From Writer Unboxed:
Like cameras, umbrellas, and getaway cars, the best pen is the one you have with you. We writers tend to have a dozen pens with us at any given time, though—when the muse comes to you and whispers profundity into your ear, which pen do you grab to write your masterpiece? This month, the Hacks for Hacks team looked at hundreds of pens, from ball points to gels to smear-resistant models for lefties. Using our scientific rating criteria, we ranked the best pens available.
10. Pilot Precise V7. I have one of these in my pocket at all times. Versatile and affordable, the V7 is perfect for everything from a novel to a grocery list. Don’t take it on an airplane, however, as the differences in altitude and cabin pressure will cause some leakage. As long as you’re on solid ground, though, the Pilot V7 will remain a trusty friend your whole life long.
9. The fancy pen you got as a graduation gift. Doesn’t it look nice on your desk? Don’t you feel like an author just looking at it? These are stylish, and will never run out of ink because you can’t bring yourself to actually use it.
. . . .
2. The white, cap-less, dried-up Bic ball-point pen in your desk drawer that you can’t bring yourself to throw away. Once upon a time, this had blue ink, and still does if you shake the hell out of it and scrawl on a nearby napkin to get things flowing. You have lots of pens, and you don’t even remember how you got this one; why don’t you just throw it out? But we both know you can’t. And that’s why it’s ranked #2.
Link to the rest at Writer Unboxed
For PG, there is only one pen to rule them all:
I use the Zebra stainless-steel pen. It’s great as a tactical self-defense pen and TSA approved. As opposed to the plastic or even wood pens that can break, the stainless steel does a nice job of striking back at an attacker. It’s also a fraction of the cost of the large clumsy TDP options.
Oh, and it writes well. The 0.7 fine is great for making notes in books and the medium option is plenty thick for paper.
Ah, we have the same taste in pens, I see. Those are what I buy (when I inexplicably run out of those that I shamelessly take at my insurance agent – fortunately, their plastic calendars might have the wrong year, but still continue to function perfectly well as bookmarks).
Well, PG, you better make sure your G2 gel writings are not left out in room light. I did some writing-ink permanence window-testing a few years ago, and the gels fared VERY poorly. My favorite: a 0.7 Pentel mechanical pencil. That’s right: a pencil, not a pen. Graphite. Carbon. The best.
BTW: the full OP article is pretty funny.