What on Earth spurred a blog post about pens? Well, this week there were some really great sales at Office Depot and Staples on pens. Not quite sure if it’s National Pen Week but the bargains were too hard to resist.

I thought it’d be kind of fun to share my all-time favorite pens, counting down to my “can’t live without” pen – and I’ll share with you the “new to me” pens I hauled later in the post.

I’ve only had these following two pens for about three months. Staedtler Triplus Fineliner (0.3mm) and Paper Mate Flair (Medium – 1.0mm) are both felt tip pens. I noticed that they are quite popular in the planner community, which is why I decided to give both a try. I find that they’re great for doodling, but not right for what I was looking for my planners. My Erin Condren Life Planner is in the vertical format, so using either of these pens would take up too much space. They also have too much drag for my liking. However, I do enjoy both pens for other purposes, so no wasted money there.

Meet the uni-ball micro 207 (0.5mm) and 207 (0.7mm). The 207 was my number 1 favorite for a long time after my grandfather introduced them to me years ago. Their shtick is that their ink prevents check counterfeiting checks – such that the ink can’t be “washed” off. As the years rolled on and I played with other pens, I started noticing that it wasn’t quite as amazing as its peers. My biggest peeve is that they don’t last as long and eventually the ink starts skipping, which is a shame. However, that problem seems to occur only with my 207s, the micro 207 doesn’t share the same issue.

Now here’s where it gets incredibly tough. I’m down to two incredible pens. I can’t decide which I love more – the Pentel EnerGel (o.7mm Metal Tip) or the Pilot G-2 (0.38mm, 0.5mm, and 0.7mm). After moving away from my uni-ball I found the EnerGel. I had loved it for a little over year, when suddenly they changed the tip of the pen.

I enjoy the metal tip which is the standard tip you’d see on all the other gel pens. Then the problem of the needle tip arose. It didn’t change the quality of the pen or its ease of use, but my anal retentive self couldn’t accept the new tip.

This week, with the help of one of my favorite make-up buying enabler Nouveau Cheap I found out that Staples had the EnerGel on sale for $0.60/ea. On a whim, I went to Staples and discovered they were all metal tip! The angels in my head were singing so loud, I didn’t realize the damage I did until I got home. But look how pretty they all are! It’s amazing how bold and smooth the writing is. Their biggest selling point is that the ink dries much more quickly than other gel pens, which is great for lefties like me.

Now here we are at the pen I grab for the most, and seriously use on a daily basis – the Pilot G-2. There are three sizes and the most common is the G-2 07 which I have in multiple colors. This pen, I feel, lasts a really long time before running out. There’s zero skip or drag while writing. I use the the G-2 0.38 in my ECLP and it works and fits perfectly. The G-2 05 is the newest addition to the family, and strangely enough I find it’s more thin that the 0.38. I love how it comes in a bajillion colors (even metallics) and the occasional LE barrels are always fun.

Now here are the “new to me” pens I grabbed this week. So far the Pilot Frixion has BLOWN my mind. It’s a gel pen that erases. What the WHAT? It comes in two forms – with a cap and retractable. It’s not as bold as other black gel pens, but it’s not a problem for me. When I first tried out the pen, I couldn’t believe my eyes, and had to do it again and one more time again. Mind. Blown.

The other pen is the Zebra G-301. I was attracted to it because of the slim metal barrel that fits perfectly in my Webster Pages Color Crush Planner. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this pen yet. I will have to play with it a little more. I had another favorite pen by Zebra, the Jimnie. I loved that pen so much that I really ran the ink down to its last drop. My only gripe with it, was that it was a capped pen – I wish they made it in a retractable form.

I can’t believe I was able to babble on about PENS for this long. But when I was in middle school, I was ALL about gel pens. I collected them like they were pretty much going out of style. I wish I knew were they all went.

Till next time, loves.