Since the days of yore, when writing first became a thing, the instruments for performing this task were carefully crafted and held in high esteem for their important role in creating texts.
Nowadays, there are many ways we can create texts – from ballpoint pens, pencils to typewriters and computers.
In terms of handheld writing utensils, one of the most popular choices for many people around the world would be the category of gel pens!
In this article, we’re going to talk about gel pens in more detail and present to you a list of the 10 best gel pens for writing, so you can see what the best models are out there on the market at the moment.
Read on to learn more!
Our Favorite Best Gel Pens for Writing
Top 10 Best Gel Pens for Writing Reviews- 2022
1. PILOT – Precise P-500 Gel Ink Rolling Ball Pens
Coming from a company that boasts a writing utensil-making tradition that’s over 100 years old, this pack of pens represents the basis, budget-friendly package for anyone who enjoys using high-quality gel-based pens.
Within this package, you’ll find six pens, each having the same point thickness of 0.5mm, which is considered extra-fine in the world of writing tools.
Here are some more details about this set of pens:
Acid-Free Ink
In terms of the ink that the folks at Pilot placed in these pens, you can rest assured that it’s entirely safe for use for all sorts of purposes.
Whether it’s writing down some thoughts in your diary, filling in a form for getting a bank loan, or answering some question on an important test, this ink won’t bleed easily, and you can rest assured that it will stay where it is as long as the paper itself lasts.
There is no acid in this ink, either, so it’s perfect for writing on paper that’s suitable for archiving and generally for preserving the documents you’re creating over long periods.
Smear-Proof Gel Ink
One of the reasons these pens are suitable for writing, signing, or otherwise editing documents for archives would be that it comes with smear-proof ink.
The thing is, if the link you’re using is of such quality that it will immediately bleed as soon as you close the notebook, book, or document you’re writing in, then you have to wait for it to dry up to ensure that you won’t spoil the other pages, as well as the text you’ve written.
Thanks to this gel ink’s fast-drying capability, you won’t have any problems with this sort of arrangement, as you can close the document or book you’re writing in pretty much as soon as you finish writing, without worrying about the letters inside becoming spoiled as a result.
0.5 mm Fine Point Tips
… are a weapon of choice for folks in many different walks of life.
Whether you’re a sketch artist, a painter looking to sketch out an idea on a piece of paper, a businessman at a meeting, or simply a person who wants to keep his diary with a pen that makes fine lines, this set can be just the thing for you!
Depending on how you hold the pen and how hard you press, you can use it to pull off the thin 0.5mm lines, thicker lines, as well as lines that are both thick and thin.
Pros:
- Budget-friendly price
- Comes with 0.5mm fine point tips
- Attractive, two-tone barrel
- Smear-less gel ink
- Acid-free ink
- Safe for use on archival paper
Cons:
- Some users may not appreciate the addition of the ribbed plastic grip
2. SHARPIE – S-Gel
If you’re looking for a kind of deal where you can get a bunch of pens for the price of one (or, perhaps, a couple), getting this set from Sharpie can be just the thing for you.
The thing is, for only 13-ish bucks + the shipping costs depending on where you live, you can get 12 sharpies!
There are three different colors in this set, so you get four of each.
Read on to learn more about this deal:
Smear-Less Technology
One of the biggest problems with pens, in general, would be that they tend to make smears by bleeding excessively on the paper or some other surface you’re writing on.
The reason this happens mostly comes down to pushing too hard combined with poor construction of the ball that’s supposed to keep the ink feed at a consistent level when you write.
With this model, this won’t be a problem, as the folks at the Sharpie company made sure to make those small, simple mechanisms durable and reliable, so they won’t break the first time you push with the pen a bit harder than usual.
So, if you’re looking for a budget-friendly gel pen for writing that will give you beautiful, bleed-free lines every time, this set of 12 from Sharpie can be just the thing for you.
Medium-Point Line Width
… of 0.7 millimeters makes the pens from this set perfect for a wide variety of uses – from writing to sketching or drawing.
Of course, if you want to get a set of sharpies for drawing specifically, you may need to get some sharpies of different line widths, so you have some options to choose from. (Although it’s always a good idea to stick to just one line width when it comes to sketching and drawing – especially if you’re a beginner.)
Of course, when it comes to writing and taking notes, the width of 0.5 to 0.7 seems to be optimal, as it’s not too thick so that small letters become tough to write down and subsequently read, but also just thick enough so that you can create visible letters.
Three Colors to Choose From
In many countries, professors and teachers tend to use different pen colors to comment on the paper and give the final score (usually in red).
Of course, it’s up to the professor itself to choose their ‘weapon of choice’ to do this, but owning a set of different pens is always good news in this case.
On the other hand, you don’t need to be a professor to make good use of such pen color availability.
Whether you’re an employee taking quick notes during a business meeting, a sketch artist whole likes to use different colors in their drawings, or perhaps a technician or engineer who needs different colors for their sketchbooks, a set of 12 such as this one from Sharpie can be a nifty asset to have around.
Pros:
- Low-smear technology
- Contoured ergonomic rubber grip
- Elegant design
- Budget-friendly set of 12
- Three ink colors (black, blue, and red)
- 0.7mm- point line width
- Vivid line colors
Cons:
- Some users may not like the color range of this set
3. Uni-ball – Retractable Gel Pens
Sporting a design that has been ergonomically optimized, so to speak, this Uni-ball retractable gel pen set sets itself apart from the competition in the sense that it possesses a special sort of ink in various conditions.
There are 12 pens in this set, so you can always pick up another pen once the one you’re using runs out of ink.
Also, this set can be an excellent gift idea, especially if you have a friend or relative who constantly complains that they don’t have a pen with them.
Here are the most important features of this set:
Elegant Design
If you want to get a set of gel pens that you will be able to use for a wide variety of purposes but which will look good in your hand while you’re wielding it, this set from Uni-ball can be the perfect solution.
Of course, one other thing that makes this set a potentially interesting investment would be the low price for the entire 12-pen set.
So, you get a set of pens that both look pretty good, that produces high-quality lines, and that won’t set you back an arm and a leg.
Three-Way Protection
When it comes to the longevity of the notes, sketches, or drawings that you made using one or more of these pens, you can rest assured that it would first be the paper that will go under, so to speak, before anything compromises the quality of the ink itself!
The reason behind this is the excellent quality of the ink itself, which is completely waterproof.
So, if the pieces of paper you used to take notes on getting damp, as long as you can preserve their integrity so that it doesn’t fall apart entirely, and you manage to dry them, you can rest assured that the ink won’t smear all over the place and become impossible to read.
Also, this durability of the ink will make sure that the documents you signed with it can’t be easily forged, which prevents fraud and other similar forms of abuse.
Thirdly, the ink won’t fade over time, so no worries about keeping a document you’ve signed or your notebook in a drawer for longer periods!
Comfortable Grip
Even though pen designs don’t need to be that complex more often than not, one thing that is certainly desirable from gel pens would be a comfortable grip.
The thing is, if you’re using a gel pen, there’s a good chance that you’ll be using it fairly often and that you’ll be jotting down instructions, data, or doodling with it.
This is why the simple addition of a rubber grip can be so useful in preventing you from getting sore fingers.
Pros:
- 3-way protection (against water, fading, and fraud)
- Sleek, metallic design
- Rubber grip for increased comfort
- 12-pen set
- 0.7mm line width
- Budget-friendly price
- Available in eight different colors
Cons:
- Some users may not like the design of this unit
4. Pentel – EnerGel RTX Retractable Liquid Gel Pen
Representing a curious mixture between liquid ink and gel ink, the pens from this set can be a perfect ‘weapon of choice’ for folks who want to enjoy the fluidity of the liquid-based inks and the durability of the gel-based ones.
Thanks to its incredibly fast drying time, you can easily use this ink even if you’re left-handed!
Here are some of the most important features of this set:
Sleek Design
… of the barrel make this gel pen look professional and elegant.
If you’re a professor at a university, or you’re a person in need of a different set of pens for various other purposes, you may want to use pens that look elegant and that don’t look cheap.
This pen comes from Pentel can be a perfect choice for your needs in this department, as its stylish and elegant looks won’t make you look embarrassed at a business meeting or in front of your students.
Also, these pens will look good if you want to take a photo of your notebook, a coupe of coffee, and perhaps a couple of these pens next to them for a stock photo.
Comfortable Grip
… represents an important design addition to the barrel of this pen that ensures that your fingers won’t get sore while using this pen.
This grip is made out of rubber and is soft enough to provide your fingers comfort, but also to give them enough gripping space so that you can hold the pen safely at all times.
So, if you plan to use the pen, you’re buying for writing by hand long into the night, having a set of pens with a comfortable grip would be an important parameter to look into.
Limited Lifetime Warranty
Not many sets of gel pens come with a warranty, let alone a lifetime warranty.
However, this set from Pentel would be a rare exception, as it comes with the boldest sort of warranty a manufacturer can issue for their products – a lifetime warranty.
So, if you’re looking for a set of pens that are not only tough enough to withstand being used on a day-to-day basis all the time and whose manufacturers will stand behind it in case something goes wrong with it, this pen set from Pentel can be the perfect option for you!
Pros:
- Smooth writing experience
- Stylish barrel design
- Latex-free grip
- Refillable ink cartridge build
- Comes in a variety of beautiful colors
- Smudge-free writing
- Stainless steel tips
- Lifetime warranty
Cons:
- Some users may not like the design of these pens
5. Paper Mate – Flair Felt Tip Pens
Fancy could use different colors to write, draw, and color in drawings with ease, thanks to a set of flair felt tip pens?
This set from Paper Mate can be just the thing you were looking for in the sense that you will be able to do a lot of coloring in and writing thanks to these fun, colorful pens.
Thanks to the ink quality inside these pens, you can rest assured that they are entirely smeared and fade-resistant, so you won’t have to worry that much about the problems related to the ink penetrating through to the other side paper.
Here are some of the most important features of this set in more detail:
Fade Resistance
…, as well as smear resistance, means that you won’t have to worry that much about this model in terms of getting ink fade off of paper after a while.
These two factors contribute to the fact that you can use this ink to great effect for a wide variety of purposes – from jotting down a couple of notes during a meeting to sketching your upcoming art project, these pens from Paper Mate will enable you simple and easy usage at all times!
As far as the ink is concerned, since it’s water-based, you can rest assured that it won’t bleed all over the paper while you’re writing or drawing with one of these pens.
Bright Colors
… of the pens are there to help you get the best possible results when creating greeting cards or other forms of paper that you can use for a wide variety of purposes.
For example, if you keep a diary, using this set of pens can help you make your diary look more colorful, fun and express yourself better through the different colors that come as a part of this set.
Medium Point Line Thickness
… is perfect for a wide range of uses.
For example, if you mean to primarily use these pens for writing, then the thickness of 0.7 will be just the right thickness as it is perfect for creating beautiful letters that are easy to read.
Even if you prefer writing smaller letters, you don’t need to worry that much about them being difficult to read later on because this medium point is not so thick that the shapes of the letters become unrecognizable when writing in a smaller ‘font.’
Also, if drawing is the primary reason you’re getting these pens, you can rest assured that you will be able to pull off lines with a consistent thickness and a uniform quality to them.
Pros:
- Smear-resistant ink
- Medium point guard
- Bright colors
- High-quality felt tips
- Water-based ink
Cons:
- Some users may not like the tip on these pens
6. PILOT – FriXion Clicker Erasable, Refillable, & Retractable Gel Ink Pens
Representing a simple set of colored gel pens that you can use for writing, sketching, or for some other purpose, this PILOT model can be quite useful for a wide variety of uses.
One of the biggest points of differentiation between this model and some other models currently on the market would certainly be the fact that the ink of these pens is erasable, so you won’t have to worry that much about getting rid of some line, word, or simply a smudge that you don’t like!
Here are some of the most prominent features of this model in more detail:
7 Different Colors
I would certainly recommend for these pens would be the different colors you can use.
The colors are red, black, blue, turquoise, violet, pink, and purple, so you have some options for coloring and not only note-taking or writing.
Also, since these pens are 100% refillable, if you run out of one color quicker than the others, you can always pop in a new cartridge and continue using the pens you want to your heart’s content!
Last but not least, you can make good use of these differently-colored pens to come up with color drawings without necessarily having to color them with some other type of pen.
Erasable Ink
… represents possibly the most prominent feature of this gel pen set, as it enables you to delete the lines, letters, or other shapes you’ve made by any of these pens.
The eraser on these pens is mounted on the top, similar to the design of common lead pencils.
So, whenever you need to use it, you need to flip this pen the other way around, and you will be able to quickly correct any mistake or piece of writing or drawing you’re not satisfied with.
Comfort Grip
Since using these pens to either draw or write means you will have to grip them and keep your fingers and hands in a certain position for longer periods, you must have a pen that comes with a handgrip that you can use with ease.
These pens have a grip made out of rubber, which will cushion the stress on your fingers. You can feel this by holding these pens for hours on end.
Pros:
- Refillable design
- 7 different colors
- Thermo-sensitive gel ink
- Retractable mechanism
- Erasable ink
- Comfort grip
Cons:
- Some users may not like the colors of the pens in this set
7. BIC – Gel-ocity Quick Dry Fashion Retractable Gen Pen
Coming from one of the most well-known global brands for creating pens, lighters, as well as other small items and contraptions, this BIC Gel-ocity retractable gel pen can be a mighty weapon in your hands – whether you plan to use it for sketching, drawing, or writing.
In this set, you will find eight different colored pens, so you have some options to choose from when it comes to your favorite color for making notes and jotting down instructions from your superiors, or to your underlings at work, for example.
What you can do is write the most urgent tasks down with the red pens, orange for medium urgency ones, and green for the ones that are of the lowest priority, let’s say.
Here are some of the most important features of these pens in more detail:
Quick-Drying Ink
Perhaps the most important quality of these pens would be that they come with cartridges filled with gel ink that dries quite quickly.
This kind of quick-drying gel ink has several advantages over the slow-drying one.
The most important one would certainly be that you won’t need to worry about smearing as much – even if you open your notebook for a second to write something down and then close it immediately after during a meeting, for example.
Also, left-handed people will find using pens that have this ink way easier because they don’t have to worry about the ink staying on the palm of their hand after you’ve written a couple of words!
Retractable Design
… similar to the majority of other ball-point pens.
This design is so useful because it, first of all, preserves the tip of the pen when you’re not using it.
We’ve all had those accidents in school where you put a pen that you forgot to retract into your pocket, and the next thing you know – there is a brand new cave drawing on the inside of your pocket.
Also, another way worse scenario would be hurting yourself on the exposed tip of the pen, which can happen if you put the uncovered pen in your pocket and then have a game of football or basketball.
In such a grim situation, a funny-looking inside of your pocket would be the least of your worries.
So, having thought of both of these potential perils, the folks at BIC made sure that the pens they placed in this set all come with the retractable design.
Comfortable Grip
In terms of handling, the pens of this set are a piece of cake to write with thanks to the special rubber grip that is inbuilt in the pens themselves.
In contrast to most of the pen grip designs out there, however, the grip extends across the entirety of the pen’s barrel on these pens.
So, whatever your preferred way of holding a pen when writing, with this set, you will be touching the grip rather than the hard plastic body of the barrel itself; you can rest assured that your fingers won’t be sore after writing for a long time.
Pros:
- Full-grip barrel
- Retractable design
- Smooth writing
- Fast-drying ink (perfect for left-handed users)
- 8 different colors
Cons:
- Some users may not like the colorful design of these pens
8. PILOT – G2 Premium Refillable & Retractable Rolling Ball Gel Pens
If you’re looking for a gel pen that you can refill once the ink runs out, rather than throwing it away, this set from PILOT G2 can be a fantastic solution.
In this set, you will find five different pens, each filled with smooth black ink that will give you beautiful, uniform lines every time.
(For the record, the line thickness with these pens has been set to be 0.5mm.)
Here are a couple of other features of these pens in more detail:
A Brand with a Tradition
… would be one of the first things that attract many people to this product.
The folks at PILOT have been making pens for over 100 years, which means they’ve accumulated quite a lot of experience in the art of creating high-quality handheld writing equipment.
This G2 set represents one of the most popular sets for all sorts of purposes; whether you’re writing your seminar paper as a student, or a professor grading it, these pens can be an excellent option.
Likewise, if you work in a cubicle, these pens will certainly come in handy for jotting a line of code, a quick message, or your password and email for the new account you made.
Also, these pens can be quite useful during business meetings where their reliable design will enable you to write down whatever you need with ease!
Ergonomic Grip
While this gel pen can be used for simply jotting down some keywords during a meeting, the G2 series was primarily made to be the workhorse in your pencil case.
So, if you have an upcoming project where you have to work hard all day and use a pen, for the most part, a sharpie coming from a package marked with “G2” can be the perfect tool for the job.
Another reason why you might want to consider using these gel pens for writing long hours would be the ergonomic grip that they come with.
To make your life easier and to reduce the pressure on your fingers, the folks at PILOT made sure to include a gripping rubber area, so to speak, on each of their pens, so you can get a lot more done before you need to take a break.
Refillable Cartridges
One of arguably the best things about this model would be that you can refill it with a new cartridge when you run out of ink in one of the pens from this package.
The cartridges are easy to replace, so you won’t have to worry that much about getting your fingers all dirty in the process.
If you take good care of your pens, you could use them for years or even decades, since all you need is to change the cartridge now and then!
Pros:
- Comfortable rubber grip
- Refillable ink cartridges
- A respected brand with a 100-year pen-making history
- 0.5 mm uniform line thickness
- Elegant pen design
Cons:
- Some users may not like the black ink color in this model
9. Pentel – EnerGel RTX Retractable Liquid Gel Pen
In case you’re looking for a pen that you can use to produce ultra-thin letters and words, you’ll be glad to hear that this set from Pentel contains three pens, each equipped with an ultra-thin tip of 0.3mm.
Although this thickness is probably the smallest commercially sold out there on the market, you can use these pens for writing, the same way you would use a pen that comes with a 0.5mm tip.
Of course, thanks to its ultra-thinness, the pens coming from this set can also lend themselves to some other uses, including note-taking on the margins of some documents, as well as drawing!
Here are some more details about this set of three:
Fast-Drying Ink
One of the best things about this gel pen set would certainly be its fast-drying ink, which ensures that your writing, note-taking, or sketching will be pretty much smudge and smear-free.
The reason why this ink dries so quickly would be in its composition, which is half ink and half gel, which tends to be much less smearable.
Another reason why the ink from these pens tends to dry even faster than that in some of the other pens out there on the market would be the thickness of the lines themselves.
Thanks to the ultra-thin tip of just 0.3mm, there’s not much ink that comes out of it when you press it against the paper – which makes the gel-ink combo that does make it to the paper dry considerably faster than if the tip was bigger.
Latex-Free Grip
… makes holding and using this pen daily a comfortable experience with minimal hand and finger-straining.
The thing is, if you use these pens often, the presence or absence of a pen grip can make a lot of difference.
So, to prevent their customers from having problems with their fingers hurting after using one of the extra thin-pointed models from this set, the folks at Pentel decided it was a good idea to add a special grip that will make your writing experience smoother and less straining on your fingers and hands.
Also, in case you’re allergic to latex, the good news is that this grip is made out of a special kind of latex-free rubber!
Multiple Uses
In terms of what you can use this pen for, you’re pretty much only limited by the color of the ink of the pen set you’ve got.
In this review, we’re talking about a set of three where all three pens are filled with black ink, but there are also Pentel models out there that come in different colors!
What’s more, they also come with different tip thicknesses so that you can choose from 0.3mm, 0.5mm, as well as 0.7mm – depending on which thickness suits your needs the best.
So, if you do decide to get a set from Pentel that includes colored pens, you can add drawings and fill in coloring books as another way to use these pens.
The quick-drying ink certainly recommends them to be used as a drawing tool, in addition to their main purpose, which is writing.
Pros:
- Ultra-fine tip (0.3mm)
- Fast-drying ink
- Latex-free rubber grip
- Easily refillable
- Smear and smudge-free
- Suitable for drawing, writing, sketching, note-taking, and so on
Cons:
- Some users may not like the ultra-thin tip
10. PILOT – G2 Premium Refillable & Retractable Rolling Ball Gel Pens
Fancy having a set of pens that you can use to write, sketch, draw, and even color in some coloring book or a drawing of your own?
Are you sick and tired of having ink stains on your hand because you’re a leftie?
Well, if the answer to both of these questions is a ‘YES’ (or at least to the first one), this set of pens coming from the well-known PILOT company can be just the thing you were looking for.
Read on to learn more about this set in the passages below:
Rubber Grip
… that ensures that your hand won’t get sore even after a couple of hours of using one of the pens from this package.
The thing is, while gripping these pens with your fingers can’t damage your fingers too badly even if you write for long periods on a day-to-day basis, these tiny wounds can certainly cause discomfort.
Thus, the folks at PILOT built in these comfort grips so that you can use these pens for as long as you wish while bringing the degree of damage to your fingers to the minimum, thanks to these pens.
The rubber grip on these pens is soft and feels comfortable while providing you enough grip to prevent the pen from sliding from underneath your fingers if you get sweaty.
Retractable Design
One of the most irritating things about gel pens is that you can impale yourself on one if you’re not careful because of their design.
Some manufacturers resolve this issue by including a special cap to go with the pen that protects it when it’s not in use.
Alternatively, the other option here would be the retractable design, which lets you retract the pen’s tip when you’re not using it so that it’s safe inside the pen’s barrel.
This set of pens has that second design, so you don’t need to worry about damaging the tip of your gel pen or hurting yourself while using it!
Quick-Drying Ink
As we already hinted at in the opening paragraph of this review, the quick-drying ink makes it easy to write quickly without worrying about having the bottom part of your palm dirty – if you’re a leftie.
The thing is, one of the most irritating things that left-handed people experience when it comes to using gel pens would be the fact that some traces of the ink will inevitably show on your skin as you’re writing the lines of text. (Unless you’re writing in Arabic.)
Of course, you can avoid this by simply lifting your hand from the paper while writing, but that would make for a lousy writing experience that would likely result in hand cramps sooner or later.
With this sort of quick-drying ink, you won’t have to worry about leaving smudges all over your paper while writing with your hand!
Pros:
- Comfortable grip
- Retractable design
- Refillable build
- Smooth writing experience
- Different colored pens
Cons:
- A bit expensive
Best Gel Pens for Writing Buyer’s Guide
Erasable Ink
When you’re using a pencil to sketch something, in case you make a mistake, getting rid of it is as simple as using an eraser.
With gel-based pens, typically, you don’t have this option, as the ink that’s a gel cannot be removed from the paper.
That said, this goes for the vast majority of gel-based inks, but there are some exceptions.
So, if you’re interested in getting a gel ink-based pen but one that you can erase your mistakes and smudges when you make them, make sure to check in the online description of the pen or on the box if the ink inside is erasable.
Quick-Drying Ink
Another important ink-related property of gel pens would be how quickly their ink dries once it comes in contact with the paper.
Generally speaking, the rule of thumb is that the quicker this happens, the better.
One group of users, in particular, may benefit from quick-drying ink, and that would be left-handed.
The thing is, if you’re left-handed, writing with a pen that comes with ink that dries pretty much immediately as you write means you won’t have to worry that much about having smudges on the palm of your hand.
Also, quick-drying ink reduces the potential for creating smudges generally – whether the user is left or right-handed.
Point Thickness
Typically, gel pens are made for finer points and are best used for writing or note-taking, although they can also be used for drawing if you want. (Especially the colored pens can be used for drawing and coloring.)
Now, as far as the values of the point sizes are, you will most often encounter four different sizes – 0.3mm, 0.5mm, 0.7mm, and 1mm.
The 0.3 is the ultra-thin point, while the 1mm one is the thickest one.
Colors
Gel pens can come in a wide variety of colors.
Whether you prefer blue gel pens that remind you of ballpoint pens in terms of how the color looks on the page, or you’d rather go for a black pen for more contrast against white paper, gel pens for writing come in all kinds of colors.
When it comes to gel pens for coloring, you have even more choice, as different manufacturers offer pens in red, green, turquoise, pink, purple, yellow, you name it!
The great thing about these gel pen sets is that you can choose if you want the set to be made up of pens that are all the same color so that you can change them easily, or you want a set of 10 that are all different colors, for example.
Refillable Cartridges
… can make your life much easier if you tend to stick to just one sort of pen for all of your needs.
Refillable cartridges mean that you won’t have to throw away the pen you like just because it’s run out of ink. (Or, rather, gel.)
Instead, you can replace the cartridge with a new full one and continue using the pen as before!
How to Store Gel Pens?
While storing pens isn’t exactly nuclear science, different sorts of pens should be stored in various ways to ensure that you can use them for a long time.
As far as gel-based pens are concerned, the important thing to remember is that you should store them upside down – but only for a couple of days.
If you keep them this way for months, you run the risk of the gel-based ink inside them slowly sliding down (that is up, if you’re storing them upside down), which can create an air bubble in the lower part, rendering the pen useless – unless there is a pressure-based mechanism.
For long-term storage, when gel-based pens are in question, you’d probably be best off keeping your pens horizontally as this way, there is no risk of the gel inside going to just one part of the cartridge.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Are Gel Pens Good for Writing?
Gel pens represent one of the best commercial writing utensils currently on the market.
They are so good for writing because they use a mixture of ink and gel, which is not as viscous as pure ink alone, so the writing experience is considerably smoother when using a gel pen compared to an ink pen.
Also, one other thing that you may want to consider is that gel pens tend to be more precise thanks to their finer tips, so using gel pens may mean fewer smudges and smears than what you’d have with regular ones ball-point pens.
Which Pen is Best for Handwriting – Gel or Ball?
When it comes to writing speed, rollerball pens tend to be the fastest, thanks to their ball design which makes the pen tip slide across the paper.
That said, they tend to be messy if you’re not careful and don’t offer much in terms of precise writing.
On the other hand, if precise writing is your priority, what you may want to consider would be that gel pens are way better for precise writing.
Also, they can be used to write fast, but you’d probably need a finer point gel pen for the writing experience to be smoother.
Which is Faster – Gel or Ball?
Out of the two, gel pens are typically the ‘weapon’ of choice if you want to write faster without making a mess.
The thing is, since gel pens use gel, which is water-based, as opposed to ink, which is much thicker, you can write more quickly with a gel-based pen.
Also, you can write more quickly and with fewer smudges and smears, thanks to the fast-drying property of the gel. (Which typically dries considerably more quickly than ink.)
Is .5, or 0.7 Finer?
When it comes to the thickness of a pen tip, the lower the number, the less thick it is.
That is – the finer it is.
So, between 0.5 and 0.7, the 0.5 one would be finer.
There are also even finer tips that go down to 0.3 and super thick ones that are 1mm in diameter.
Do Gel Pens Bleed?
Typically, they don’t.
Since water-based gels don’t penetrate paper but rather stick on its surface, bleeding through the paper usually isn’t a problem unless the paper is quite thin.
That said, if you’re using regular paper thickness (such as from a notebook, for example), you probably won’t have to worry about your gel pen bleeding any time soon.
Final Words
Have a pen you can rely on at all times when you’re at an important business meeting. You need to jot down some quick details about an upcoming contract, as well as when you’re writing a new entry in your diary, which can mean the difference between having a comfortable writing experience and pulling your hair every time you need to write someone’s phone number on a napkin.
So, whether you’re looking for the best gel pens for writing, sketching, or drawing, we hope that you’ve managed to pin down a set that you like from the top 10 list above.