A thread that absolutely nobody asked for but I’m tired of studying the beans and need a break: pen rankings

The classic G2: everyone’s first favorite pen. Great clickability, great color variety. Unfortunately only comes in black for the 0.38mm tip. Smears if you don’t wait long enough. Will get stolen by attendings. 7/10

Papermate inkjoy: these write like BUTTER, especially on the glossy First Aid pages. Fantastic color range, smooth silicon grip, and great clickability. No 0.38mm these are up and coming, will be stolen by attendings. 9/10

Pilot juice: I have these in 0.5mm and love them. They also come in 0.38mm. Decent color range and good clickability. Similar to G2s, they smear if you don’t wait. The blue-black is the same as pathoma blue so it’s great for coordinating annotations. May be stolen. 8.3/10

Sharpie gels: these are new to the gel pen game. Good clickability, decent smoothness. I haven’t written with them enough to know about smearing on First Aid. Will likely be stolen by attendings. 7/10

Sakura micron 005: I AM OBSESSED WITH THESE. They’re 0.2mm! SUPER FINE. Perfect for annotating First Aid, do not smear, do not bleed. Unfortunately not gel but... we all have our faults. No clickability. Expensive, but likely won’t be stolen by attendings. 9.5/10

Pentel: I have a distinct memory of stealing these from my dad’s desk as a kid. They sparked my pen obsession. Very smooth pen but smears and no clickability. Higher chance of leaking. Limited color range. May or may not get stolen by attending, depends on cap availability 6.7/10

Any glitter, scented, or set that has 25+ pens: let’s be honest, you were probably given this as a gift. They write like they have 5mm tips and *will* skip like no other. No clickability and half the colors won’t show on paper. Great for starting a kid’s pen obsession tho. 5/10

If there is a pen that you would like for me to review, pls feel free to Venmo me so I can purchase said pen and review it. Thank you for ur participation in this very important research-based ranking. Venmo: nabihahkumte

Pilot precise V5: I don’t own these but I borrowed one from my tutor during M1 to write notes during a session. Similar to the G2s IMO but what caught my attention was the deco collection because of the cool print. These *will* grab attendings’ attention and be stolen. 8/10

Staedtler triplus fineliner: I’ll be honest, the only reason I have these is because I stole them from my little sister. They’re nice but not gel. don’t smear, sometimes bleed on regular paper. No clickability. case is nice and does the neat stand. Likely won’t be stolen, 7/10

Papermate flair: great color variety, but thick felt tip. I hear teachers love these because they’re great for grading and I’d agree. Not ideal for annotating. Not sure they’d be stolen by attendings, would definitely be stolen by teachers though. 6/10

Bic cristal- not gel, def bold tip. I went through an entire pack during M1 biochem. They’re smooth but the thickness is not ideal for annotating. Doesn’t smear (unless extra thicc drop of ink spills out.) No grip so plastic can be painful after long periods. May be stolen, 6/10

Stabilo: another set that I only own because I stole from my little sister. Very similar to Staedtler. Great color variety. Used these when I made calligraphy headings for notes (lasted like... 2 days lol) good for adult coloring books. No clickability. Won’t be stolen, 6/10

Ordered some Muji pens and they should arrive by Friday so that review will be then. I also went to Michael’s to check out the variety they had and sampled a couple great (and some not-so-great) pens so buckle up kiddos

Staedtler pigment liner: a little pricier but comes in a variety of sizes for all your writing needs. Small range of color variety. I tried the 0.05 and thought it was comparable to the Sakura micron 005 but somehow... even finer. No clickability. Likely won’t be stolen, 8/10

Pilot varsity: good color variety but I mostly liked the fountain tip because it made me feel fancy I think it was 0.7 or 1.0mm though. It could’ve been the particular pen I tried but it skipped a little. Smears. No clickability but WILL be stolen due to fanciness of tip. 7/10

Zebra fountain pen: pretty much the exact same review as the pilot varsity but cheaper. Tbh I didn’t even realize I was using a different brand until I looked at them a second time. Again, will be stolen due to how fancy the fountain tip looks (but writes like a normal pen) 7/10

Gelly roll: listen... these are only fun on dark paper. I tried the white and yellow on black paper and it was cool but I don’t think they’re useful for daily use. Maybe cool for an inverted adult coloring book. No clickability. Didn’t check for smearing but probably does. 6.3/10