After trying many many different pen brands, these are my current top 5 favorite pens!
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1. Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel 0.7mm
These pens write so smoothly. They’re quite pricey but worth it – the colors are really vibrant and ideal for color coding.
There’s a bigger pack with more colors.
I almost exclusively use the yellow pen in this brand as you can actually see the ink very clearly.
Related post: Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel 0.7mm dupes
I also really like their ballpoint pen version (very cheap too!)
2. Frixion Erasable (0.7mm)
These pens erase with heat, write smoothly and come in a variety of colors (including decent colors for color coding).
Related: My all time favorite planner pens: Pilot Frixion Erasable Pens Review
A similar erasable pen is the Creative Devotion although they don’t come in as many colors as the Frixion and are harder to find.
3. Schneider Topliner
A recent find in Switzerland, these pens comes in all the colors you need for color coding, they glide across the page and the ink doesn’t skip at all.
Related post: Europe stationery haul!
4. Staedtler Triplus Fineliner
I saw these pens but didn’t buy them for ages as I was put off by the 0.3mm pen tip – I normally don’t use a pen tip below 0.7mm. However, the colors were so nice and there was such a large range (with multiple shades of each color to choose from!) that I caved and got them. I was pleasantly surprised! They write smoothly and the 0.3mm tip feels (and looks) like it’s a larger tip size.
Read more: 5 Pen brands that are similar but cheaper than the Staedtler Triplus Fineliner 0.3mm
5. Parkoo Gel pens
These write very smoothly with no ink skipping. They smudge less than other gel pens.
More pen reviews:
- Highlighters vs. Highlighter Pencils: Are they worth the cost?
- Cheap versus expensive pens: is there actually a difference in quality?
- Planner pens I don’t recommend (prone to smearing, bleed through etc.)
- 5 expensive pen brands that are worth the money (I have no regrets for splurging on them!)
- How to store planner pens (5 ways – and my favorite method!)
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Inkjoys – both the ballpoint and the gel are my favorites, with the Papermate flairs a close second! I think I’m going to need to try the Triplus Fineliners now after seeing them…Hi, my name is Alison and I have a pen problem. LOL!
haha, I have a pen problem too 🙂 The Triplus fineliners are so worth it – they also come in a smaller pack with just 10 colors which is a lot cheaper.
Your top 2 are my favorites also! I have some staedler and flair pens among others. Thanks for sharing – where did you find so many frixion pens in so many colors? They are hard to find.
Hi Estelle, the pen display is at my local Big W here in Australia. The Frixion pens are everywhere in Europe and are becoming more common in Australia e.g. Officeworks. My sister also has them in her online store (she ships worldwide): http://carefullycrafted.com.au/pilot-frixion-ball-erasable-gel-pens-set-of-8/
Where did you purchase the acrylic pen drawer container in the first photo?
Hi Linda, the acryclic drawers were from eBay. There’s tons of them on there so make sure you check the dimensions as some are really small (avoid the ones that say ‘makeup’ drawers).
My all-time favorite pen is the Paper Mate Inkjoy Gel 0.7MM. I happened to find a 14 count (I think) on sale for $10. I would pay full price for these pens, if I have too.