5 ms·
I used these pens almost exclusively for two years on my first ship. In a terrestrial environment, these pens are easily outperformed by many, many other pens.
by niels_olson 13y ago
I used these pens almost exclusively for two years on my first ship. In a terrestrial environment, these pens are easily outperformed by many, many other pens. The high viscosity ink is under pressure, so it is always being expressed. Any imperfection in the ball that finds itself at the edge of the ball-barrel interface will leave you, in a matter of hours, and sometimes while writing, with a big ball of black goo on the ball, sometimes on your fingers, frequently on the paper.
They tend to gunk up and frequently blow out.
If you are going to space, get a few before you go. Otherwise, I highly recommend the Pilot G-2, specifically the 0.7 mm Navy-Blue (available in dozens when ordering directly from Pilot).
The G-7 is ubiquitous and writes fast. It's not ideal for all surfaces, but 99.9% of the time, it's the best answer.
- Nicholas_C 13y agoMy office supply room is stocked with Pilot G-7 pens but I feel like they're too runny and make my writing sloppier than other pens.
- yannk 13y ago+1 to that. I miss the pens of my youth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bic_Cristal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bic_Cristal They would sometimes fail, but I find they would leave just the right amount of ink on the paper while rolling smoothly on it.
- epsylon 13y agoAs far as I know, Bic still sells them.
- stilldavid 13y agoThe G2 also comes in a 0.5mm and 0.38mm version in all colors. As a lefty I prefer the 0.38, but I've found the ball fails more often than the 0.5 so I usually just put up with the occasional smear.
- zobzu 13y agothe fisher cardrige comes from factory with a medium size tip. this tip kinda sux for the reasons you mentionned get the fine tip (it cost $6 or so), and.. surprise, its perfect. Always wondered why they did this. source: i've been using this pen for 20 years - gift from nasa :P
- girvo 13y agoI personally am in love with Uniball JetStreams. They are the nicest pens I've ever used (and I've used a LOT). I don't mind the Pilot, but it didn't feel right; the JetStream flows like a gel, but dries like a ballpoint. They're expensive, about $8AUD per pen, but totally worth it.
- baldfat 13y agoI purchase my pens from jetpens.com and I get my Jetstreams from Japan for like $3 or $4 for one's not available in stores. Look at penaddict.com for how deep the pen nerdom gets.