Left-handed people should try to avoid rollerball or gel pens since their ink tends to take longer to dry and smudges more during writing. One of the most practical and efficient ways to achieve this is by having a multi-tool on your keychain. The EnerGel RTX has a slightly thicker barrel and grip than the Jetstream and the Precise V5 RT, so some people might find it more comfortable to hold. Oil-based pens also generally have a thicker consistency and lower viscosity than other inks, which means less ink is used and the pen lasts longer.

There are ultra slim pens, perfect for writing on-the-go, as well as heftier multi pens, ideal for multitasking.All testers found this pen’s textured grip section pleasant to hold, but they disagreed on the pen’s looks.

The thinness of the jaws also makes them more adept at gripping in tight spaces compared to larger pliers. But some testers preferred its monochromatic body to those of more-decorated pens, and they liked its smooth rubber grip.The difference is while ballpoint pens use thick, oil-based inks, and rollerballs use a free-flowing, water- and dye-based ink, gel pens use ink made of pigment in a water-based gel made from xanthan gum and polyacrylate thickeners. Like ballpoint and rollerball pens, they feature a small revolving ball at the tip that deposits ink from the pen’s reservoir to the paper.

She hosts Between The Likes, a talkshow and podcast series on EverTalk, where she interviews well-known designers, breaks down design myths, and shares insight on how to decorate your home. There aren’t many tougher pens out there, so if that’s one of your main concerns for EDC, then the Zebra F-701 is a great choice.But it also has a shorter grip section than the Jetstream RT, so it’s less comfortable to hold if you don’t normally hold a pen near the tip.

Experts and Wirecutter testers praised this pen’s needle-point tip, its comfortable grip, its smooth ink flow, and the way some friction made handwriting more, well, precise. In testing our ergonomic pen options, our panelists included two medical professionals (one who has had rheumatoid arthritis for over 30 years). A good rule of thumb is to think about what you’ll be using it for: for college students or office workers, go for a durable pen that is good for everyday use and lengthy writing. The secret lies in the updated refill, which is filled with ink that has a higher color density than conventional FriXion inks. But the Jetstream Slim Multi-Color is much slimmer than most multicolor pens, which tend to have chunkier barrels.Our testers unanimously selected the Jetstream RT as the best ballpoint pen, with two testers choosing it as their favorite pen overall. With a slim build, the pens feature a 1-millimeter medium ballpoint tip that'll easily fit into your palm, so there’s no catch or drag while you’re writing. The Ball Zone is available in different body styles, including those with marbled resin or wooden grip sections in addition to standard rubber grips. In our tests, the Signo RT1’s performance was nearly identical to that of the EnerGel and the Precise V5 RT (with just a bit of smudging when we forced it).