms of look and feel imho but writes reliably on many different paper types/surfaces. The quinkflow ink is pretty decent but the Jetstream is BY FAR my favourite for ballpoint (just so damn hard to get hold of in the G2 format refills).
Just ordered myself a really nice stilform pen as a christmas gift from grandma. It comes with a "schmidt x stilform" refill which is probably decent enough, but I ordered som jetstream refills. Sadly they aren't available where i live, so ended up paying about 14 euro per refill in order to import them after shipping and customs. Can't wait to get them, and test if it was worth that much!
I had to Google the Stilform pen - looks beautiful! Which colour did you get?
Schmidt makes some very nice refills (the Easyflow 9000 I really like) but I hope you’ll love the Jetstream refills - they’re my favourite ballpoint refills anyway, although admittedly they can be painfully expensive… I really hope you’ll like them!! Let me know how you get on when you get them? 😃
@@accoutrements4469 Got the raw titanium one! The aluminium ones have some really nice colors, but I thought that I wanted this pen to last many many years, and titanium seemed perfect for that! (and it was on sale so that helped a bit)
The estimated arrival on the jetstream refills isn't until late february, but I'll try to remember to let you know my thoughts!
Great - looks like a lovely pen! Hope your Jetstream refills arrive ahead of schedule! 🤞🤞
@@accoutrements4469 Got the pen itself a weak ago now, and it's pretty nice. Has some flaws, but the looks and titanium makes up for it. The most disappointing thing about it was the ink. I was not a fan of the included Schmidt ink. It was very smooth against the paper (a bit too smooth), but it did not write a consistent line at all. It wasn't skipping, but the amount of ink was very uneven leaving some spots looking grey.
I'm quite used to writing with fountain pens, so I thought that this might just be how ballpoints are for the most part.
But I received the Jetstream ink today. And Wow! It's so much better! Completely consistent thin line, with just enough feedback! And it wrote perfectly from the first touch to the paper, right out of the packaging!
So glad to hear you got the Jetstream and that you like it! It’s easily the best ballpoint refill I’ve found - just a shame they’re so hard to find and so expensive!!
Yeah, the Schmidt easy flow 9000… I wanted to love these smooth flowing refills but they leave too fat a line for my tastes and just don’t perform consistently enough and on different types of paper: true ballpoint ink (such as the jetstream) is more reliable and that’s certainly what I need, when I’m at work anyway. Thanks again for letting me know you’re happy with the Jetstream! 😃😃
Glad i know this for when i buy a branded pen.
So many different options available in this Parker G2 style format and loads of different pens take them - some really good pens and compatible refills are out there 👍
Picked up some nicer pens that take lots of different refills and tried a few. I carry a small notebook and take notes all day and i write small. This means i need a reliable clean fine line. I love the uni jetstream but the price makes it difficult to keep buying them.
@@Loganalog absolutely- the Jetstream refills are hard to find and very expensive. Very good refills though imho 👍
I have a British Airways Parker Jotter and Pencil set that I purchased about 23 years ago and though I don't often use it, the ink from the refill still works immediately and has it's original pretty blue colour. On the other hand I purchased a jotter in 2019 and either the ink has darkened or somehow I have a blue black refill masquerading as blue...?
That’s some amazing reliability from a 23 year old ink refill! 😵 I suppose ballpoint refills are more durable and reliable than any other types of ink.
Hmmm never had a blue-black official Parker G2 refill before though - maybe you got some bad stock?
Which model number Uni-ball Jetstream are you referring to. US Amazon has many different options labelled "Jetstream" and I want to make sure I get the same one you referenced.
It’s the Uni Jetstream SXR-600-05 that I use (the 05 on the end denotes the 0.5mm tip - they do a couple of other sizes too). The only place I’ve been able to source them from at a decent price is Plaza Japan- their shipping is expensive but if you buy some other stuff it works out ok. Although I don’t know if these are easier to find in the USA (I’m in the uk)? There’s been a few sold on eBay uk but people are asking really silly money for them. Hope you can find some ✌️🤞
@@accoutrements4469I use the .7 version and they are amazing. Please if you should try the itoya gpr-7 I believe they sell them at cult pens such a amazing refill!
I've just had a look again for the itoya gpr-7: can't find them anywhere in the uk :o( They do look very similar to the Ohto Flash Dry Gel refills... i have only had mixed success with those though: maybe i bought a bad batch but all the ones i've tested have not written very smoothly & left little gaps in my writing :o(
have you tried any of the Unibene gel refills? I can't seem to find any videos on them.
I’ve never heard of these! I’ll see if I can find any in the uk 👍
Don't neglect Monteverde P15.
I don’t think I’ve had the P15… is that a ballpoint? I do have the Monteverde Capless Ceramic Gel and I really do like those a lot 👍