Fun story behind the brand Caran D'Ache - in Turkish, pencil (functionally, not literally) is kara tash. In Russian, karandash. A French cartoonist took that and came up with Caran D'Ache as his moniker, and the brand was named after him in 1924.
Too skinny/slippery. Also, the click spring is way too tight and loud. Not a pen for a lot of writing. Even with a quality refill, I can't find a use for this pen. Not terrible, but there are better options.
@@googleuser6635 only the solid stainless steel ones are slippery. Any of the colored ones have great grip and lot of people enjoy that super loud click for when they fidget with the pen.
I use my parker daily and I have a retro51 for fun. Gave my dad one of each too and he even prefers the jotter. My LAMY 2000 gets some love too. Love how compact it is.
I recently got my first "expensive" pen and pencil from Tactile Turn. Something satisfying about using a writing utensil with some weight. I have enjoyed using them and now I just need to get over the anxiety of losing them. Bellroy Pencil Pouch FTW to keep them safe :)
hahah, which TT you got, and if you're still happy with it pls? Im thinking of getting one and my options are down to Tactical Turn slim bolt action short, or Bid Idea Design bolt action standart (can fit any refill i heard), or smth from The Right Choice Painting Company cheaper and people seem to like it. Tnksss
A long time fountain pen user here, I enjoyed your video. The Lamy Safari is the Tonka truck of the fountain pen world. You really have to purposely want to break it to actually break it. I have several. The Studio was actually too heavy for me to use. A nice compromise between the two is the Lamy Al Star. It’s in the shape of the Safari but the barrel and cap are made of aluminum and the grip (section) is smoked transparent plastic to let you see your ink.
The Al Star feels so flimsy. I could not tolerate it. The Safari version is very nice to hold. It's just the ink flow with which I have a problem. That and sometimes the seams are not smooth.
@@googleuser6635 I can see how the lightness of the aluminum could make you think the Al star is flimsy but that's far from the truth. I've used the Al Star for more than 10 years, it's not flimsy.
Im a airline pilot an when a fill my flight plan, I love to do it with a Sarasa from Zebra, the smoothness is something special for my writing. Thanks for the great review Chase kudos for you !!
You need to identify different tip sizes of the same pen. 0.28, 0.38, 0.5, 0.7mm and 1.0mm are some of the tip sizes (ball diameters) in ballpoint, gel and liquid roller ball pens.
@@donaldkeele8652ur prolly joking but ik most ppl arent when they say this. This isnt autism, its just interests that all humans have. Were not npcs that must only like mainstream things, we all have niche things that we enjoy lol
Great selection of pens, here are a few brands that I think are also worth considering: - Stilform - Namisu - Rotring - Zebra - Faber Castell - Bastion - Cross - Waterman - Machine Era - The James Brand Going more expensive (but absolutely worth the money IMO): - Tactile Turn - Smooth Precision Pens (formerly Urban Survival Gear) - Bigidesign - Nottingham Tactical - Fellhoelter - Wingback - Billetspin
Ink types - quick overview: Ballpoint: oil-based ink, comes in the old school thick and skippy/gloppy variety and the newer low-viscosity ballpoint inks (Uni Jetstream, Pilot Acro, etc.), which really nice to write with. At some point Parker started using low-viscosity ballpoint ink in their refills, and they're like a whole different writing experience now vs. what I remember as a kid. Also, the Caran d'Ache (pronounced like "karen dash") refill has a low-viscosity ink in it as well. Gel: water-based ink but still thick. Very smooth, tends to come in a wider range of tip sizes. My favorite is the Pilot Juice Up - it has a semi-conical tip that comes to a needle-ish point, and the ink is glorious. The Juice Up refills are the same size and shape as the Pilot G2 refills (which is different from the Parker G2 refill - IDK whyyyyy they both call it "G2") FYI - the Zebra Sarasa is a gel ink pen. Rollerball: water-based, liquid ink, very much like fountain pen ink but less prone to feathering and bleeding. (In fact, you can buy a rollerball pen body that comes with a converter you can fill from a bottle, which means you have virtually limitless ink possibilities.) Fountain Pen: water-based, liquid ink. Comes in cartridges or bottles; there's a wide range of different filling systems for using bottled ink - converter, piston-fill, vac-fill, and eyedropper fill (you literally fill the body of the pen with an eyedropper). There are even more varieties of filling systems when you get into vintage fountain pens - that's a huge rabbit hole. IMO fountain pens offer the best writing experience of all, though it's not great for every situation. You need better paper for most fountain pen inks. If you have tried a fountain pen and hated it, it's probably because you used it on paper that's fountain pen unfriendly - the ink will feather and bleed and the nib might also grab fibers from the paper surface. FP ink also takes more time to dry, and sometimes you will get ink on your hands. In my experience it's totally worth it, but YMMV. Markers / Fineliners / etc: I don't know very much about these because I don't enjoy using them. I think the main distinction is between dye-based alcohol inks and pigment-based non-alcohol inks, but don't quote me.
Firstly, thanks for sharing your obvious expertise with us. As a writer/amateur pen enthusiast myself, I can appreciate all the differing points of view on tools. I also remember Parker ballpoints as a kid (I was raised by my grandmother, who was super-proud of her’s, since we were super-poor). I hated how they scratched paper instead of rolling smoothly over it, while enjoying the heft and feel of the thicker barrel. I’ll have to check out a current-gen one. For quite a while, I’ve been a rollerball guy who has never really gotten into FPs because of the feathering and bleeding you mentioned (can’t usually choose your paper stock when signing official or financial documents). The pen I’ve liked the most was from the Japanese Tombow brand, as it had the heft and feel I craved and used gel-ink refills that wrote cleanly and smoothly. As far as I can tell, Tombow doesn’t really produce pens/ink any more, and they concentrate on selling their correction tape in bulk instead. Bummer, I say! Thanks again for sharing, Sharon.
@@DeeEllEff No problem, I'm glad you found it helpful! I am just a pen nerd - I'm a writer, and I love to write drafts longhand so pens that I can write smoothly and quickly with for a long time are my faves. But yeah, for work I typically use a gel pen or a low viscosity ink ballpoint pen, and I love love love multipens so I usually carry a Jetstream Uni or Pilot Hi-tec C Coletto. I also have a post Lamy 2000 multipen that was given to me as a gift. It takes any D1 refills, so I've had both kinds of ink in it. Currently I have Pilot Acro refills in it. Have a great day, David! Wishing you all the best.
Wow!! My favorite high end pen was a Monte Blanc that I received as a HS graduation gift. My mom told me not to lose it, and that’s exactly what I did. I wrote so smoothly.
I love my fountain pen but sadly my job requires me to jotted down note and sign on a lot of god knows variety cheap paper, the best experience for writing but not on every occasion. My trusty pen for that are Zebra Sarasa/Pentel Energel/ and Muji is also good, have Uni Jetstream in my bag as backups cuz it refuse to write on some paper.
I cant get enough of the Pilot G2. Writes really well, comfy for long time use and you can find them every where. Also the Zebra G301 is a smooth operator as well. Just a little too thin for long use.
My everyday work horse pen that exceeds my expectations in comfort and writing smoothness is the Pentel Energel liquid gel ink in 0.7 (medium) and 0.5 (fine). My next favorite go to pen is the Uni Ball Vision Elite capped pen. smooth, comfortable and ink flow is amazing. 0.7 (medium) The gold standard of pens (which I'm surprised didn't even make your list) is the Pilot G-2 click pen. 0.7 (medium). It's not my preferred pen due to how large my hands are but it's quality is undeniably great. Great video. thanks for all the pens you did review. may have to check out one or two of them.
What I write with and where I write on definitely affects the way I think. I’m an obsessive compulsive perfectionist (diagnosed by a psychiatrist) and the quality of the writing material is fundamental to my work.
Great video! Btw, the Lamy Safari is the standard pen German schoolchildren use (at least it was when I went to school). That's also what it's built for: it's a workhorse first and a fine writing tool second.
I have several varieties of the Safari. None of them write well. They skip, and I have to scribble with them to get them to write. If I could put a good refill in them, they's be fine, but unfortunately, Lamy uses only proprietary refills for their ballpoints. If you meant their fountain pen Safari, well, it is better, and does work, but failed to make the cut. To be fair, no fountain pen made the cut. The Lamy Safari is a good fountain pen with which to learn how to write with a fountain pen, though, if used daily.
I love the look and feel of the unfinished brass barrels. I wish the ink flowed a little smoother, it can be a somewhat scratchy writing experience, especially depending on your paper.
Great review. You would love the Lamy Safary Rollerball. Same chunkyness as the fountain pen but with a smooth, reliable easyflow (similar to the Retro 51) pen refill.
Rollerballs are terrible pens. They leak, smear, glop, and don't work on most surfaces. They soak the paper, bleed everywhere, and generally just make a mess. All the downsides of a fountain pen, but no worthwhile writing capability. The writing always looks fuzzy, as if it is moldy. Anything turned in to me or my staff that was writted with a rollerball goes in the trash. If someone can't be bothered to write nicely with a good pen, I have no time or effort to waste on their foolishness, but I do not accept second-rate anything. Only children write with watercolors.
not really a fan of girthy pens but some are just exceptional, i prefer the feel of a standard slim Pilot though especially because i have a very pressured strong firm grip when i write
great list . love the recommendations. Two of my favs are the Pentel Energel 0.7 RTX and the Zebra Sarasa 0.7 and Gelly Roll for art journaling or artwork.
Oh goodness. I just watched your 30+ minute notebook video and now here I am watching you deep dive into pens. My credit card is going to start crying in a couple of minutes…
The Zebra Sarasa comes in finer points that aren't so "gooey". The 0.3 is my personal favorite for journal writing. And Micron has thicker ones. Copic is another favorite of mine, very similar to Micron, but aluminum chassis and somewhat modular. Pilot's G2 and Frixion lines are also fantastic. Frixion is another erasable, and I highly recommend for school work. Been using these for mechanical design work for the last 3 years. I keep a Sarasa and a few colors of Frixion in my bag at all times. And Zebra Delguard are the best mechanical pencils by far.
Zebra Delguard is NOT the best pencil. Not even close. Pentel and Rotring and Pilot,all produce way better mechanical pencils and pens than Zebra. And thats only speaking about that category,there is the luxury category... Zebra isnt bad,but far from being best,with all those better options out there.
I'm currently a big fan of the TRU RED ballpoints. Super simple. What do you think of those sun glasses? They advertise constantly to me but can't justify the price.
These are actually good pens. Both PaperMate & Bic offer a lot of good options, including the Write Bros, Round Stick, Crystal, and another that escapes me, ATM. PaperMate has a really nice model that they discontinued. Be aware of certain ink colors, though, and most of the other models are not good.
Some objects that we might use daily are worth a little effort to find the style and comfort that you enjoy using. Keyboard, mouse, pocket knife (scissors, opening boxes etc), watch or clock and both pen and pencil. With pens (ball point) it is all down to the refills - I use Schmidt P900 G2 (Parker style) for colour choice, thickness and not blotting. I use vintage Parker ball pens (Jotter) and Inoxcrom (that don't even show up on eBay). that I was given. I carry a Fisher Space Pen (bullet) in my sling/backpack but the refills bloats - least in black, red, green and purple a lot. I have a Rotring click action technical drawing pencil and OHTO Super Promecha Pencil PM-1500P because the pencil tip completely retracts.
Don’t know if you would read this but get a Lamy roller pen, just like the safari but a roller. Same body, same texture, same clip, lots of colors and one of the greatest writing experiences out there for sure. The default refills write soooo smooth and so well. Also the ink dries instantly so that’s a plus
I have tried a lot of pens, and I do mean a lot. All varying in price range, ink type, brand, fountain, rollerball, ballpoint, etc. and for some reason I continue you to go back to the pilot precise v5. Just writes so smooth, ink lasts for ever, and pretty cost efficient.
Hey chase, great video! I have used lamy safari all through university and i can assure you that it is reliable. Replacement nibs are cheap (at least here in Italy) even if I have never had to use them and you can also use an insert to suck the ink from a bottle so as not to use the plastic cartridges and have less waste. This way you can choose the ink you want and a world opens up for you. But i agree you need more space to writhe with it
I love the U Brands Monterey ballpoint pen--cheap but a great feel, smooth, and refillable. For extra cheap, the Bic Clic Stick and Skilcraft government-issue pen are AMAZING options.
The Bic Click-Stick is sub-par, whuch came as a surprise to me. The Skillcraft was very dissappointing. It skips, and takes some scribbling before it writes. When I put a pen's tip to paper, I expect ink to flow. The Skillcraft failed right out of the gate, and then continued to fail.
Loved the video 😊 Nice breakdown but .... Funny how we disagree on everything. 😆 1. Haaate ball point. liquid ink not practical for me. Love gel. 2. Prefer retractable especially on the move. I'm more likely to loose a pen cover than to accidentally click my pen. 3. Never clip my pen on my bookcover (I use a pen loop or ring of a spiral book ). 4. I find fat pens really uncomfortable. Most multipens are too fat for me. Also you didn't seem to consider many of those pens are available in different nib sizes which can affect how scratchy it feels. My cheap workhorse is the pilot G2 0.5.
Rollerballs came out after ballpoint biros but before gel pens. They run on wet, water based, ink; like a fountain pen. My favourite is the Uni-ball Eye 'Ocean Care' 0.5 and 0.7mm. My favourite gel pen is the Pentel Energel range. Pentel Energel X is a great, affordable, retractable with rubberised grip. So great I've ordered some Energel Pure so I can just give them away to people I know, too.
I use precise v5 all the time. It's my favorite pen, hands down. I get a box of all purple pens. The only drawback is that they run out of ink very quickly. But it's worth it to me. I don't like the retractable version because the tip is different. If you want a super smooth writing experience, go with this pen.
I see that your group of "cheap rollerballs" are actually mostly gel pens, rather than liquid ink. Those are my personal favorite. The Sarasa you showed is the 1.0 which is the very bold point, that's why it's so gooey. The .5 or .7 are more normal size points, and they are GREAT.
Red 1.0 Sarasas are my go-to highlighters when I need notes to stand out. They are great but the only problem I have with them are they don't dry fast and if you use it after applying correction fluid or accidentally smeared a neon highlighter over it.......well, darn it. lol
I wish there was a multipoint pen with an eraser. Kind of defeats the point of having pencil function to me. What pen would you recommend for a mechanic?
When it comes to fountain pens I prefer to use them as a desk rather than a pocket pen. Sitting down in a comfortable but not too comfortable chair with a nice sheet of paper or a premium notebook in front of me on a clean writing space and time to reflect is one of life’s guilty pleasures. It’s also where I prefer to focus and do my writing whenever possible. :-)
I'd like to plug Big Idea Design - I have their Pocket Pro, and I'm about to get a Bolt Action for my desk. The pens are well made, and they can accept basically any refill on the planet (they have a list of over 100). Note: the Caran d'ache Chase mentions is not one of them. I bought one, however, and it works...you just have to push the tip back in when you retract it due to the thickness of the refill. Note 2: My favorite refill (not mentioned here) is the UMR-83 from Uniball Signo line. The disposable pens are the Signo RT - it's a nice .38mm line (damn fine), but the flow is great. No stuttering at all.
For cheap pens, my favorites are the Pilot G2 and Pilot Hi-Tec-C. The Tombow brush pen you mentioned is fantastic too, and it comes in a hard and soft version. The tip of the soft pen is very flexible and gives great line width variability. The hard one isn't as flexible obviously but I like it better for 'normal' writing.
Hi Sarah, I’m also in the Pilot G2 camp and have been for a few years now. I have been using the 0.7mm version and have been contemplating sizing down to the 0.5mm tip version simply because I have noticed the ink being a little too smudgy for my taste. I’m hoping that the finer line will put down less ink thus less smudging when I flip pages. What has your experience been?
Have you tried the Pilot Juice Up? I like them because they engineered a new type of tip for this pen - it's got the strength of a conical tip at the base, which then tapers up to a needle point. I like the precision of a 0.4mm point. ETA: the cheap version of the pen is refillable, and the refills also will fit into other pen bodies. They are the same size and shape as the Pilot G2 refill. For example, Tactile Turn makes a version of their bolt action pen that fits a G2 refill. I have one, and I put a Juice Up refill into it.
@@JohnnyD5138 Sure thing! Writing preferences are very personal. I have bad luck with the G2 - for some reason, I've had a bunch of them where the ball just falls out of the pen point. I like the Hi-Tec C, but only in the Coletto multipen, which is my favorite multipen. I have two, one of which is matte black - my favorite to write with. (My other one is bright blue, but shiny - it's still good, but not as nice to hold as the matte finish.)
@@JohnnyD5138 The .7 is my go to, and it puts down a lot of ink, but it works for most of the paper I use. I sometimes even go up to the 1.0 but that's a little too much for every day use for me. Chase reviewed the Sarasa Clip, which is a great pen, but it also comes in Sarasa Dry which is supposed to be less smudgy. That may be worth checking out, it's on my short list for my next pen order.
My go to pens can be put into two categories, disposable and refillable... my disposable category i like the Pilot G2 05 and the Uniball Vision. Refillable I use the Parker Jotter, Fisher cap-o-matic, bullet, and original space pen all with the Fisher PR4F fine boack refills. I do want to try a Cross Townsend and or Century II roller pens but the color optiona I want of those Cross pens are a bit spendy for me. I have been told I am very utilitarian when it comes to my choice of pens.
I see you decided to lump rollerballs, which have wet, water based, ink like a fountain pen and came out before gel pens, in with actual gel pens and categorise them both as rollerballs. My favourite rollerball, so far, is the Uni-ball Eye (the 'Ocean Care' line, in particular) and my favourite gel pens are the Pentel Energels. So far I've only tried the Energel X, which is a great cheapie, all plastic, with rubberised grip. It was so good I've ordered Energel 'Pure' which is a bit nicer and more premium with plastic and metal parts and a metal nose cone and gave the Energel X to my mom to let her see how amazing they write. When the Pures come, I'll offer my mom a swap back, just so I have both models. Got a new Pilot 'Juice Up' and a Zebra G-301 coming, too.
This proves I'm old. Had a pen once and can't remember it (clear generic pen with chinese/Japanese writing on the label) that someone at work ordered and it was the best writing pen I've ever had. Now I'm here looking at pen videos.
A Parker Jotter with a Schmidt Easy Flow 9000 ink cartridge. Smooth, easy to write with and classy. Color combinations and a brushed steel look is good anytime.
Notebooks? Pens? you are speaking my language! I journal with the Sharpie Pen , but it’s in an Archer and Olive dot grid journal with 160 gsm paper so there is no bleed through. My everyday pen at work is the Pilot B2P fine point in black. It’s dependable, smooth, has a click and a clip and I can buy them by the box. I’ll definitely be checking out your favorites, though.
I found this enlightening . I prefer the funky flow of fountain pens to be my go to pen. but if I had a choice the pilot G2 pen in .07 would be my favorite cheep pen. Right now I have a solid brass with a piston trigger that is super cool! oh and I have both of those fountain pens its delightful. The graphite Lamy safari is not inked up right now, I like to rotate my pens for day to day adventures
I use lamy safary fountain pen for daily use at work. Its great. You just need the confidence, then its epic. And also interesting for peoples arround...
Schneider Viscoglide is the best ballpoint ink. Uni-ball Jetstream comes in second. Faber-Castell Speedx, Paper Mate InkJoy and Pentel iZee are also good. Sharpie and Paper Mate gel pens are fast drying and good. Schneider One Business is for the best signatures. Uni-ball Air and Signo Gelstick are also good. Rotring Tikky Roller Point is among my favourites.
Could you do a video on Multifunction Pens.. I think I like having only one pen in my purse takes up less space, lol. I recently had the Skilcraft- B3 Aviator Multifunction pen, but I found it to be too small and heavy when writing. New to the pen world, lol!! I love this video!!!
I wad pleasantly surprised when I saw this upload. Your recent videos have some of your pens laid out on the table and I've been curious about your collection
I picked up a few TiBolts by Fellhoelter. They are my favorite pens, I love the bolt action. Definitely something to pass down at some point. Great video.
Nice, love the round-up videos, and real pens are completely underappreciated these days. Those glasses are still cracking me up. This is the first time I noticed that the frames were camo. Kinda has that "I'm going to the shooting range later" look and further makes me wonder how (to my knowledge) you've not owned a van yet.
The MUJI erasable is my absolute fav., but I use it for drawing and not for writing. As a matter of fact, one MUJI worker told me that they were changing the model so I bought a lot of cartridges, like 15-20, so I'm good for some more years
I guess it was inevitable with how many pens there are out there in the world, but I have another recommendation for you to try: Uniball Vision Elite. It has a 0.8mm tip and is the smoothest writing pen I've ever used.
Fun story behind the brand Caran D'Ache - in Turkish, pencil (functionally, not literally) is kara tash. In Russian, karandash. A French cartoonist took that and came up with Caran D'Ache as his moniker, and the brand was named after him in 1924.
Why am I so obsessed with pens??
I am too
I swear I ask myself that every day
This review was so in-depth and beautifully curated.
From one pen snob to another, thank you.
Chase, One of my favorites is the Uniball Signo 207. Beautiful writing instrument. Nice to hold. It is disposable but it is lovely to use.
Awesome pen! Should’ve been on here. Also Pilot Dr. Grip is one of my favorites as well.
Have you tried the 307? It’s my favorite, so smooth and it only stops when out of ink.
The versions of the 207 is the regular (which is 0.7mm) or ultra micro (which is 0.38mm)
307 is ine of my favs.
@@willcoffarchives Me too!
Always been a fan of Parker jotter, can’t beat that classic feel/look
Too skinny/slippery. Also, the click spring is way too tight and loud.
Not a pen for a lot of writing. Even with a quality refill, I can't find a use for this pen. Not terrible, but there are better options.
@@googleuser6635 only the solid stainless steel ones are slippery. Any of the colored ones have great grip and lot of people enjoy that super loud click for when they fidget with the pen.
I use my parker daily and I have a retro51 for fun. Gave my dad one of each too and he even prefers the jotter. My LAMY 2000 gets some love too. Love how compact it is.
My favorites are Uni-ball Signo 307 and TUL needle point medium. Both really smooth, comfortable and never skip!
I recently got my first "expensive" pen and pencil from Tactile Turn. Something satisfying about using a writing utensil with some weight. I have enjoyed using them and now I just need to get over the anxiety of losing them. Bellroy Pencil Pouch FTW to keep them safe :)
hahah, which TT you got, and if you're still happy with it pls? Im thinking of getting one and my options are down to Tactical Turn slim bolt action short, or Bid Idea Design bolt action standart (can fit any refill i heard), or smth from The Right Choice Painting Company cheaper and people seem to like it. Tnksss
I always carry an Parket Jotter XL monochrome with black gel ink and a parker Mechanical Pencil. So happy with this setup
A long time fountain pen user here, I enjoyed your video. The Lamy Safari is the Tonka truck of the fountain pen world. You really have to purposely want to break it to actually break it. I have several. The Studio was actually too heavy for me to use. A nice compromise between the two is the Lamy Al Star. It’s in the shape of the Safari but the barrel and cap are made of aluminum and the grip (section) is smoked transparent plastic to let you see your ink.
@Telegram @ chasereeves1 beat it scammer.
The Al Star feels so flimsy. I could not tolerate it. The Safari version is very nice to hold. It's just the ink flow with which I have a problem. That and sometimes the seams are not smooth.
@@googleuser6635 I can see how the lightness of the aluminum could make you think the Al star is flimsy but that's far from the truth. I've used the Al Star for more than 10 years, it's not flimsy.
Im a airline pilot an when a fill my flight plan, I love to do it with a Sarasa from Zebra, the smoothness is something special for my writing. Thanks for the great review Chase kudos for you !!
You need to identify different tip sizes of the same pen. 0.28, 0.38, 0.5, 0.7mm and 1.0mm are some of the tip sizes (ball diameters) in ballpoint, gel and liquid roller ball pens.
What has my life come to lmao😂😂
Autism is pretty cool huh?
@@donaldkeele8652FR
😂
@@donaldkeele8652ur prolly joking but ik most ppl arent when they say this. This isnt autism, its just interests that all humans have. Were not npcs that must only like mainstream things, we all have niche things that we enjoy lol
💯 @@Siduch.
Great selection of pens, here are a few brands that I think are also worth considering:
- Stilform
- Namisu
- Rotring
- Zebra
- Faber Castell
- Bastion
- Cross
- Waterman
- Machine Era
- The James Brand
Going more expensive (but absolutely worth the money IMO):
- Tactile Turn
- Smooth Precision Pens (formerly Urban Survival Gear)
- Bigidesign
- Nottingham Tactical
- Fellhoelter
- Wingback
- Billetspin
Ink types - quick overview:
Ballpoint: oil-based ink, comes in the old school thick and skippy/gloppy variety and the newer low-viscosity ballpoint inks (Uni Jetstream, Pilot Acro, etc.), which really nice to write with. At some point Parker started using low-viscosity ballpoint ink in their refills, and they're like a whole different writing experience now vs. what I remember as a kid. Also, the Caran d'Ache (pronounced like "karen dash") refill has a low-viscosity ink in it as well.
Gel: water-based ink but still thick. Very smooth, tends to come in a wider range of tip sizes. My favorite is the Pilot Juice Up - it has a semi-conical tip that comes to a needle-ish point, and the ink is glorious. The Juice Up refills are the same size and shape as the Pilot G2 refills (which is different from the Parker G2 refill - IDK whyyyyy they both call it "G2") FYI - the Zebra Sarasa is a gel ink pen.
Rollerball: water-based, liquid ink, very much like fountain pen ink but less prone to feathering and bleeding. (In fact, you can buy a rollerball pen body that comes with a converter you can fill from a bottle, which means you have virtually limitless ink possibilities.)
Fountain Pen: water-based, liquid ink. Comes in cartridges or bottles; there's a wide range of different filling systems for using bottled ink - converter, piston-fill, vac-fill, and eyedropper fill (you literally fill the body of the pen with an eyedropper). There are even more varieties of filling systems when you get into vintage fountain pens - that's a huge rabbit hole. IMO fountain pens offer the best writing experience of all, though it's not great for every situation. You need better paper for most fountain pen inks. If you have tried a fountain pen and hated it, it's probably because you used it on paper that's fountain pen unfriendly - the ink will feather and bleed and the nib might also grab fibers from the paper surface. FP ink also takes more time to dry, and sometimes you will get ink on your hands. In my experience it's totally worth it, but YMMV.
Markers / Fineliners / etc: I don't know very much about these because I don't enjoy using them. I think the main distinction is between dye-based alcohol inks and pigment-based non-alcohol inks, but don't quote me.
Firstly, thanks for sharing your obvious expertise with us. As a writer/amateur pen enthusiast myself, I can appreciate all the differing points of view on tools. I also remember Parker ballpoints as a kid (I was raised by my grandmother, who was super-proud of her’s, since we were super-poor). I hated how they scratched paper instead of rolling smoothly over it, while enjoying the heft and feel of the thicker barrel. I’ll have to check out a current-gen one. For quite a while, I’ve been a rollerball guy who has never really gotten into FPs because of the feathering and bleeding you mentioned (can’t usually choose your paper stock when signing official or financial documents). The pen I’ve liked the most was from the Japanese Tombow brand, as it had the heft and feel I craved and used gel-ink refills that wrote cleanly and smoothly. As far as I can tell, Tombow doesn’t really produce pens/ink any more, and they concentrate on selling their correction tape in bulk instead. Bummer, I say! Thanks again for sharing, Sharon.
@@DeeEllEff No problem, I'm glad you found it helpful! I am just a pen nerd - I'm a writer, and I love to write drafts longhand so pens that I can write smoothly and quickly with for a long time are my faves. But yeah, for work I typically use a gel pen or a low viscosity ink ballpoint pen, and I love love love multipens so I usually carry a Jetstream Uni or Pilot Hi-tec C Coletto. I also have a post Lamy 2000 multipen that was given to me as a gift. It takes any D1 refills, so I've had both kinds of ink in it. Currently I have Pilot Acro refills in it. Have a great day, David! Wishing you all the best.
Wow!! My favorite high end pen was a Monte Blanc that I received as a HS graduation gift. My mom told me not to lose it, and that’s exactly what I did. I wrote so smoothly.
@@robyn8221 Ohhh, wow. That's a nice pen, I'm sorry you lost it. :(
I love my fountain pen but sadly my job requires me to jotted down note and sign on a lot of god knows variety cheap paper, the best experience for writing but not on every occasion. My trusty pen for that are Zebra Sarasa/Pentel Energel/ and Muji is also good, have Uni Jetstream in my bag as backups cuz it refuse to write on some paper.
I cant get enough of the Pilot G2. Writes really well, comfy for long time use and you can find them every where. Also the Zebra G301 is a smooth operator as well. Just a little too thin for long use.
Check out the uniball jet steam or pentel energel. G2 is okay but has been surpassed in performance years ago.
What size g2 I’m a fan of the 1.0mm
@@orionv.13 .5 for me. 1 is great but i have small handwriting so letters tend to bleed when i use it unless i have space
Jet Stream for fine writing and G2 for big expressive stuff.
I agree and I have those pens
Love how you're watching a video about pens or bags or whatever and then toward the end Chase drops some life wisdom, just cuz.
My everyday work horse pen that exceeds my expectations in comfort and writing smoothness is the Pentel Energel liquid gel ink in 0.7 (medium) and 0.5 (fine).
My next favorite go to pen is the Uni Ball Vision Elite capped pen. smooth, comfortable and ink flow is amazing. 0.7 (medium)
The gold standard of pens (which I'm surprised didn't even make your list) is the Pilot G-2 click pen. 0.7 (medium). It's not my preferred pen due to how large my hands are but it's quality is undeniably great.
Great video. thanks for all the pens you did review. may have to check out one or two of them.
The Energel is infinitely better than the G2
What I write with and where I write on definitely affects the way I think. I’m an obsessive compulsive perfectionist (diagnosed by a psychiatrist) and the quality of the writing material is fundamental to my work.
Great video! Btw, the Lamy Safari is the standard pen German schoolchildren use (at least it was when I went to school). That's also what it's built for: it's a workhorse first and a fine writing tool second.
I have several varieties of the Safari. None of them write well. They skip, and I have to scribble with them to get them to write. If I could put a good refill in them, they's be fine, but unfortunately, Lamy uses only proprietary refills for their ballpoints. If you meant their fountain pen Safari, well, it is better, and does work, but failed to make the cut. To be fair, no fountain pen made the cut. The Lamy Safari is a good fountain pen with which to learn how to write with a fountain pen, though, if used daily.
Try Schnider One Hybrid C. Great disposable rollerball. I am left handed and it dries quickly. The best rollerball I have ever used.
My favorite is still Parker Jotter, still using that since 2019
Pilot Precise V7 needs to be on your list.
It's almost 1am and i'm watching pens on youtube
Here I am at 1:17am with work at 6am...
@@daltonc690 hahaha how was the work day?
Did you ever look into fisher space pen, those are quite popular pens.
I love the look and feel of the unfinished brass barrels. I wish the ink flowed a little smoother, it can be a somewhat scratchy writing experience, especially depending on your paper.
Popular, but not good.
Great review.
You would love the Lamy Safary Rollerball. Same chunkyness as the fountain pen but with a smooth, reliable easyflow (similar to the Retro 51) pen refill.
Rollerballs are terrible pens. They leak, smear, glop, and don't work on most surfaces. They soak the paper, bleed everywhere, and generally just make a mess. All the downsides of a fountain pen, but no worthwhile writing capability. The writing always looks fuzzy, as if it is moldy.
Anything turned in to me or my staff that was writted with a rollerball goes in the trash. If someone can't be bothered to write nicely with a good pen, I have no time or effort to waste on their foolishness, but I do not accept second-rate anything.
Only children write with watercolors.
Sharpie S-gel pen 0.38. No smear. It’s amazing.
not really a fan of girthy pens but some are just exceptional, i prefer the feel of a standard slim Pilot though especially because i have a very pressured strong firm grip when i write
great list . love the recommendations. Two of my favs are the Pentel Energel 0.7 RTX and the Zebra Sarasa 0.7 and Gelly Roll for art journaling or artwork.
Oh goodness. I just watched your 30+ minute notebook video and now here I am watching you deep dive into pens. My credit card is going to start crying in a couple of minutes…
Chase is back, nice.
Great review! I really admire your style and how you describe pens as tools for creation!
The Zebra Sarasa comes in finer points that aren't so "gooey". The 0.3 is my personal favorite for journal writing. And Micron has thicker ones. Copic is another favorite of mine, very similar to Micron, but aluminum chassis and somewhat modular. Pilot's G2 and Frixion lines are also fantastic. Frixion is another erasable, and I highly recommend for school work. Been using these for mechanical design work for the last 3 years.
I keep a Sarasa and a few colors of Frixion in my bag at all times.
And Zebra Delguard are the best mechanical pencils by far.
Some Zebra Sarasa color are less gooey (don't know only have small variations) but muji with its needle point is what I'd recommend
Zebra Delguard is NOT the best pencil. Not even close. Pentel and Rotring and Pilot,all produce way better mechanical pencils and pens than Zebra. And thats only speaking about that category,there is the luxury category... Zebra isnt bad,but far from being best,with all those better options out there.
My wife tells me the girth of your pen is not that important…..what you do with the pen, is more important.
No Parker Jotter??
I'm currently a big fan of the TRU RED ballpoints. Super simple. What do you think of those sun glasses? They advertise constantly to me but can't justify the price.
Try inks from Noodler and J.Herbin. The Noodler Black is waterproof and J. Herbin has the coolest colors... like ox blood
But watch the acid content on them. Also, they can clog your FP.
Paper Mate's Write Bros has become one of my personal favorites. Among one of the smoothest ballpoints I've come across.
The Linc Pentonic looks a little like the Paper Mate. And, Bic Cristal and Stic refills work in it.
These are actually good pens. Both PaperMate & Bic offer a lot of good options, including the Write Bros, Round Stick, Crystal, and another that escapes me, ATM. PaperMate has a really nice model that they discontinued. Be aware of certain ink colors, though, and most of the other models are not good.
Some objects that we might use daily are worth a little effort to find the style and comfort that you enjoy using.
Keyboard, mouse, pocket knife (scissors, opening boxes etc), watch or clock and both pen and pencil.
With pens (ball point) it is all down to the refills - I use Schmidt P900 G2 (Parker style) for colour choice, thickness and not blotting. I use vintage Parker ball pens (Jotter) and Inoxcrom (that don't even show up on eBay). that I was given. I carry a Fisher Space Pen (bullet) in my sling/backpack but the refills bloats - least in black, red, green and purple a lot.
I have a Rotring click action technical drawing pencil and OHTO Super Promecha Pencil PM-1500P because the pencil tip completely retracts.
The Caran d'Ache refill should fit into a Ballograf Epoca P
Don’t know if you would read this but get a Lamy roller pen, just like the safari but a roller. Same body, same texture, same clip, lots of colors and one of the greatest writing experiences out there for sure. The default refills write soooo smooth and so well. Also the ink dries instantly so that’s a plus
I have tried a lot of pens, and I do mean a lot. All varying in price range, ink type, brand, fountain, rollerball, ballpoint, etc. and for some reason I continue you to go back to the pilot precise v5. Just writes so smooth, ink lasts for ever, and pretty cost efficient.
Can you link your glasses?
Hey chase, great video! I have used lamy safari all through university and i can assure you that it is reliable. Replacement nibs are cheap (at least here in Italy) even if I have never had to use them and you can also use an insert to suck the ink from a bottle so as not to use the plastic cartridges and have less waste. This way you can choose the ink you want and a world opens up for you.
But i agree you need more space to writhe with it
The Safari FP is fine, IF you write with it daily. It is a beginner FP.
TUL is my go to for cheap pens.
I love the U Brands Monterey ballpoint pen--cheap but a great feel, smooth, and refillable. For extra cheap, the Bic Clic Stick and Skilcraft government-issue pen are AMAZING options.
The Bic Click-Stick is sub-par, whuch came as a surprise to me. The Skillcraft was very dissappointing. It skips, and takes some scribbling before it writes. When I put a pen's tip to paper, I expect ink to flow. The Skillcraft failed right out of the gate, and then continued to fail.
Loved the video 😊 Nice breakdown but .... Funny how we disagree on everything. 😆 1. Haaate ball point. liquid ink not practical for me. Love gel. 2. Prefer retractable especially on the move. I'm more likely to loose a pen cover than to accidentally click my pen. 3. Never clip my pen on my bookcover (I use a pen loop or ring of a spiral book ). 4. I find fat pens really uncomfortable. Most multipens are too fat for me. Also you didn't seem to consider many of those pens are available in different nib sizes which can affect how scratchy it feels. My cheap workhorse is the pilot G2 0.5.
Ditto Ditto except the TUL or Pentel Energel 0.7mm is my go to.
I’m looking for a really good pen for auto mechanic got any ideas
Can you please update this review with this pen "Pilot synergy frixion" review? or a separate review on ultra fine point pens 0.5mm or 0.3mm
Rollerballs came out after ballpoint biros but before gel pens. They run on wet, water based, ink; like a fountain pen. My favourite is the Uni-ball Eye 'Ocean Care' 0.5 and 0.7mm.
My favourite gel pen is the Pentel Energel range. Pentel Energel X is a great, affordable, retractable with rubberised grip. So great I've ordered some Energel Pure so I can just give them away to people I know, too.
I use precise v5 all the time. It's my favorite pen, hands down. I get a box of all purple pens. The only drawback is that they run out of ink very quickly. But it's worth it to me. I don't like the retractable version because the tip is different. If you want a super smooth writing experience, go with this pen.
I see that your group of "cheap rollerballs" are actually mostly gel pens, rather than liquid ink. Those are my personal favorite. The Sarasa you showed is the 1.0 which is the very bold point, that's why it's so gooey. The .5 or .7 are more normal size points, and they are GREAT.
Red 1.0 Sarasas are my go-to highlighters when I need notes to stand out.
They are great but the only problem I have with them are they don't dry fast and if you use it after applying correction fluid or accidentally smeared a neon highlighter over it.......well, darn it. lol
The zebra z grip has been my go to on the ambulance for years, just a solid pen. And you can buy a pack of 10 for around 8 dollars.
Pental energel 75,my favorite pen, smooth writing, fast dry, great writing experience for fast writers
Great video! Love to geek out with pen reviews 🤣
Can you please tell me what the notebook you are using is? Love how it lays flat and is dotted.
the safari have a roller version, with just a spring you can put g2 gel refills in it. the kaweko can use parker refills.
My favourite is the uniball vision elite .8 in black
This was exactly what I was looking for. Nice job!
I wish there was a multipoint pen with an eraser. Kind of defeats the point of having pencil function to me. What pen would you recommend for a mechanic?
When it comes to fountain pens I prefer to use them as a desk rather than a pocket pen. Sitting down in a comfortable but not too comfortable chair with a nice sheet of paper or a premium notebook in front of me on a clean writing space and time to reflect is one of life’s guilty pleasures. It’s also where I prefer to focus and do my writing whenever possible. :-)
Yur hats is fire 🔥 links ? Or where you got it from ???
I'm a pen freak so this video was a good time. Thanks !
I'd like to plug Big Idea Design - I have their Pocket Pro, and I'm about to get a Bolt Action for my desk. The pens are well made, and they can accept basically any refill on the planet (they have a list of over 100).
Note: the Caran d'ache Chase mentions is not one of them. I bought one, however, and it works...you just have to push the tip back in when you retract it due to the thickness of the refill.
Note 2: My favorite refill (not mentioned here) is the UMR-83 from Uniball Signo line. The disposable pens are the Signo RT - it's a nice .38mm line (damn fine), but the flow is great. No stuttering at all.
26:40 oddly enough I am trying to find the perfect pen to go with my fancy lyric book and I actually needed to hear this.
I would say cooed pens are great for bags, but clickers are usually ordered for students (faster, especially if you like to switch colors)
Love that you are doing pens please do notebooks too in future that would be great too!!!
I the previous vid is on notebooks! th-cam.com/video/pjgsVMoTWMY/w-d-xo.html
Yes, the Schneider Viscoglide is a good hybrid ink.
Papermate Inkjoy is one of my favorite rollerballs, the only thing i dislike about this pen is the poor quality on the clip. very easy to break off
I'm a fan of .5mm or .38mm.
Been using pilot signo and juice up pens forwver. I recently bought tombow mono graph, real smooth.
For cheap pens, my favorites are the Pilot G2 and Pilot Hi-Tec-C. The Tombow brush pen you mentioned is fantastic too, and it comes in a hard and soft version. The tip of the soft pen is very flexible and gives great line width variability. The hard one isn't as flexible obviously but I like it better for 'normal' writing.
Hi Sarah, I’m also in the Pilot G2 camp and have been for a few years now. I have been using the 0.7mm version and have been contemplating sizing down to the 0.5mm tip version simply because I have noticed the ink being a little too smudgy for my taste. I’m hoping that the finer line will put down less ink thus less smudging when I flip pages. What has your experience been?
Have you tried the Pilot Juice Up? I like them because they engineered a new type of tip for this pen - it's got the strength of a conical tip at the base, which then tapers up to a needle point. I like the precision of a 0.4mm point. ETA: the cheap version of the pen is refillable, and the refills also will fit into other pen bodies. They are the same size and shape as the Pilot G2 refill. For example, Tactile Turn makes a version of their bolt action pen that fits a G2 refill. I have one, and I put a Juice Up refill into it.
@@arguchik I have tried the Juice Up, one of my colleagues carries them, and I did not find it comfortable. Thanks for the great info!
@@JohnnyD5138 Sure thing! Writing preferences are very personal. I have bad luck with the G2 - for some reason, I've had a bunch of them where the ball just falls out of the pen point. I like the Hi-Tec C, but only in the Coletto multipen, which is my favorite multipen. I have two, one of which is matte black - my favorite to write with. (My other one is bright blue, but shiny - it's still good, but not as nice to hold as the matte finish.)
@@JohnnyD5138 The .7 is my go to, and it puts down a lot of ink, but it works for most of the paper I use. I sometimes even go up to the 1.0 but that's a little too much for every day use for me. Chase reviewed the Sarasa Clip, which is a great pen, but it also comes in Sarasa Dry which is supposed to be less smudgy. That may be worth checking out, it's on my short list for my next pen order.
My go to pens can be put into two categories, disposable and refillable... my disposable category i like the Pilot G2 05 and the Uniball Vision. Refillable I use the Parker Jotter, Fisher cap-o-matic, bullet, and original space pen all with the Fisher PR4F fine boack refills. I do want to try a Cross Townsend and or Century II roller pens but the color optiona I want of those Cross pens are a bit spendy for me. I have been told I am very utilitarian when it comes to my choice of pens.
I see you decided to lump rollerballs, which have wet, water based, ink like a fountain pen and came out before gel pens, in with actual gel pens and categorise them both as rollerballs.
My favourite rollerball, so far, is the Uni-ball Eye (the 'Ocean Care' line, in particular) and my favourite gel pens are the Pentel Energels. So far I've only tried the Energel X, which is a great cheapie, all plastic, with rubberised grip. It was so good I've ordered Energel 'Pure' which is a bit nicer and more premium with plastic and metal parts and a metal nose cone and gave the Energel X to my mom to let her see how amazing they write.
When the Pures come, I'll offer my mom a swap back, just so I have both models. Got a new Pilot 'Juice Up' and a Zebra G-301 coming, too.
Cheapest pen I like is the bic stick in blue medium point
Good pen.
This proves I'm old. Had a pen once and can't remember it (clear generic pen with chinese/Japanese writing on the label) that someone at work ordered and it was the best writing pen I've ever had. Now I'm here looking at pen videos.
Loved this video! I seriously forwarded this video to friends I know who would appreciate it. Why have we not thought to look into this sooner?
A Parker Jotter with a Schmidt Easy Flow 9000 ink cartridge. Smooth, easy to write with and classy. Color combinations and a brushed steel look is good anytime.
Flex office Flexstick that thing is cheap but man its so good it punches up and above its price range
No love for Bolt Action pen in Titanium? Like Refyne, BigIdea Design or the amazing Tactile Turn?
I’ll look into the Studio Neat
Notebooks? Pens? you are speaking my language! I journal with the Sharpie Pen , but it’s in an Archer and Olive dot grid journal with 160 gsm paper so there is no bleed through. My everyday pen at work is the Pilot B2P fine point in black. It’s dependable, smooth, has a click and a clip and I can buy them by the box. I’ll definitely be checking out your favorites, though.
Might I recommend the TWSBI Eco. It’s a bigger fountain pen, but my favorite pen to write with, sketch with, EVER.
Ugh!
That mark one looks like itll revitalize my want to write
Zebra Sarasa is what I use when I’m not using my fountain pens- I have a Lamy Al-Star ^^
Zebra makes such good pens and products in general.
For Lefties or Gel-Pen fans I can reccomend the Stabilo "Fatty" pointVisco, the Gel brother to the pointBall
I found this enlightening . I prefer the funky flow of fountain pens to be my go to pen. but if I had a choice the pilot G2 pen in .07 would be my favorite cheep pen. Right now I have a solid brass with a piston trigger that is super cool! oh and I have both of those fountain pens its delightful. The graphite Lamy safari is not inked up right now, I like to rotate my pens for day to day adventures
0.07 mm dia would be very very fine for a ball. 0.18 mm is smallest tip ever made. You mean 0.7mm.
I use lamy safary fountain pen for daily use at work. Its great. You just need the confidence, then its epic. And also interesting for peoples arround...
Sweet video. Love pens. That was a Baron Fig Squire.
Schneider Viscoglide is the best ballpoint ink. Uni-ball Jetstream comes in second.
Faber-Castell Speedx, Paper Mate InkJoy and Pentel iZee are also good.
Sharpie and Paper Mate gel pens are fast drying and good.
Schneider One Business is for the best signatures. Uni-ball Air and Signo Gelstick are also good.
Rotring Tikky Roller Point is among my favourites.
+1 on the Schneiders!
Pilot is the best ball ink
Could you do a video on Multifunction Pens.. I think I like having only one pen in my purse takes up less space, lol. I recently had the Skilcraft- B3 Aviator Multifunction pen, but I found it to be too small and heavy when writing. New to the pen world, lol!! I love this video!!!
Lamy also make some awesome rollerballs and ballpoints. They have a great clip and the same thick barrel.
"Got a nice girthy grip size and it responds well to pressure" Yep!
14:50 The Microns come in many tip sizes so… not too thin.
I’ve sworn by my zebras for years. A perfect medium rare amount of gel coming of of the pen to how hard I push. Liking to spice things up though
Weird how there wasn’t the Uniball Vision on here. Best pen I’ve used
I wad pleasantly surprised when I saw this upload. Your recent videos have some of your pens laid out on the table and I've been curious about your collection
I picked up a few TiBolts by Fellhoelter. They are my favorite pens, I love the bolt action. Definitely something to pass down at some point. Great video.
Nice, love the round-up videos, and real pens are completely underappreciated these days. Those glasses are still cracking me up. This is the first time I noticed that the frames were camo. Kinda has that "I'm going to the shooting range later" look and further makes me wonder how (to my knowledge) you've not owned a van yet.
Total shooting range/wood shop vibes from these.
The MUJI erasable is my absolute fav., but I use it for drawing and not for writing. As a matter of fact, one MUJI worker told me that they were changing the model so I bought a lot of cartridges, like 15-20, so I'm good for some more years
Uniball Vision Elite has been my choice for decades and never disappoints. I cannot use click pens because they all eventually leak, in my experience.
I guess it was inevitable with how many pens there are out there in the world, but I have another recommendation for you to try: Uniball Vision Elite. It has a 0.8mm tip and is the smoothest writing pen I've ever used.
I’m surprised you missed the Pilot Razor Point under the fiber tip category. That’s my goto.
23:00 , Fun Fact, LAMY Safari is what 80-90% of elementary school kids use in Germany.