The Best Gel Pens for Bullet Journaling

Today I’m going to be comparing all the “best” gel pens to see which is truly the best for your bullet journal. For most of my bullet journal’s life, I’ve only used fineliners when I needed to write in black which works great! But sometimes you want to write a lot at once and you want a quick and smooth writing experience, which is what gel pens are perfect for. So I started branching out and trying different brands to see what I like best.

I’m going to compare drying time, the feel/smoothness, and the look of the gel pens. To keep the test consistent and fair, I’m only testing the black version of each pen. Of course everyone has different opinions on what makes the perfect pen, so my conclusion might be different than yours. But hopefully you can use my results to decide which ones to try out for yourself.

I’m going to rank the pens in order from 1-5 for each category, with #1 being my favorite. I know there are a lot more gel pens in the world, like a lot, but I tried to narrow it down to some of the most popular. I tried to also pick the ones that are easier to find in stores because a lot of times ordering pens from Amazon you have to get a large quantity, which is fine once you know you like the pen, but you don’t want to end up with 12 of the same pen that you hate.

The Pens

• Pentel EnerGel
• Pilot G2 Premium Gel Roller
• Papermate InkJoy Capped Gel Pen
• Pilot Hi-Tec-C Gel Ink Pen
• Zebra Sarasa Gel Ink Pen

Drying Time

I did a one second and a three second smudge test for each pen. I wrote the same thing for each one, counted to a second (or three) and then ran my finger over it to see how much it smudged.

1. Pentel Energel– The Energel blew me away with how quickly it dried. You can hardly see any smear from the one second test and it was completely dry by the 3 second mark.
2. Papermate Inkjoy– The Inkjoy had minimal smudging at the one second mark, and was completely dry by the 3 second mark.
3. Pilot Hi-Tec-C– The Hi-Tec-C smudged quite a bit at the 1 second mark, but was mostly dry by the 3 second.
4. Pilot G-2– This is a very smudgy pen. Even after three seconds it still smudged.
5. Zebra Sarasa– This pen smudged A LOT at both the one second and three second mark.

Smoothness

1. Papermate Inkjoy– This pen is so smooth, without being slippery. It’s one of my favorites to write with in my journal.
2. Pilot G-2- This pen is so smooth, like almost too smooth, which is why I’m putting it second. It’s great if your paper isn’t super smooth or high quality, but for most bullet journals this gel pen is too slippery.
3. Pentel Energel– The Energel writes pretty smooth considering how quickly the ink dries. It’s not as juicy as the G2 or the Inkjoy, but I think that’s a compromise for not smudging. It’s an overall pleasant writing experience.
4. Zebra Sarasa– The Sarasa doesn’t write very smoothly. I almost didn’t believe that it was a gel pen at first. it’s not terrible, but it’s also not good.
5. Pilot Hi-Tec-C– The tip on the Hi-Tec-C is SO small and so scratchy. It also feels very fragile, like it could break if you write to hard. I don’t enjoy writing with this pen.

Look/Aesthetic

To a “regular” person the look of a pen might be completely irrelevant, but for a stationery lover it can have a big impact on how you judge a pen. It’s not the most important aspect, and if the pen writes amazingly, you could probably overlook it, but we are trying to find the BEST gel pen today.

1. Papermate Inkjoy– Keep in mind the make a capped Inkjoy and a clicky one. I always prefer the look and functionality of a capped pen. I think this pen has a very sleek design and I really like the smooth rubber accents.
2. Pilot G2– This is a nice classic looking pen. I think the tinted plastic makes it look a little more upscale than a cheap pen. It’s a very sleek and simple design.
3. Pentel Energel– I like the look of this pen, but the plastic does FEEL slightly cheap. But I like the silver accents and the rubber grip.
4. Zebra Sarasa– The Sarasa looks like a cheaper version of the Pilot G2. It’s not ugly, but it’s also not great looking.
5. Pilot Hi-Tec-C– This pen reminds me of a cheap Bic pen. The plastic feels and looks cheap, I don’t like the way the cap goes on, and it’s just overall an ugly pen.

The Winner

Based on the the drying time, smoothness, and look, the BEST gel pen you can get for your bullet journal is the Papermate Inkjoy Capped Gel Pen. This is the one gel pen I find myself reaching for to use in my journal. My LEAST favorite gel pen would have to be the Pilot Hi-Tec-C because I don’t like the way it looks, feels, or writes.

What’s y’all’s favorite gel pens for your journal? Have y’all tried any of these before? Let me know!