I like Pilot G2 pens but unfortunately, they have a limited shelf life as the gel ink inside dries out.
I just found this out recently when I went to get some more "new" Pilot pens from my supply closet and noticed every one of them was dried out. I bought them 7 years ago. Various websites and youtube hacks suggested putting the tips in boiling water for a while to try and revive them but that didn't work.
I had 3 boxes of black, blue, and red Pilot pens so I guess that's about $30 wasted.
The thing about the Pilot G2 is that you can usually find it on the same shelves as school-grade Bics. Grocery stores, pharmacies, big-box stores, you never need to special-order them.
Many of the pens discussed here are very nice. If I bought a few, I'd want to keep them at home or in an office.
Pilot G2s, though, are everywhere. Sure they dry eventually, but you can buy refills, and I usually lose them or have them stolen before that happens anyways.
I wonder if you could make a pen humidor to prolong the ink's shelf life.
Did Pilot ever fix the G2's failed rollerball retention issue? I had a few pop loose before I gave up on the line.
I've been a uniball signo 0.25 (math/subscripts) and 0.38 (text) fan for years now. It's one of the few pens that actually makes my handwriting better.
As someone who loves the writing feel of fountain pens I have to say the a pilot G2 is not an unfancy pen. The writing feel and ink quality is superb.
Yes the G2 is cheap, but evaluated along metrics of writing feel and ink quality the G2 is a fancy pen in my opinion. Everytime I pick up a G2 I enjoy the experience immensely.
I mean, I love my fountain pens more but the G2 deserves respect as a premium writing tool you can buy in grocery store.
