Infinity
I LOVE these pens: they make writing so much easier on my arthritis-riddled hands, with smooth movement laying down enough ink with a single pass/stroke so I don't feel compelled to write over the first letters/numbers/etc. to darken them more &/or fill in gaps in the lines that were supposed to be solid the first time.
I do, in contrast, tend to have to do that with cheaper pens that are obvious copies of these much higher-quality Pilot G2 pens. My wife bought some much cheaper ones that looked almost identical, so I’d been using those up before restocking my Pilot G2 supply. It was clear to me from the first moment I began to write with the cheaper pens that they were not worth the lesser cost, regardless of the difference in the amounts. I didn’t even bother to see how much they saved us, because I knew I’d be returning to Pilot G2s & never choosing the cheap ones regardless (and savings are important for us to gain whenever reasonably possible, which is why my wife responsibly thought it was at least worth trying the cheaper ones).
These Pilot G-2 pens (I tend to use 0.7mm thickness: “Fine,” by the way) make writing a delight. In contrast with cheaper pens, these lay down solid lines without breaks in them & without weak spots where gaps in the lines (that are supposed to be solid) or variable amounts of ink that almost produce gaps make what I wrote harder to read. As noted, I nearly always end up tracing over what I’ve already written when using the cheaper pens in order to fill in those gaps and uneven amounts of ink laid down, which means I’m not saving as much money as it might seem with those cheaper pens. I never need to make multiple passes over the exact same lines/words/numbers/etc. with my trusty Pilot G2, thus using less ink than when essentially writing the same thing multiple times. I also don’t waste so much ink (compared with cheaper ones that do) trying to get the ink flowing again when they start to run low. You know, you first pick up the pen and begin to write, and nothing appears on the page but the indentation. But you know there’s still ink in there. So you scribble in little circles or whatever to get it working again before returning to your task. Well, I don’t find myself doing that normally with Pilot G2 pens, whereas I DO have to do that A LOT more with less ex-pen-sive pens, thus making the cheaper ones waste more ink that way, also wasting time, and annoyingly disrupting the flow of my task at hand (no pun intended, which is good, because I confess that would’ve been a very bad pun). Having to make a resistant cheap pen give me ink &/or a more solid line again also can hinder the often very positive feelings I can get when I have something I feel compelled to write down, and the cost of diminished pleasure should go into calculations of “cost-effectiveness,” imho, as well as consideration of the fact that having a pen stop you from quickly jotting down a seemingly inspired thought can actually lessen the inspiration that drove that impulse (another “cost” of cheaper pens, imo). Finding my mind fully excited by an idea I want to get on paper as quickly as possible as to not stop the flow of thought that is both so very pleasurable and productive, I realize how cheap pens that save a little money at the time of purchase are in actuality very ex-pensive (if you’re not groaning, irritated, or smiling at the end of that sentence, please be more pensive for just a moment about what my hyphenation might have intended. <*pause*> Now that the attempt at penpunation is clear to everyone, please forgive me).
In addition to laying down a nice, thick (you can choose line thickness to your preference; that's the "0.7mm = Fine" etc. specification), solid line, as noted these Pilot G2 pens reliably offer was especially obvious to me as being of great significance immediately after I switched back to my favorite Pilot G2 pens (this product) after using the cheaper knock-offs (different brand). As is the case for me, this is especially important if you write a lot and/or can have pain from writing (whether due to something like arthritis, hand injury, nerve damage, writing a heckuva lot, etc.). I was actually thrilled at how easily the pen moved on the page, making it very easy on my hands that can very easily get sore from writing with cheaper pens (and write away! he he). I never thought I’d be happy about using a particular pen rather than another. But I write a lot and whereas cheap pens cause pain almost immediately for me, these Pilot G2 don’t EVER seem to do so, and that’s a huge difference making cheaper pens much more costly when all is said and done. The value of not having pain (vs. definitely having pain) & not having a tool slow down my creative processes or impede them by making writing unpleasant due to pain, hand fatigue, & having to go over the lines I’ve already written makes these Pilot G2 pens MUCH less costly to me, regardless of the fact that these cost more at first glance (i.e., looking at the dollar & cents price alone).
By the way, refills are sold, making it easy to avoid creating unnecessary trash when your G-2 expires. I think that's great as someone who tries to be as environment-friendly as possible. My only complaint with these pens is that, from what I've seen (looking at many, but not nearly all sales here at Amazon of these pens & refills), refills don't seem to save money. It even seemed that it might be cheaper to buy new pens than to buy refills, which doesn't encourage reusing the pens via using refills like I wish it would. Thus, if any relevant Pilot employees who affect relevant pricing policies get wind of this review, please note that it would be great if you could lower the prices to your distributors of refills in order to encourage their use! (I realize that the much larger production of pens vs. refills likely drives pen cost down relative to refills, but still…).
And I encourage buyers to look around to find refills at a decent price for reasons of social/environmental responsibility, if not also to save money. If anyone reading this finds a supplier selling refills at a really good price, please let us all know via a “Comment” in response to this review. It might require a “bulk” package, but if it’s not too awfully large a quantity for individual/home use, I’d be very happy to do the write thing (I know: another pitiful attempt at a penpun) and buy refills, rather than buying new pens every time just to save a little money. Regardless, however, I’ll be buying Pilot G2 pens: yes, it’s clearly the write choice. I may not have learned how to write puns yet, but I learned from our attempt to save money via buying cheaper (but clearly more costly overall) pens, that the cheaper pens trying to copy these “name-brand” Pilots succeeded in copying them ONLY in appearance, otherwise failing to copy what makes Pilot G2s well worth paying more up front.
REGARDING THE COLORS: Usually I just use black or blue, but I bought a 5-pack of five different colors here. I find that all the colors show up very well on white paper, although on mildly colored paper (such as the common yellow tablet color), purple and green are noticeably weaker than the other colors in this package, but still very easy to read. I noticed that a very wide variety of colors is available, and am so impressed with the performance and pleasure using these pens that I intend to buy one of the packs that includes a LOT of different colors for use in amateur in drawing. I'm expecting them to be a lot of fun to play with, given such a large palette of colors to play with! I'm guessing this might be a great gift idea for kids or anyone who enjoys drawing. The age of kids you'd give these to does matter, however. Kids who can't keep their ink off of walls, bedspreads, white couches, etc. might not be wise to give these to (especially if it's your own kids). They're too fun to draw with, and while I've never had to try to remove a mark from something like a couch, I'm guessing they might be able to make permanent stains.
In sum (indeed, my penultimate notes regarding the ultimate pen), these are GREAT PENS. Although a pen might be a tool we tend to take for granted, not thinking much about the brand/model we’re using, IT REALLY DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE, imo, for various reasons noted above. More expensive and cheaper pens are readily available, and I’ve given both categories a try, but less expensive ones are not actually a greater “value,” regardless of the lower price on the package. More expensive pens don’t offer anything these don’t give in terms of writing (if your pen has Bond-type gadgets on it, very cool!; but I’m only speaking of the writing function alone). If you currently use cheaper pens & haven't tried these, I recommend that you at least try a Pilot G2, especially if your hand ever hurts from writing, or if you get frustrated by your pens that don't make solid lines with one pass. And if you use more expensive pens, I also recommend trying these, because you might find that the benefits of those more expensive pens are fulfilled just as well with these (ignoring the “social value” of things like conspicuous consumption & attempting to increase status via gold-plating, for example). I gave the cheap knock-offs a try, and that has motivated me to attempt to write the wrongs of my misguided past via offering a lengthy review here.
And, no, I don’t have any financial interest in this company or any distributors of these pens; I don’t know anyone who works for or has any financial interests in “Big Ink” (i.e., any person/entity involved in the design, manufacturer, or sale of pens). Neither have I ever received or been promised anything in exchange for a positive review. I really do love these pens, & never thought I’d be raving about such a mundane instrument, or even ever finding any pen worth taking the time to write even a brief review.
| Manufacturer | Pilot Pen Corporation of America |
|---|---|
| Brand | PILOT |
| Item Weight | 1.6 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 6.6 x 3 x 0.1 inches |
| Item model number | 31078 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Color | Black |
| Closure | Retractable |
| Grip Type | ergonomic |
| Pencil Lead Degree (Hardness) | H |
| Material Type | Plastic, Metal, Rubber |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Size | 5 Count (Pack of 1) |
| Point Type | Fine |
| Line Size | 0.7mm millimeters |
| Ink Color | Black |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 31078 |
V. S