Zebra PenSarasa Dry X20 Retractable Gel Pen, Fine Point, 0.5mm, Black Ink, 12-Pack (46710)

I had some of these gifted to me from a coworker. These write fantastic on pretty much anything! Some pens write ok on lined paper but not on self-sticking notes. Some pens are completely opposite100% pleased with these and will order more as I use these every day.

These are my favorite pens to write with. The ink/gel flows out of the pen almost like magic. No issues with fading or clogging. The blue is my favorite one to use for newspaper crossword puzzles. Easy to grip and can handle being thrown at a bottom of a briefcase without breaking.

So the Zebra Sarasa Gel ink Pens in 0.5mm are my all-time favorite writing instrument. I'm a bit of a pen snob, so I don't take that statement lightly. It's an incredibly smooth pen, but you can feel it drag across the paper, which is really for clean-looking print. The pen itself has a nice barrel-size with a comfortable grip, and I find that my hand doesn't as badly as it does with others pens I've used, considering I'm a bit of a heavy writer, and that it is ultimately a very comfortable pen to write with.The ink itself is nice and bold, it dries quickly, and I've never experienced it smearing or smudging while note-taking or working out math problems. I'm also a huge fan of Zebra Mildliners, and I find that when highlighting something I've recently written down, only when I press firmly with the Mildliner or make multiple, fast runs over the ink does smudge or smear, if at all. As a heavy writer, I find that this pen doesn't railroad at all, insuring that my print is bold and crisp, even when drawing long, fast lines.These pens aren't perfect by any means, and I do experience one problem with them: Sometimes when writing, the ball mechanism on the tip of the pen will stick for a bit, never more than say a single letter, but I do find this rather annoying at times. I'm not sure if this has to do with me pressing too firmly on the paper with the pen, or if this is a fault of the tip mechanism. Either way, this issue is far from enough to warrant demoting this pen from its position as my favorite, as it's extremely infrequent.

Writes thin with no smudging

This is a great pen, with fast-drying ink. I prefer the 0.7 mm version.After significant use, sometimes the writing tip does not protrude as when new, and the reason is that the pusher-and-clip tailpiece has popped out a bit, and needs to be pushed back in place.Sometimes I see that the ink develops a bubble, which can lead to a premature end-of-life.The writing is similar to, and possibly slightly less smooth than, the Pilot G2 gel ink pens (which take longer to dry).

I have taught 22 years at the college, and this is my all-time pen. I have tried tons, and this is absolute best one for me.The ink comes out easy and fast, and it dries before my hand makes a smudge. This is not common with gel pens. The others ones I've tried have smeared. That is a key consideration.When I use pens almost every day of the world, then I need a comfortable pen. This one is the right size for my hands (large - my finger length is at the size to palm a basketball though my ring size is 7.5). The black cushion really does make a huge difference and takes the major stress off my hands.Another feature that is nice that the top part of the barrel is clear. I know when I'm getting close to empty on ink and can plan accordingly. It is no fun at all to be making grading notes and suddenly end up out of ink.Sarasa also has a multi-color set which I love. The colors are pretty, and I can color code. For example, I can use a certain color for all run on sentences or sentence fragments so that students know where they need to do extra work.It has been about five years since I have used any pen other than Sarasa. They honestly are THAT good. I use them at work and home. So, if you need a comfortable pen for lots of writing, then this one is thumbs up.

I bought a Sarasa pen from Japan while visiting this year. I really wanted to find a pen that is as good. I'm not sure if the Japanese Sarasa pens are made by the same company but they are basically the same and I love them!

Perfect pen for lefties fast drying ink as advertised