Arts Hybrid Technica Gel Pen with Assorted Tip Sizes, Black Ink, Pack of 5 (KN10BP5A)

I found this model of pen back in 2018-2019 and fell in love with them — specifically the 0.3mm — after buying one on a whim at an art store. They are so fine and so light to use, it feels like you’re writing or drawing with air. You do have to press a bit harder than you might with a Pilot or something, but it’s worth it for the line. The drying time, due to the light depth penetration of the ink and the thinness of the pen point itself, is nearly instantaneous. There is some smudging sometimes, but that’s more dependent on the medium than the pen itself. There’s no real issue with smudging on drawing paper. I have never had any Pentel pen leak on me. I have medium-sized hands for women, so the thinness of the barrel of the pen is comfortable for me, but I can imagine that the thinness of the pen might be a challenge for those with larger hands. The grip on the pen is great for me. I also like the detached cap and how it clicks into the bottom — I hardly ever lose caps to them. Quality of these models varies so probably half in a dozen are actually fantastic and the rest are just good to great pens. The fantastic ones, though, I put a little bit of tape on so I know which ones those are. The good to great ones just become writing pens. They’re worth the money regardless. The only substantive issue that these pens have is that they get dry on the tip on some part of the rotation, so you’ll draw a line much lighter or darker than you intended because you rotated the pen unconsciously. In the worst case, they just won’t write and you’ll have to coax them or rotate the pen until the writing point is “happy” again. I’d say this is a minor issue to have, a pen being temperamental. As far as value, I think these are great value for the experience writing or sketching that you get. They’re not high end or high maintenance. They write exactly the way that I like, and I always look for an excuse to write when I have one.

HELPFUL TIPS to make this a 5-STAR pen. This is the best 0.3 pen I have ever used. However, if you read the reviews it is not without its issue. The main one being it loses the flow of ink for no apparent reason. STOP!!! There are reasons, the first one is you MUST RECAP this pen. If you walk away, come back, and left it uncapped it will be clogged. It can also clog because of dust or paper fibers. This is a common problem with art pens. If and when you lose ink flow the EASY FIX, wrap the tip in a rubbing alcohol soaked cotton ball or pad for a minute or two (nail polish remover also works). This will unclog the tip and once done none of my pens clogged a second time. If they do you can repeat and the flow will return. I'm still sure to always RECAP when I'm finished with it. I hope this helps to make this pen your favorite 😉

I used these pens over the years instead of microns since they lasted longer, couldn't dry out like markers do and the ink dries pretty fast. I've never had one leak, the design is fine, nice and thin and comfortable in your hand and very light, the grip feels very natural and the cost for this many pens is really, really nice. I used to have to buy these one at a time for $8-10 a pop at Michaels so getting a huge pack like this is fantastic. Also, the line thickness is so, SO thin. I love the look of it. I write very small and I like to line some of my art work in a sketchy, light style and the small tip makes that super easy for me.

I love this pen ever since I first bought one from jetpens.com. It's so precise and smooth. Someone at work borrowed mine for a moment cuz hers ran out of ink, and as she was writing, she had to stop after the first few letters, take a look at the pen, and then finished. Then she handed it back saying, "That, is a very interesting pen." I love that it's small enough to allow me to write in little places so legibly. I recommend it to perfectionists and those who have to take a lot of notes in a small amount of space. One caveat: because the tip is so fine, you have to be careful not to drop it, or accidentally scratch a surface with it, cuz then you're screwed and the pen won't work anymore. That happened to me once, and I bought another one. But it's cheaper to buy by the dozen, so here I am. When it arrived, I was surprised it came in a plain white box with a big Pentel logo in red, but not like the one that's pictured. Also, I wanted to make sure each of the pens worked, which thank goodness they did, but for some reason, the nib, or cap, or the part of the pen that tapers down to the ballpoint, were all loose. It's as if someone just hurried and packaged them together then sent it off to me. I'm a little worried about the condition as time goes by, whether it's legit or not, but that remains to be seen.

Ink stopped flowing after less than ten minutes of use. Update, Amazon sent me a replacement which also stopped working in fewer than ten minutes of use. These pens are garbage, plain and simple.

I got these for using to annotate books and it works well most of the time. They tend to stop pretty often, and if I store them cap down for a while they will flow again. Just a bit unhandy. Don’t know that I would purchase again. They are a nice fine tip though. Perfect for small writing such as in books or a Bible.

These are my favorite pens. I've been buying these in the 12-packs for several years because I've never found any pens that I enjoy using as much. I initially bought the multipack of different pen tip sizes. The expectation was that I would use them for drawing. It turned out they were good for drawing, but I liked them for use in writing. The ink is very black and goes on smoothly. Most ball point pens show the shape of the ball in the ink left on the paper; these do not. There is a rubber grip for comfort and to have a non-slip surface. The pen is fairly light-weight, as might be expected from a plastic pen, but the tip is solid metal and that gives a little stability to the pen. I like the 0.4mm pen for everyday use. It was a toss-up between the 0.4mm and 0.5mm. Both are a good size. The final decision came down to the amount of time it takes the ink to dry. The ink in these pens is a little slow to dry and the 0.4mm dries a little faster. The 0.3mm size leaves a very fine line that isn't quiet as black looking. These are also available in 0.6mm and 0.8mm. All have worked well for me. They don't dry out and they don't glob up on the paper or bleed through. They work well for drawing or writing.

I have used this pen (0.3 point) for about 2 years. Highly recommend it. I use it with note taking on thin paper like Composition notebooks or yellow legal pads, as well as really nice paper notebooks (ClaireFontaine or Rhodia). Very little ghosting on the flimsy stuff. The ink does smear when wet. The pens do start skipping when the ink just gets to the point but I use these for doodling. The 0.3 point writes a very fine, legible line which makes tiny writing (like in the margins during note taking) easily readable. I wish the pens would last longer and especially wish the 0.3 point came in multiple colors. But if you have a fondness for writing (or need to in your daily life) buy this pen.

If you love fine pens, this is the best pen ever.

I bought two boxes of these because to get them locally at the time was triple the price for just one pen. These are reeaallly great if you like a fine point like me. I prefer the 0.5mm. I find it has the smoothest contact and the ink lasts pages and pages. Over halfway through the first box and am hoping by the time I need to re-order that they'll be a little cheaper.

I first got them at michaels but they don’t have them anymore and I cannot find them anywhere but here!

I use this pen in a bullet journal and the pens are fabulous. You can write quickly, with precision, and the ink does not bleed through to the other side of the page. Excellent purchase.

Very smooth with fine lines and good pigment.