I try not to buy a lot of stuff. When I do buy things, I try to be intentional about it.
There are a few things, though, that I’ve begun to collect in numbers that go well beyond what’s strictly necessary for practical purposes.
- backpacks
- jackets
- watches
- notebooks
- books
- pens
Today I’m focusing on pens. Here are a few of my current favorites. If you’re looking for a new pen to try you can’t go wrong with one of these.
Platinum Preppy F 03
The Preppy is an everyday fountain pen. It’s lightweight and has a cap that seals securely, keeping the pen ready to write even if not used for a while. If you’re curious about fountain pens and want to give one a try with minimal investment and trouble, this is a great option.
Uni-ball One 0.38
I love the clean modern look of the Uni-ball One. The grip is color matched to the white barrel, with black accents around the clicker and robust stainless clip. The ink is super vibrant, creating a sharp contrast with the page.
Pilot Acroball 0.5
If you were going to pick just one pen to keep around the house or office, the Acroball would be a great choice. It’s a workhorse.
The build feels just right to me, with comfortable weight and balance and a well-placed contoured grip. The click mechanism is top notch and very satisfying. It has a special ink that gives it the benefits of ballpoint (quick drying, smudge-resistance, instant go-over with highlighter) with added smoothness and a deeper pigmentation than most ballpoints.
The Uni Jetstream line is similar, so you might check those out too. I’d just pick the ones with a combination of style and features you like best. Both the Acroball and Jetstream lines have various colors, styles, and even multi-color + pencil variations.
Kokuyo mark+
These are the coolest double tip pens I’ve seen. One end has a typical highlighter-style chisel tip. The other has a fineliner point. So far, nothing super special, right?
Here’s the unique part: the two tips are slightly different, but coordinated, colors. The fineliner tip is just a shade darker than the highlighter tip, so it makes a neat effect when you write with the fine point and highlight over with the chisel tip.
The effect is particularly nice with the gray marker.
Pentel PulaMan
Another unique pen, the PulaMan creates something akin to a fountain pen experience with something that’s more like a felt tip (but isn’t exactly that either). It has an unusually-shaped plastic nib that takes some getting used to. Once it’s broken in, though, it provides a writing experience with a little more flair than most.
Pilot Frixion Slim 3-Color 0.5
I’m a big fan of multi-color pens, but this one takes it another step by making the ink erasable. It’s heat sensitive, so when you “erase” it with the rubbery end on the pen—creating friction and heat—it disappears.
Incidentally, they also make a super fine point 0.38 version (just one color at a time) if you prefer a more pocketable minimalist approach to your impermanent ink.
Pilot Juice up 04
The Juice up 04 looks and feels like a pen made for business. The elegant black and chrome are right at home in a meeting. It has a unique tip that JetPens says “combines the precision of a needle point with the durability of a conical point”. I can’t comment on the durability yet—I’ve only had it for a couple of weeks—but it is super precise.
Muji 0.5
Like the Uni One, the Muji 0.5 is sleek and minimalist. It writes with bold black lines and, combined with a Muji cahier, contributes to a nice peaceful journaling vibe.
Zebra Sarasa MarkOn
I use a lot of color and highlights in my notes. I also end up with a lot of smudged notes when I don’t wait long enough for ink to dry before going over it. The Sarasa MarkOn comes to the rescue with quick-drying ink that is super resistant to smudging from highlighters and other markers or pens. I use both the 0.4 and 0.5 variants.
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