Pentel PENBL30A EnerGel NV Gel Pen, Stick, Bold 1 mm, Black Ink, Gray/Black Barrel, Dozen, Price/DZ

By far and away my favorite pens. I love their smoothness - no drag, and the amount of ink that they deposit without smearing. The people who have borrowed these pens from me never fail to remark on what a great pen they are. I gave our counselor and principal a box as gifts b/c they liked them so much.

slightly wider ball for bolder lines

I really love these pens. Nice thick line, not clumpy at all!

Smooth and clear writing tool. These are the best pens that I have used in several years. They always give a bold line with no skips or smudges. There is little friction between the pen and paper. Highly recommend.

However, the 0.5mm fine is the best choice for writing personal checks. Pentel also sells 0.7mm medium pens.

Pens must, surely, have as dependable and stable a market as any basic commodity. I can also understand that new models have to be brought out at intervals, because the competition always will if you don't. However these days there is no status in pens any more. Very upscale users can be viewed clasping, without the slightest self-consciousness, the cheapest ballpoints. or the free handouts come to that. It just seems to be a matter of running to stay in the same place for the ballpoint tycoons.<br /><br />However the makers of these new pens promise 'the ultimate writing experience' whatever that is. I have been using their new pen for a few days now, and I have had to conclude that I would not know an ultimate writing experience, perhaps because, in this era of typing and texting, I, like most others, hardly ever write any more. I find nothing to criticise in any aspect of this pen, whether ergonomically or in use. It is a Pentel production, so I like to think that the best quality can be simply assumed. That left me nothing else to do by way of preparing a review and assessment than to check whether others were finding virtues that I should not have missed. Again I drew a blank. Did they, for instance, speak of little else in my local cafes than the liquid gel that the manufacturers seem so proud of? Well, no. It probably is an advance in pen-technology, but as soon as this pen has swollen the rout of ballpoints wearing their honours out in my own large collection I shall have forgotten all about liquid gel.<br /><br />I had better say again that I have no criticism of this new pen, but it is very rarely that I find anything to criticise in any pen -- for instance, my pens hardly ever leak or smudge, so I can't really praise any particular specimen for being guiltless in that regard. By any ordinary standards I would have awarded 5 stars here, but the awkward fact remains that the price being asked for it at the moment is more than I would have been prepared to pay. Roll on Market Forces.