Whether you're scribbling notes in class or jotting down ideas in your bullet journal, using a fine tip gel pen will help you create crisp, sharp lines that are easy to read.
We'll be comparing twelve of the best black fine-tip gel pens, so keep watching to see how they stack up against each other.
Here are the pens we're comparing: the Pentel EnerGel, the Pentel Slicci,
Pilot FriXion, Pilot G2, Pilot Hi-Tec-C,
Pilot Juice, Pilot Juice Up, Sakura Ballsign,
Uni-ball Signo UM-151, Uni-ball Signo RT1, Zebra Sarasa Dry, and Zebra Sarasa Push Clip.
We tested these pens for the following characteristics.
Tip size: we only selected pens of 0.4 millimeter and below.
Smoothness: 1 to 3 stars, with the 3-star rating meaning that it's super smooth.
Drying time: how many seconds does it take for each pen to dry?
Darkness: we checked how dark each pen is.
Water resistance: how well each pen stands up to water.
And highlighter resistance: we tested this one with a Zebra Mildliner.
Here's what we found.
Smallest tip size: the Hi-Tec-C and Slicci have the smallest tip sizes at 0.25 mm.
Here, you can see what they look like compared to a 0.38 mm line and a 0.4 mm line.
The Uni-ball Signo family isn't far behind, with its smallest tip size at 0.28 mm.
Showing smoothness on camera is a little hard, so you'll have to just have to trust us on this one.
The Sarasa, Sarasa Dry, Ballsign, and Signo UM-151 are the smoothest fine tip gel pens.
Fast-drying gel pens are great for lefties or when you're scribbling away in class.
The Sarasa Dry, Frixion, and Ballsign all dry under five seconds.
Other fast drying options are the EnerGel, G2, and Sarasa Push Clip, which all dry at five seconds.
The Juice and Sarasa Dry have the darkest black ink out of all of these pens.
Here's a comparison of the two next to the FriXion. You can see how much darker the Juice and Sarasa are.
The most water-resistant pens we tested are the Signo UM-151 and RT1.
The Sarasa and Ballsign also held up well to water.
Not many gel pens stand up to the Mildliners' formula, but here are a couple of pens that work.
The FriXion and Hi-Tec-C both have minimal to no smearing under the Mildliner,
and if you don't mind a little bit of smearing, the Sarasa is also a good choice.
We hope you've enjoyed this roundup of the best fine-tip gel pens!
Did we mention any of your favorites?
Check out all of these pens at JetPens.com.
Thanks for watching!