[HN Gopher] Best Pens for 2025
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Best Pens for 2025
Author : beermonster
Score : 90 points
Date : 2025-01-12 19:46 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.jetpens.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.jetpens.com)
| gnabgib wrote:
| Largely the same choices, pens, photos, text from the 2024 copy
| of this: (168 points, 154 comments)
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38867708
|
| https://web.archive.org/web/20240104200853/https://www.jetpe...
| ghaff wrote:
| I've definitely gravitated to the bold gel pens for most
| purposes. Some inks actually even work as better replacements
| in some more expensive pens although I rarely bother.
| eawgewag wrote:
| Just want to say, I've had incredible customer service
| experiences from Jetpens. If high end stationary is important to
| you, I highly recommend this store.
| globular-toast wrote:
| I prefer to write with a pencil almost all the time, but my
| absolute favourite pens are bog standard Bic Cristal (the ones
| with the rubber grip are even better but not sure you can get
| them any more). The reason is that I have never in my life picked
| one up that didn't start writing instantly, no matter how old or
| battered it is.
| nabla9 wrote:
| That's only thing you need if you write rarely.
|
| Ballpoint pens are ergonomically really bad if you write a lot.
| The reason many people still use fountain pen is that you just
| move pen on the paper, no pressure needed. New gel pens get you
| 90% of that with ease to use almost equal to a ballpoint, their
| takes longer to dry is the only real drawback.
| kjkjadksj wrote:
| The time to dry factor is why I purposely seek out the 0.38
| pilot g2. I'm not sure how anyone can stand the default 0.7.
| It just gets all over your hand and smears the pages.
| criddell wrote:
| There are quick drying gel pens. I have some Zebra Sansa
| Dry's that are pretty much impossible to smudge.
|
| I have some fountain pens just because I like overly
| complicating simple things. One good paper, they are awesome.
| Unfortunately, I'm mostly writing ephemeral notes on lower
| quality paper so a ball point (or pencil) makes a lot more
| sense.
| submeta wrote:
| Been using the bullet journal method for two years and journaling
| on paper for over thirty years, and I must say that nothing comes
| close to fountain pens for handwriting. But for bullet journals
| (drawing tables, lines, calendars) gel pens are an excellent
| choice.
| bnycum wrote:
| I always enjoy reading this list yearly, and the research that
| goes into it. As someone who prefers thicker gel pens I used the
| Uniball Signo 207 as I could easily find these locally as well.
| Then after reading their recommendations I switched to the Zebra
| Sarasa Dry because I always smear my writing.
|
| Through Jetpens I've also discovered my favorite mechanical
| pencil, the Uni Kuru Toga.
| crq-yml wrote:
| I've embraced the Pulaman over the past year. It's grungy when
| used on rougher paper, and wet enough to bleed through lighter
| weights, but the lines are full of character. It's a fountain pen
| with a marker tip - it fills in a certain complementary thing
| that Pilot nibs don't have.
|
| I have also become a champion for Bic Gelocity, because they
| figured out a quick-dry gel formula that has similar viscosity
| and reliability to their classic ballpoints. Viscous ink keeps my
| writing legible, and the gel needs less pressure, so it's a great
| EDC writer.
|
| Some of my bigger explorations have been with graphite - I have
| both new mechanicals, cheap stuff, lead holders, and vintage
| pencils. There is a lot of reason to go mechanical for
| reliability, but cheap mechanicals like the Bic pencil are
| unreliable - it's worth it to go for a Pentel. Similar story with
| lead holders - I have some from Daiso that do the job but aren't
| as tight as brand names. The nice thing about wood is that it
| handles well - the weight is lighter than metal, and it stays
| balanced as you wear it down. As well, for drawing, being able to
| cut the point you want makes a difference. There are woodless
| pencils which are quite a bit heavier and more brittle if
| dropped, but they are nice to work with to get something similar
| to a long point sharpen without having to get out a razor and
| whittle it by hand.
| vasco wrote:
| Since my favorite type of pen, which are very short pens that fit
| everywhere and don't take much space isn't in the list, my
| recommendations go for Penco Drafting Pen and the Penco Bullet
| Pen. Penco.jp is also a pretty cool website. I have no
| affiliation with the brand other than really liking these two
| pens. I must have about 12 bullet pens in different pockets of
| jackets and pants so I'm never without a pen.
| kstrauser wrote:
| I've had quite a few nice pens over the years. For me, Lamy
| Safari with its triangular grip is peak ergonomics, and its
| price-per-usability is fantastic. I tend to have a claw-like
| grip, and the Safari forces me to hold it in a way that my hand
| doesn't cramp after 3 minutes. It's great. I love it.
|
| But for quick jotting, like making shopping lists or bullet
| journal notetaking, I'm on board with this list's top ballpoint
| pick, the Uni Jetstream. If all ballpoints were this smooth and
| pleasant to use, I never would've bothered investigating fountain
| pens. I think they're fantastic, supremely reasonably priced, and
| rugged enough to lose in the bottom of a bag without leaking all
| over stuff.
|
| I love my Safaris, but when I need to jot something down, I reach
| for the Jetstream.
| frereubu wrote:
| I love Safaris too, but unfortunately I handwrite very seldom
| and the Safaris tend to dry out quite quickly in my experience.
| I've got the Kaweco Sport, which sends to last much longer,
| probably because of its tight screw-top seal.
| linsomniac wrote:
| I'm also a big fan of the Jestreams, in particular the "Uni
| Jetstream Standard Ballpoint Pen - 0.5 mm". 5-6 years ago on a
| similar thread here or elsewhere, found a pointer to them and
| got a few, and I really like the precise line it makes, so I
| can do (what one of my coworkers called) "microwriting" between
| other lines of text. I use them mostly for note taking and
| bullet journaling. I've since gotten a few of the dozen packs,
| they are reasonably priced.
|
| I wish I had a better solution for todo lists though. For a
| couple years I used a book and pen for managing my todo list,
| but always felt like an automated solution would just be
| better. I tried a Kindle Scribe and used that for around a
| year. It was a good "basic" writing experience, but really
| brought very little over just pen and paper (except that I
| never had to struggle with keeping the pages laying flat). I
| decided to try an Onyx Boox Note 3 as a "better Scribe", but
| shortly after that I abandoned the todo list entirely. Tried
| taskninja, but never stuck there either.
|
| Any pro tips?
| maxglute wrote:
| Should have category for more innovative pen, what's new in the
| writing technology last yer? Their videos on overengineered
| Japanese stationary are great.
| lqet wrote:
| I have used a standard Lamy fountain pen for 11 years in school,
| and later several higher-end products (ball pens and fountain
| pens). But a few years ago I discovered that I _really_ like
| writing with the Bic Cristal [0]. It 's reliable and writing
| feels very smooth (even better than with some Lamy products I
| own). I also like that it has exactly the same shape as a classic
| pencil. Of course it is also very relaxing to know I can get a
| pack of 50 for 14 EUR. You can gnaw away on it, roll over it
| accidentally with you chair, lose it, break it in half - doesn't
| matter, because you can easily afford to have 20 of these on your
| desk at any time.
|
| [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bic_Cristal
| s0rce wrote:
| I also realized I like smooth ball points, used to use the
| finer Pilot gelpoints in school. The Caran D'ache ballpoint is
| quite nice for a more luxury product
|
| https://www.carandache.com/us/en/ballpoint-pen-ballpoint-pen...
| sushid wrote:
| I feel the same way but with cheaper Japanese ball pens, my
| favorite being. I do have to disagree that a Bic Cristal feels
| "smooth" though. I think it doesn't glide as well as your
| average Japanese offerings although it does dry exceptionally
| well.
|
| Personally I'm partial to the Zebra Sarasa Clip [0].
|
| [0] https://www.zebrapen.com/pages/discover-sarasa-clip
| throwpoaster wrote:
| The Bic Cristal is my all-time favourite pen, to the point
| where I don't really understand why other pens exist. I was
| recently thinking of getting a Mont Blanc for fancy business
| writing (contract signing), but went with the Cristal. Not
| kidding.
|
| The one flaw: no upside-down writing.
| ykonstant wrote:
| You mean a Mont Blanc ballpoint pen? Because I wouldn't use
| fountain pens with their water-based inks for signing
| contracts (even inks that claim to be waterproof).
| SoftTalker wrote:
| They seem prone to leaking. Like they develop some kind of
| siphon or capillary flow of the ink out the open end of the ink
| tube.
| criddell wrote:
| You aren't buying them from Amazon, are you? I've never had a
| genuine Bic do that, but I've had some cheapo bootlegs leak.
| thfuran wrote:
| How can you tell it isn't actually a Bic?
| fxde wrote:
| For left handed writing switching to the uni-ball jetstream (RT
| SXN-210 or Sport SXN-150S) was a noticeable improvement for me. I
| do not know how they compare to the ones recommended for left-
| handed writers on the site.
| pryelluw wrote:
| Every time this website gets posted I order like $30 worth of
| office supplies. Dunno why but it's so tempting.
| Arelius wrote:
| I see a lot of love for the Bic Cristal, Personally, I love the
| Muji Gel Ink 0.38, I'm an infrequent writer, so take it with a
| huge grain of salt, but I find it a really pleasant pen, and
| cheap enough that I can have them wherever I need them.
| eachro wrote:
| Do the rankings ever change much year over year? For instance,
| with intro fountain pens, it will always be things like the
| platinum preppy, pilot metro, kaweco sport.
| eternityforest wrote:
| I still like the uni-ball power tank. It's a $2 disposable
| pressurized pen.
|
| It looks to have less metal than a pressurized refill so it seems
| possibly even more sustainable than a refillable.
|
| It solves the problem of all your pens being dry when you
| suddenly need one after a few weeks of not using them.
|
| And they have a nice rubber grip, and you can see the remaining
| ink.
|
| Fountain pens are nice for extended writing, but for a modern 90%
| paperless lifestyle, it's hard to imagine something better than
| the power tank.
| thefourthchime wrote:
| Make sure you uninstall Honey first so they don't steal this guys
| referral codes.
| WaitWaitWha wrote:
| I use the BIC 4-Color retractable ball pens for the last 40 years
| when I have an option. There have been some variations in color
| ink, grippy hold, ball size, and even replacing an ink with
| pencil lead.
|
| It is thick so easier to hold for me, has the multiple colors
| which I use in underlining and just writing, inexpensive compared
| to four different color pens, it just works, and just as portable
| as any other pen.
| yeknoda wrote:
| Sad to see them ignore Stilform, which are really well built and
| with genetic latch.
| https://stilform.com/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAABRx75Fc4ynfn...
| vlark wrote:
| Try a Parker Jotter with one of these refills:
|
| - https://www.jetpens.com/Schmidt-EasyFlow-9000-Hybrid-Ballpoi...
|
| - https://schneiderpen.com/en_us/ballpoint-pen-refills/slider-...
|
| - https://www.jetpens.com/OHTO-Flash-Dry-Gel-Pen-Refill-Black/...
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(page generated 2025-01-12 23:00 UTC)