Zebra Pen Sarasa Dry X20 Retractable Gel Pen, Fine Point, 0.5mm, Red Ink, 12-Pack

Nice ink flow, very economical.

Awesome Pens. Used some a while back and had to scavenge the web to find what kind they were because the clip broke off. Best set of pens I’ve used so far and they have no smear! Package came damaged though which is the reason for -1 star.

So the Zebra Sarasa Gel ink Pens in 0.5mm are my all-time favorite writing instrument. I'm a bit of a pen snob, so I don't take that statement lightly. It's an incredibly smooth pen, but you can feel it drag across the paper, which is really for clean-looking print. The pen itself has a nice barrel-size with a comfortable grip, and I find that my hand doesn't as badly as it does with others pens I've used, considering I'm a bit of a heavy writer, and that it is ultimately a very comfortable pen to write with.The ink itself is nice and bold, it dries quickly, and I've never experienced it smearing or smudging while note-taking or working out math problems. I'm also a huge fan of Zebra Mildliners, and I find that when highlighting something I've recently written down, only when I press firmly with the Mildliner or make multiple, fast runs over the ink does smudge or smear, if at all. As a heavy writer, I find that this pen doesn't railroad at all, insuring that my print is bold and crisp, even when drawing long, fast lines.These pens aren't perfect by any means, and I do experience one problem with them: Sometimes when writing, the ball mechanism on the tip of the pen will stick for a bit, never more than say a single letter, but I do find this rather annoying at times. I'm not sure if this has to do with me pressing too firmly on the paper with the pen, or if this is a fault of the tip mechanism. Either way, this issue is far from enough to warrant demoting this pen from its position as my favorite, as it's extremely infrequent.

I like to stick with one brand/model of pen and carry it around with me everywhere so I like to do serious research before choosing one. The other two models that have been my favorites are the Pilot G2 and the Pilot V5. All of these are very fine pens and light years beyond what regular ball point pens can accomplish but the differences between the various pens are worth talking about.The pilot V5 is a little different than either the G2 or Sarasa because it's a liquid ink pen, not a gel. The tip is a long sort of spike and it soaks into the paper in a way that gel ink does not. It can bleed a little bit but it also dries out much more quickly. Downsides are that it doesn't make as nice a mark on the page (more feathering), it is scratchy, and the tip is delicate and easily bent. The V5 is a very nice pen but I prefer the gel ink pens better.Ok, so how does the Sarasa compare with the G2? Well, they are both outstanding writing utensils and almost identical in design. In fact, if you just glance at one you won't be able to tell which it is. Looking at the refills, they as close to identical as they could possibly be and still not be interchangeable. You can tell the G2 refill because the ink bleeds into the material they use to seal the back end. So it looks worse. Also there's a cap on the back of the G2 (though I don't think it's necessary) and there is not one on the Sarasa. Anyway, that stuff is all cosmetic. Let's get a little more detailed.A few things that the G2 does a little better:===============================================* The G2 has a very slightly better clip. It is stronger and more nicely curved. The Sarasa clip is bowed out and rests on a piece of plastic that sticks out. Neither of them have good clips, unfortunately, so I award points to neither.* When you open the G2, the spring stays put. When you open the Sarasa, the spring pops out. I think Zebra wasn't really planning on people using refills much. This kind of makes sense because refills are actually more expensive for both the Sarasa and the G2 than buying new pens is. Crazy but true.* The G2's grip is very, very slightly better. The G2's grip is very slightly more grippy and softer. Realistically, it's not much of a difference.* The G2 unscrews in the middle, while the tip of the Sarasa unscrews. I'm not sure it really matters one way or the other but if I had to choose I'd say the G2's method is preferable.* The G2 is easily available anywhere and everywhere. It may be the best selling gel pen in the US.As you can see, these differences are exceptionally minor but all in favor of the G2. So why do I prefer the Sarasa?The Sarasa has the following advantages:==========================================* It writes just a little more smoothly. You can feel a difference when you go from one to the other. Both pens write nicely, but it really is true that the Sarasa is smoother.* The Sarasa's ink dries a little quicker than that of the G2, though not as quickly as the V5 (I don't think).* As of this writing the Sarasa is about HALF the price of the G2 in similar quantities (I order 12 at a time usually).So there you have it. The things I prefer about the G2 just don't matter, and the things I like about the Sarasa kind of do. Writing is the name of the game here, not looks. The Sarasa writes a little better and it's way cheaper. It's a definite win.One note: I have Pilot G2's in both medium (.7mm) and fine (.5mm) and there is a noticeable difference. The .5 is much finer (and scratchier). I also have the Sarasa in .7 and .5, but after writing with one and then the other and back again I can't tell which is which from the way they write. Both write like a .7mm pen and it looks the same on the page. In other words, if a .7mm pen is too fat for you, you will have to stick with the G2. Again I say, the .5 Sarasa writes a fat line, equal to the line of the .7 G2 and .7 Sarasa. I'm comfortable writing with .5 and .7 so it doesn't matter to me, but it might to you.BTW you can put a Sarasa refill in a G2 body and it works but the pen sticks out too far. Putting a Sarasa refill in a G2 body doesn't work. I wouldn't mix it up if I were you.Anyway, for the impatient readers out there, the Sarasa is just a little better than the G2 and much cheaper. It's the best pen (in terms of performance) I know of. The physical design is ok but not great. On par with the G2=========== EDIT: FOUND A MAJOR PROBLEM =================I found a problem with this product. I did some more testing, specifically for water resistance. I wrote on the paper with various pens and then dripped water on the paper:- Pilot G2-05 -- Ink remains fast- Pilot G2-07 -- Ink remains fast- Pilot V5 -- Ink remains fast- Sarasa .7 -- Ink remains fast- Sarasa .5 -- Ink SMEARS AND BLEEDS ALL OVER AND IS QUICKLY UNREADABLEI have no idea why the .7 is water resistant and the .5 is not. The difference is very dramatic. My .7 is older so either they have changed the ink formula or the formula they use in the .5 is inferior. Anyway, this product is the .5, so I HEREBY RETRACT MY RECOMMENDATION. Get the Pilot G2 instead for the superior ink. With the Sarasa .5 the first rainy day will erase everything you have written.These pens were a waste of money and I regret buying them.

Even though I'm right handed I write like a lefty, dragging three fingers across the page. I get constant smearing with most other pens; this is one of the few pens I've found that writes smoothly without smearing. I'm not a fan of rubber grips on pens, so I use these pens as refills for a few Pentel EnerGel Alloys that I already had. The plunger does stick when you go to retract the tip on the two newest Alloys, but my original Alloy doesn't have this problem. Hopefully the other two will stop sticking over time. I can't recommend these pens enough, even if you use them as refills for other pens. Would be nice if I could buy just refills, but I've put other compatible refills into the plastic housing and given them to family members that aren't as picky about their pens. Pentel's EnerGel refills work fine in the plastic Zebra housings.

I have been using these pens for years now, they write very smoothly, the ink is a perfect black, and it doesn't smudge, which I appreciate as a lefty. A pack lasts me 3 years and I'll gladly keep buying as long as I can. Definitely recommend.

Bought these after using the ball point version for a while - both types work well.Good ink flow. Barrel diameter (1cm) suits larger hands.

I ordered these pens because I was previously impressed with the quality of writing (especially as a left handed person). However, when the pens arrived, the box was damaged (cut in the side) and seemed to be previously returned (top taped closed). What was the most disappointing, however, was that there were only 11 pens in the box although it states that it is a 12 pack.

I love these pens so much! I got a pack at a random street sale years ago and have been wanting more ever since so I was over the moon to find these (at a reasonable price too!). The ink is the smoothest of any pen I’ve ever used. The one downside is that because the ink is a little thinner, it runs out a little quicker than some other pens. However, I’m more than happy with that trade off. I’m sure I will be repurchasing these pens again in the future.

The media could not be loaded.  I am really not satisfied with these pens. Half of the pack is not good, the ink is almost full and it's not working. Just throwed a couple of pens it's not writing but almost full. I usually don't write these type of reviews but this is garbage. I bought 0.7 last time and it was perfect. I was expecting to have the same experience with 0.5 and I am really disappointed. I was always buying these pens. Will not buy ever again

I love this brand and always run out of them super quick. So I got this big pack. Great quality, worth the price. I only wish they had it in 0.4. 0.5 is too thick for my purposes....