Technology doesn’t just advance for, well, tech products. These FriXion pens innovated what I recall to be a very terrible invention: that of the erasable pen. In my youth, erasable pens were basically a normal stick ballpoint with what appeared to be a piece of cement affixed to the top that they called an eraser. It did erase ink, but it also erased the paper on which the ink was written. It was not an ideal scenario.
These, on the other hand, are ideal. Technically, this ink isn’t erased, but rather turned transparent through the application of heat, which is provided by the friction of the durable plastic eraser (hence the name).
At the moment, there are about 50 of these pens in my house and I can attest to how fantastically they work. Erasing is every bit as easy as a high-quality no. 2 pencil, with no paper destruction required. We’re featuring the handy retractable ones, but capped versions are available here. Also available are the equally incredible FriXion markers and FriXion highlighters (yep, believe it) in both fluorescent and pastel shades.
If all that wasn’t enough, the fairly amazing Rocketbook Wave notebook, which uses a companion app to beam your notes to a variety of online platforms, was designed especially to work with these pens. When the notebook is full, microwave it to apply the necessary heat to erase it completely. Probably the best all-around note-taking scenario.
Aimed at the precision-inclined, these pens use gel ink and a fine tip for a very controllable writing experience. The build quality is excellent and they look and feel like a high-end pen.
The pocket clip is made of a single piece of bent aluminum, which should resist breaking even if you fidget with it, unlike so many pens now that use plastic clips. The retraction mechanism is crisp and strong; very unlikely to wear out during the course of its life.
These pens would be good for those with very neat penmanship and a light touch as the fine tip can drag a bit under a heavy hand like mine. My wife loves them for her daily planner because they are ultra-quick drying and won’t smudge.
One of the greats of the rollerball pen genre, this is one of the few gel pens I actually kind of like, which is why it appears on our best rollerball pens post.
The G2 is well-loved because despite being a gel pen, the ink lasts a long time, they’re very sturdy, and the mechanism is very slow to wear out. There are four tips sizes to choose from, as well as a variety of pack sizes to fit your needs.
Specs: Tip type: Rollerball Preferred tip size: 0.5mm Ink type: Gel Grip type: Contoured rubber Refillable?: Yes — refills here Water resistant?: No
Right up there next to the Paper Mate InkJoy 500 RT which we included on our list of the best ballpoint pens, this offering from Pilot brings the humble ballpoint much closer to the generally better-loved rollerball pens. Writing is incredibly smooth and fast for a ballpoint, while also maintaining the characteristic long-lasting ink.
The grip is good and unobtrusive, while the clip on the Pro version is metal, as is the tip. In fact, we recommend buying the Pro and featured it here, but they do make a standard version, as well as a PureWhite version and a breast cancer awareness version. If you plan to actually use the clip, opt for the Pro, but both come with the same ink and tungsten carbide writing nib.
Specs: Tip type: Ballpoint Preferred tip size: 1.0mm Ink type: Oil-based Grip type: Rubberized Refillable?: Yes — refills here Water resistant?: Yes
Many fans and students of writing implements will tell you that the only truly satisfying, sophisticated option for writing is a fountain pen. If you’ve thought about getting into fountain pen ownership, Pilot makes perhaps the best (or at least the most well-known) entry level fountain pen in this, the Metropolitan.
This is a relatively accessible fountain pen that still performs better than its price and even those who prefer higher quality pieces might use this as their daily writer, saving expensive pens for special occasions. Each pen comes with a nib and one ink cartridge, but it also comes with a plate converter if you want to use this as a true refillable fountain pen.
Perhaps the greatest strength of the Metropolitan (aside from its price) is that it comes in a wide variety of colors and patterns to match your personality. Here we’ve featured the Gold Barrel, but they also have a Classic Black, the Retro Pop collection, the Dots Collection and the Animal Collection.
Specs: Tip type: Fountain Preferred tip size: 0.7mm Ink type: Dye-based Grip type: Contoured barrel Refillable?: Yes — refills here Water resistant?: No
Fans of ballpoint pens will want to consider this one. The XB means “extra broad”, so you won’t be looking for rollerball-like precision here. What you will get, however, is extreme smoothness. Anyone who has ever lamented the drag of, say, a Bic Round Stic, will be relieved at how easily ink flows from the stainless steel nib.
Other benefits of this pen include the lightly textured contoured barrel grip, the fast-drying ink, and the fact that these pens come from carbon-neutral production in Germany. These also live up to the ballpoint pen name by having a very large ink capacity and a long writing time between refills.
Specs: Tip type: Ballpoint Preferred tip size: 1.0mm Ink type: Oil-based Grip type: Rubberized contoured barrel Refillable?: Yes — refills here Water resistant?: Yes
Hardcore rollerball pen fans will want to have a look at this model. These needle-tip pens excel in situations where you need to write in small lettering. These pens don’t skip as much as some higher-profile rivals, and in some cases, can produce an even finer line.
These are available in the blue color featured here, as well as black or red, or in a multi-pack with all three. The also offer the Pro Mach, which is refillable, if you prefer.
Specs: Tip type: Rollerball Preferred tip size: 0.38mm Ink type: Liquid Grip type: None Refillable?: No Water resistant?: No
The uni-ball Signo line is expansive and covers an awful lot of ground. If you want to read all about it, you can check out this JetPens.com article that gives the full rundown.
We’ve chosen to go with the 207 option because of its history of being used in demonstrations of thwarting check washing, the process by which someone removes the details written on a check to illegally fill in their own. The nature of the 207 ink makes this virtually impossible as the special formula embeds pigment into the fibers of the paper.
Aside from that, it’s a fine-looking implement with an excellent grip. Available in black, blue, purple, and red in a variety of pack sizes. One word of caution: these can take a little bit to get going, so be patient when you first start writing with a new one.
Although these are technically meant for drawing, the responsiveness of the nib tip and richness of the India ink make them excellent for writing, as well. They excel at being smudge-free and are also water resistant, so don’t worry too much if you should spill a little water on your notes.
This particular pack comes with four different tip widths: S – 0.3mm, F – 0.5mm, M – 0.7mm, and B – brush width. My favorite of these is the Medium tip, which you can buy separately here, if you prefer. Also, if you decide you love them, there’s a set of eight sizes here.
The left handed among us need all the same things righties do in looking for a pen: smooth writing, sharp lines, durability, and comfort. Lefties also need one additional quality right-handed writers may overlook: extremely fast drying. Smudged writing is familiar to all left handed folks, so Zebra set out to develop gel ink that dries as fast as possible to help avoid this.
We’ve featured here the utilitarian black ink, but these also come in blue, red, violet, light green, forest, navy, mahogany, fuchsia, and cobalt, both individually and in the “Fashion Assorted” pack. You can choose among packs ranging from two pends to 18 to address all your writing needs.
This unassuming-looking pen hides a couple of relatively advanced features not seen elsewhere. First of all, while there’s no proper grip to speak of, the pen barrel itself is shaped into a rounded triangle, which makes them ultra comfortable and reduces writing fatigue over long periods.
Second, it uses a special “Dry Safe” ink that prevents it from drying out if the cap is left off for several days. That can help if the cap falls off in your bag, or if you leave for class in a hurry. Porous point pens can drag just a bit compared to rollerball, but they make up for it with free-flowing ink.
In addition to this standard black, these come in many colors, as seen in this 20 pack. The cover of the case folds back to become a stand so you can have all colors at the ready without them rolling all over the place. I also quite like the Blackbox, which includes a mix of fineliner, highlighter, ballpoint, and rollerball pens.
Perhaps you should approach these with caution. These unassuming-looking pens have garnered a rabid online following amongst the journaling community. The ultra-fine plastic point makes for a very smooth writing experience, which is aided by the excellent flow of the smudge-proof ink.
With a variety of uses, you, too, may become as obsessed as the previously converted. These come in 18 different colors, which an enterprising seller has taken it upon themselves to package together here.
Yep, believe it. The originators of the gel pen genre, Sakura continue to crank out Gelly Roll pens over 30 years later. Originally created to eliminate smudging, bleed, and to facilitate easier writing, these are the pens that ignited the gel pen revolution.
These days, they support the market by providing a huge line of colors beyond the standard black, blue, red, green, brown, purple, orange, royal blue, pink, and burgundy. Palettes like Metallic and Moonlight, for example. They also make one of the all-time great white pens for use on dark paper, if you should need such a thing.
Leaving aside the gimmicks, these really are among the smoothest writing pens out there, so consider giving them a whirl.
Ever wish you could take all your notes in a good old-fashioned Sharpie, the world’s most ubiquitous marker? Doing so would result in a lot of bleed and destroy many pages unnecessarily. Sharpie noted the problem and created these pens that are designed specifically to avoid that.
Retaining that marker-like ink density and boldness, these pens write very smoothly despite their nib/porous tip. It nearly rivals the smoothness of an especially nice ballpoint.
Sakura clearly had their finger on the pulse of writing implements in the 80s. The Micron continues to enjoy widespread popularity today for everything from precise technical notation to free-hand drawing.
These pens excel at any task to which they are assigned and will make excellent writing utensils for any school application. This assorted pack includes tip sizes from 0.2 to 0.5 millimeters, so you’ll be covered.
Ultimately, these are probably most similar to the TUL above, but with decades of pedigree behind them.
