uniball Jetstream RT Retractable Ballpoint Pen, Medium Point (1.0mm), Blue, 12 Pack

I've been looking for a quality ballpoint pen for years. I've been so frustrated that I had a brief fling with a fountain pen, ending after a couple of ruined shirts. A New York Times review praised this pen, and they were right.I live in the desert, and most pens dry out and refuse to write immediately. You have to use scrap paper and exercise them before they will start. Not these - they start right away and write smoothly with no scratchiness. The blue is color is great. The pen is very comfortable to hold. I purchased the 1 mm tip.

The best pens. Worth every penny. Long lasting and smooth ink.

I am happy with this product and have used it for 25 years.

Smooth writing, comfortable to hold, and long lasting--though not as long lasting as those pens whose ink comes out superly lightly. There is a tradeoff here: in exchange for a bold, vibrant line, you will need to either switch pens or install an ink refill sooner than you are used to if you primarily write with mass-produced ballpoints from the likes of PaperMate or Bic.

I am really particular about writing instruments and had been looking a smooth pen for a long time. I had settled on gel pens but they tend to skip as do most rollerballs or build ink on the tip and leave a blob every now and then. Ball points spread ink evenly but are not as smooth. I had given up hope until the first time I used the Uni-ball Jetstream pens. They are the smoothest ball point I have ever used and there is no issue with ink build up or smearing. It claims to help stop check fraud but I don't know how it does this but it is a fantastic feature if it does. There are several Jetstream models and I have used both the retractable and removable cap versions. Both are comfortable with rubberized lower portions. My only criticism it that the retractable pen's tip is not very stable but does not present much of a problem, while the caped version is very stable. So I prefer to write with the Caped pen but the retractable is more convenient to carry. I like the Jetstream well enough that I threw all my other pens out. I like blue ink best because when I write notes on printed pages the blue stands out and the black does not. I can't figure out why office supply stores mainly carry black ink pens. Not really a problem though because I am happy to buy 12 at a time from Amazon so I always have them around. It is still not perfect but it is the closest pen to perfect I have ever used so it gets 5 stars.

Here's my original review. . . .These ink pens are great.Pros:- They last much longer than gel ink pens.- They write very smoothly, so that I can write faster.- The blue color is the perfect shade, i.e., not washed out.- Their appearance is reasonably good.- For the quality, they are very well-priced.Cons:- I have no complaints about these pens. (I have been dissatisfied with a good many pens that I recently purchased - but not with the Jetstream.)UPDATEI have been using these ink pens for several years now. I still like "the real thing" very much. But I have two (2) complaints:1. I have purchased more than one box of fakes - which skipped and generally performed poorly.2. The pricing of the refills is environmentally offensive. Their pricing is almost the same as the full ink pens. I chastise myself for being induced to buy more and more full ink pens, since the pricing was very nearly the same as the refills.I now buy the pens from a more credible source. In addition, I have resolved to buy solely refills in the future--despite their outrageous pricing.

My new job has me writing quite a bit of notes than my previous one. I am old school so I prefer a notebook over carrying a laptop around the shop and in meetings I find it easier to take hand written notes than typing into a memo.2 things that were important to me. The pen has to write good and the ink has to be indelible. I usually opt for a Gel pen despite the fact they run out of ink quickly but I cannot use Gel at the new place.Writing, this pen is buttery smooth. I cannot say I have ever written with a pen this smooth outside of the every now and again you find some unicorn that makes you audibly say, "dam, this pen writes nice". With the person you borrowed it from saying, I know, now pass back.It is fairly comfortable to write with but it could use a little curve to the grip area. I feel with how smooth this writes, they missed the mark on the grip.Other than that, I would say do not hesitate to purchase.

Wirecutter got this one right. These are my favorite pens!