The Ultimate Pen Showdown - Part 1

The purpose of this review is two fold.

First off is to find the ultimate every day carrying pen that will last a lifetime. This means a refill that's incredibly smooth, dark, can write on a variety of papers, can dry quickly (I'm left-handed), doesn't skip with excellent reliability, and with writing that has a feeling & appearance of quality. It should also be available in a very high quality and attractive looking pen body. The other criteria would be for the pen and its refill to be made by a company that has a big presence in a major market.

Further to that, for the purpose of this review, my preference is for the refill to match the pen body (pens that are sold pre-loaded with a particular refill, rather than matching say a Uni refill with a Pelikan pen). Of course many refills are interchangeable, especially in standard sizes like the Parker G2, but I want everything to fit like a glove.

I tried to buy the highest-of-the-range pens available for each of these refills, with the most premium version of each refill cartridge.

The second point of this review is to use the information gathered from this study to produce my own pen. To take the best attributes from each body, and the best refills, and turn this into a project. I have a friend who's been in the pen manufacturing business who offered to help out.

I don't know what I'll do with all these pens, but I suppose I'll keep my favourites and sell the rest.

Background:

I'm mainly looking at hybrid / low viscosity ballpoint inks here, because they're the only ones that really can meet all these criteria. One of the few rollerballs that would really meet these criteria would be the Pilot Multi Ball, but my understanding is that it doesn't have a refill, so it couldn't be used in my project, and it also only comes in a cheap body. I'd still like to try it one day. For gel pens, the main ones to qualify (due to their fast drying qualities) would be the Zebra Sarasa / Sarasa Dry, and the Pentel Energel. I didn't like the feel of the Sarasa refills (not as smooth as the Energels), and unlike the Energels there isn't a waterproof option that I could find. 

The Ohto Rays and maybe the pen that ships with a Schneider Gelion 39 might also be interesting options, but I'm not completely sure (Are they waterproof inks? Can they handle different types of paper? Are they smooth despite being small needle tips?). They didn't really seem to meet my main requirements on first glance though.

Hybrids not included in this comparison:

The EF9000 (apparently smudges easily and has QC issues? Also Schmidt doesn't make pen bodies)

 Anterique BP1 / BP2 (not a widely available enough refill to qualify, and also only comes in 0.5mm, but I'd be interested to try it)

Parker Quinkflow (I hear this writes more or less like a standard ballpoint)

Pentel GlideWrite (can't get it here in Asia, but might have to make it happen for the final runoff comparison)

Schneider Slider XB refill, available in Schneider Perlia (maybe for the runoff, but hard to find here - but I heard it's not such a dark ink)

I know there are also a lot of interesting pen brands from India, some of which may meet the requirements, but that seems like a whole other world to delve into.

So let's get straight to the review:

Pentel Energel Hexagon BL667 - Some of you might know the Taiwanese market version of this pen, the BL625 Hexreform. The 667 is the Thai market version, with a 0.7mm (instead of 0.5mm) refill. This pen is absolutely incredible. The refill is smooth as silk, and the tolerances in this pen are second to none. The refill fits perfectly snug, and the cap snaps into place oh so nicely. Everyone who picks up this pen seems to go 'wow' when using it. It's ultra slim, yet bold & angular.

Montblanc Rouge et Noir Serpent Ballpoint - I bought this pen just because I adore the design, but I can't really say anything good about the Montblanc Ballpoint refill, but thought it would be good to compare as a ballpoint baseline. Maybe it's because it's old, as I bought it used? Funny enough, I got a replica of this pen also to compare, and the replica takes Parker G2 style refills (though the pen body, especially the clip and other steel pieces, doesn't look as nice as the genuine).

Pelikan Italy with 337M Refill - Pelikan pens really feel high quality. The click mechanism on this one feels heavy duty. This pen is an exceedingly rare model with little info about it, but it was love at first sight. The 0.7mm 337 refill has a very rich and unusual blue colour to it, and also feels high quality, but very ballpoint-ey (this is another one I bought pre-owned though). It is the Parker G2 size. Not sure if Pelikan will offer a hybrid ink in the future, but if they do, I'll be buying it.

Pelikan Celebry R590 with 338F refill - Another gorgeous Pelikan pen from the discontinued Celebry line (my personal favourite line). I just wanted to try a top notch rollerball to see how the hybrid refills compare. The deep, rich blue ink flows so smoothly in this one with no feathering, and the fine 0.5mm point doesn't smudge much. But at the end of the day it is a rollerball, and won't hold up to water or smudging too well. It did make me interested in trying the more high tech rollerballs though.

Uni Jetstream SXK-3300 with SXR-600-05 refill - Jetstreams took some time to grow on me, and because the finer tips are not always so smooth compared to their competitors, they can be a bit scratchy. But this particular refill with the metallic cartridge and 0.5mm tip is really nice. Also the pen itself is a new model that I think is only for the Japanese market. It's very heavy and has such a solid feel, though I'm not a fan of its twist mechanism (it engages the threads often when retracting the tip). It does skip from time to time though. It seems to be a middle ground between the Pentel Vicuna and the Pilot Acro refill.

Pentel Vicuna EX3 BX3005CG Cielina with BXS5J refill - Once again, Pentel delivers. Pentel's tolerances seem so tight. The click mechanism on this pen is very satisfying, and the pen is slim but weighty, with a lot of fine detailed machine work on the metal. I regret not getting a 0.7mm refill for this, or trying the EX2 models that come pre-loaded with the 0.7. This 0.5 is very comparable to the 0.5 Jetstream, but seems a hair finer (and therefore a bit less smooth and dark). I really wish the Vicuna even came in a 1.0, but the 0.7 is the widest tip, so I will try that out and compare it to a Jetstream 0.7. The Vicuna the most reliable of the hybrid refills, never skipping, and able to write on a wider variety of surfaces.

Platinum BOL-1000 with SBSP-80 0.7mm refill - Apparently Platinum is one of the major brands in Japan (despite being more minor abroad), up there with Pilot and Pentel, so I figure I'd give their hybrid a try. The info about their seemingly proprietary hybrid low viscosity ballpoint ink is all in Japanese. I won't say much about this pen body, because it's a cheaper model - looks great but feels cheap and plasticky. The refill is quite smooth and writes on many surfaces, but not as dark as its competitors. This is my least favourite hybrid, though it is quite versatile.

Pilot Legno Acro BLE-250K with BRFN-30 0.7mm refill - This pen was on my radar since seeing the Pilot S20, which looked amazing in the photos and videos I saw. This is when I found out that there are different grades of Acro refills, and some people were replacing the plastic Acro refills on their S20 with the metallic BRFN-30. I then discovered that Pilot makes an even more premium wood pen that comes standard with this refill, and this is it. This is a really handsome pen with fine details. The plus side of the refill is that it's probably the darkest of the hybrids with this tip size, and can be very smooth - it's actually more like a rollerball. The down side is that this refill skips a lot on certain surfaces/papers compared to the others (though fine on standard office paper), and the ink is slow to dry. The knock also has a bit of a rattle to it. I get the feeling that Pilot just doesn't have the same tight tolerances as Pentel. The company is doing a lot of interesting things though and seems quite innovative in their product line, and this pen is still very nice. I'd also be curious to check out an S20 for comparison. I think for a right-handed person who doesn't write on rough surfaces, the BRFN-30 can be a great refill. Apparently there is also a 1.0mm version of this refill (BRFN-30M)!

Monami 153 Neo with FX4000 0.7mm refill - Monami is an interesting company from Korea, and is the major pen producer there. They make a pen called the 153 ID, which had (or still has?) a 1.0mm refill made in Germany called the Monami EasyFlow, which makes me think at one point they might have been sourcing & rebranding their refills from Schmidt. The FX4000 however is their own low viscosity hybrid style ink as well, made in Korea, which seems to be now be their standard premium ink. The FX4000 0.7 is very smooth and fairly dark with a thick line, and comes in the Parker G2 size. It skips just a little bit, but not too bad. Their inks come in black, blue, green, and dark brown, and also in 1.0mm. I'd rank their 0.7 refill above the Platinum and the Zebra Emulsion, and I've already ordered a 1.0 in dark brown to test out. I'm not a fan of the design of the 153 Neo (a bit too fat, and too much chrome for my taste), but I'll for sure give the 153 ID a try, which comes standard with a 1.0mm refill. The Neo has a nice twist mechanism though, which slowly unwinds to retract the tip.

Uni Jetstream SXN-150S with SXR10 refill - This might be my favourite refill so far in this comparison. It feels so luxuriously smooth, even moreso than the 0.7mm Energel. The difference between the other Jetstream refills and the 1.0 is significant. It does still skip somewhat though, like the other Jetstreams. It's also not available in a metallic refill, nor a premium pen.

Zebra Filare 0.7mm EQ Emulsion - The pen has an exceptionally premium feel, very much for the executive office, something like a Pelikan 800 series. I had high expectations for the refill, as Zebra's inks have a strong fan base, but in my opinion it just wasn't as good as a Jetstream, Vicuna, or Monami. The ink is a bit on the lighter side, probably due to its relatively fine line, but it does show up darker than the Platinum. It skips a bit on certain rougher papers, but less-so than the Pilot refill.

Jinhao Rollerball - I bought a few Chinese rollerballs because of the nice bodies, and this one from Jinhao is really nice. Not much to say about the refill, as it's a fairly standard rollerball with a lot of feathering, but I will say that Chinese pens are really improving, and the fit & finish on this pen is surprisingly good. I bought another Chinese rollerball from a company called Dikawen with a lovely body, but the Jinhao refill feels smoother. Interesting to note though that there are probably a variety of Chinese refills out there.

Conclusion:

The themes I'm seeing here are: 1. I really like larger-tip hybrid inks, and 2. Pentel seems to lead when it comes to quality (at least for the refills and the top-of-the-range pen bodies). Uni is also up there when it comes to quality.

My personal favourite overall pens in this test are the Pentel BL667, the Pentel EX3 Cielina, and the Uni SXK-3300 in that order. If the Uni had a better twist mechanism I would rank it higher. It feels much better than the photos can show. I look forward to trying the Uni and the EX3 with the 0.7mm refills from their respective brands, and I'd be tempted to to try out the EX2 pen as well. The Vicuna, Jetstream, and Energel refills are the best according to my criteria.

The results of this comparison for me, are the realization that I'm looking for a refill that writes like the 1.0mm Jetstream, with its incredible smoothness, fast dry time, darkness, and resilience, but has the tight tolerances, reliability, non-skippiness, and ability to write on multi surfaces like the Vicuna. If the Vicuna came with a 1.0 tip, Pentel would probably be the ultimate winner here. That's why I'm so curious about the 1.0 Pentel GlideWrite refills. They also come in quite a few colours. Unfortunately I'll have to go through some hassle to get it here in Asia, and also unfortunate that the GlideWrite Executive model looks so ugly. 

Monami seems to have some potential as well in this race. They're making a wide variety of quality pens, and their FX4000 refill comes in 1.0mm in multiple colours.

Runoff - Final Round:

For the final round of these comparisons, I want to compare the Jetstream SXR10 1.0, Vicuna 0.7, Jetstream SXR-600 0.7, GlideWrite 1.0, and Monami FX4000 1.0. Maybe a Schneider Slider too, but not sure how this one performs, and it has a larger tip than the others. If anyone else has some input on what to include, I'd be interested to hear. 

Should I include the gel pens listed above in the earlier section? Maybe a waterproof or a 1.0 Energel refill? Did I miss out on some great hybrid/low viscosity ballpoints?

As an aside, I also tested a Uni Air (feels weird, like a felt tipped marker) and a Sakura G'Soft 1.0mm Gel (just about as smooth as you can possibly get, but not as a precise as a ballpoint hybrid)..

Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this comparison. Would love to hear your feedback.