5 BEST PENS UNDER $25 FOR YOU

It writes without a hiccup, making it a great everyday pen. Smooth to the touch and steady on the paper.” This particular Uni-Ball Jetstream model has a fine 0.7 mm tip (for comparison, the standard BIC ballpoint pen has a 1 mm tip), and three out of four of our left-handed testers gave it top marks for its smearproof quality.

Uni-Ball Vision Elite Rollerball Pen (3-Pack)

$5.4

The design of this rollerball pen can also be a point of contention with users. A few of our testers loved the substantial flow of ink from its slim 0.8 mm tip, but found that the pen’s crosshatched grip was uncomfortable to hold for longer periods of time. Others found this design to be a major plus, and actually conducive to the writing experience. In any case, you may want to reserve these pens for thicker, non-glossy paper to enjoy them to their fullest.

Pilot G2 Retractable Gel-Ink Pens (12-Pack)

$11.19

Gel pens were a popular category with our testing group, by virtue of the gel ink’s smooth writing flow and quick-drying properties. The fine-point 0.7 mm tip of this particular Pilot G2 model was highly rated for its comfort in hand, smooth writing, and bleedproof qualities. While lefties were split on whether the ink’s smear factor was problematic for them, a right-handed user did note, “It’s fairly trusty with a smooth tip and solid ink flow, but if you aren’t cautious, it does smear.”

Marvy Uchida Le Pen (12-Pack)

$17.61

Our testers were pretty split on the felt-tip category overall, because personal preferences on pen barrel size widely varied. The fine-point 0.3 mm Marvy Uchida Le Pen won out for its smearproof ink, which even all but one of our left-handed users gave top marks to. As one tester put it, “It may be a little slimmer than the average writing utensil, but it makes writing by hand really fun.” This pen writes incredibly smoothly, requiring virtually no force to make a vivid, bold mark on the page.

Pilot Metropolitan Collection Medium-Nib Fountain Pen

$12.99

This particular pen comes with a medium nib, but is also available to buy in a fine-nib size.Comparable nibs from other manufacturers are available.The Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen’s packaging is also quite impressive — it arrives in a hard-shell case that is attractive enough to function as the pen’s storage when not in use. It also comes equipped with an ink cartridge as well as a squeeze converter that can be used to fill it from an inkwell