One of my author friends asked for a recommendation on a smooth fast-writing gel pen. I asked a couple of my fellow stationery-obsessed friends for their opinions as well because who doesn’t like options?
My Pick — Sarasa Vintage series
The Sarasa Vintage palette invokes autumn. It’s dark enough to be professional and unique enough to give me a reprieve from the usual ballpoint blue and black. They are smooth as butter, by far the smoothest gel I’ve used. The ink is rich and vibrant. My top three shades are “Blue-gray”, “Cassis Black”, and “Camel Yellow”. I also like Dark Gray, which is a true neutral gray color. If you prefer your pens to be metal or have a heft to them, they have metallic pens as well for a premium price.
Typically, my travel pen bag contains fountain pens and a couple of mildliners but ever since I purchased these pens, I also include a couple of them as well.
Runner-up — Coleto Multi Pen
Coleto is a customizable multi-color pen. First, you purchase the barrel. There are a variety of limited edition barrels that feature popular pop-culture motifs but there are also plain barrels available. Some are premium, which means they will be made of higher quality materials and may be heavier than the normal barrel. The barrels come in 3, 4, and 5 slots. I use 4 slots. 5 is a little chunkier in width than the other two so if you like your pen barrels fat, you may prefer that one more than the slimmer models.
After picking your barrel, you get to pick your refills. There are a variety of shades and they come in .3 and .4 size. I prefer .4. It writes smoother and is an overall better experience. There are also limited edition refills that will feature unique designs on the part of the pen you push down to change colors. I have hearts, clovers, and bows for mine.
A negative is that it’s a higher price to start out because you have to buy a barrel and refills. But it is a highly customizable system and if you want to have multiple colors on the go, one of these will eliminate the need for a pen bag. For a short while, Tokyo Pen Shop has a special “My First Coleto” set that includes the barrel and four special design refills for half the cost of buying each separately!
To be honest, I would probably use mine more if I hadn’t bought one of the limited-edition barrels. I’m scared I’ll ruin it!
Special Ballpoint Mention — Uni Jetstream Multi Pen
This is not a gel pen but in the event you prefer a ballpoint, the Uniball Jetstream Multi is my pick. I first was introduced to this pen from Hobonichi Techo, as every Japan order comes with a pen for that year. Hobonichi Techos are luxury daily planners that feature a premium paper designed to handle all types of pens and art utensils such as markers and watercolor. Because of their dedication to stationery, the pen they’ve determined is the best is Uni Jetstream Multi and I have to agree. It is by far the smoothest ballpoint I have ever used in my life. I don’t use ballpoints often and so my pen from 2017 is still far from being emptied, but even after that many years have passed I have little trouble writing. Usually, ink dries out by that time and the pen doesn’t write as smoothly. It is refillable if you do get a chance to empty it. I wonder how it will write ten years from now? (I seriously don’t use ballpoints often lol)
Note: Technically Uniball Jetstream is a hybrid ballpoint and gel, but because it has more characteristics of a ballpoint I place it more in that category.
And now for my friends’ picks!
E: Sarasa Vintage — recommended color is Camel Yellow and Cassis Black
Z: Papermate Inkjoy
S: Uniball Singo DX and RT (honorable mention: Sarasa Vintage)
Where to buy?
Most stationery stores are small businesses that are run by people who have a passion for stationery. Because of that, I prefer purchasing my stationery from them as much as possible. Most of them sell fountain pens but some deal in all manners of stationery. The ones listed here sell the pens we suggested in this post. This is not sponsored. All of these pens are commercially available, so you may find them at your favorite online retailers, but why not support the stationery industry and small businesses in these trying times? 🙂
Jet Pens is one of my long-time favorites. I love their thorough product photos, informative videos, and great customer service.
Yoseka Stationery is based in NYC and they have a lovely selection of products that has a curated feel. They have some unique stuff not found in any other store, especially their washi and stationery selection.
Tokyo Pen Shop has some limited and special editions you won’t find for sale at the other pen stores. They specialize in gel pens and pencils moreso than the other stores recommended here.