Tips for Choosing the Right Pen for You

When someone asks you if they can borrow a pen…

We all have that favorite pen that we would never let anyone borrow. Ever.

For me, it honestly depends on the time and the season in my life. If you asked me this question back in 2020, I would’ve told you that my favorite pen was the Zebra Sarasa Dry Airfit Grip pen in .4mm. (Lowkey I think .4mm pens might be the best…) The OG planners know all about the Dry Airfit Grip!! This pen was a classic in the #plannercommunity, especially if you followed Cloth & Paper back then.

In 2023, I would’ve told you the Hesu Gel pen is the best in the world and nothing will ever beat it. But there’s one pen that I always keep around because I know that this pen will never let me down.

The Kokuyo ME gel pen in .5mm.

I mean honestly, truly; If you haven’t tried this pen yet, please take this as your sign to grab a pen and see how you like it. I love the pen for so many different reasons! Between the colors of the barrel, the nib type, and the grip, the Kokuyo ME gel pen offers the best writing experience for me every time.

But how do you choose the right pen for YOU? What makes a pen good for you? With so many pens on the market, it’s hard af to know what works best for you.

Here are some helpful tips for choosing the right pen for you to spark joy and elevate your planning experience.

Quick side note: this post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase. If you have any questions, please feel free to visit this page.

Before we begin, let me be honest with you: we will not be talking about pencils here. If you’re a pencil lover, I’m envious because I simply don’t get the hype. Pencils bring me right back to my elementary school days at my charter school and I don’t like those memories one bit. Plus I just don’t enjoy writing with pencils!

To grip or not to grip.

Listen — I cannot use a pen that doesn’t have a pen grip. I don’t care how aesthetic the pen is; if the pen doesn’t have a grip, I can use it for long and it has no chance of placing in my top 5 favorite pen list.

But it can’t just be any pen grip.

I prefer either textured pen grips (so the barrel of the pen is textured in the spot where a pen grip would be) or a plastic/rubber-like pen grip. The longer the grip, the better.

So what do YOU need? Can you use pens that don’t have a grip? Do you need a plastic or rubber-type grip or can you deal with something textured on the pen barrel (like the Kokuyo ME gel pen)?

What’s your nib type?

Next, consider what nip type works best for you. I tend to love and gravitate towards needle nibs because I love how narrow my handwriting looks with those types of nib sizes. Felt pens have never been my thing because the nib is too thick and the ink too bold and marker-like for my taste.

Whether you like ballpoint, gel, needle point, felt (definitely judging you…kidding), or otherwise, the key is to find what type of pens you prefer to write with when planning. What type of pen is easiest to write with? Which option offers the best writing experience? What type makes your handwriting look the best?

No cappin.

I don’t like using pens that have pen caps. But that’s a me problem because I typically lose them within the first five minutes after using a pen. So a pen that clicks to write is best for me!

If you like chasing around and tracking a pen cap, then keep that mind as you search for the next pen to add to your stash!

The list goes on and on..

There are so many more things to consider about pens, like the color of the barrel, the color of the ink, the price of the pen and more. I would pick the top three conditions that are most important to you, whether it’s ink color, nib size/type, price, barrel, grip, etc., and use those three conditions to guide you in your search.

Good luck! Pen shopping is fun :)

Sharing is caring!

The key is to find what works best for you, what you can live with, etc. This process will help you pick the best pen for you right now so that you don’t end up like me and waste money buying endless pens because you don’t know what you want.

What’s your favorite pen? Comment below!