A.C. Nielsen claims that Pilot's G2 gel pen is the #1 best selling gel pen in America. I don't know if that's true or not. I do know Pilot makes a good gel pen that comes in a very nice array of colors. Before I get started on my review, I have to clarify just which G2 pen I'm reviewing. There are 6 different categories of G2 pens. They are:
- Breast Cancer Awareness pen
- G6 which is a bigger G2 pen
- G2 Pro
- G2 Limited
- G2 mini
- regular G2 pen
The Breast Cancer Awareness Pen, it comes in Black and Pink ink in fine point though you can only buy the black ink pen from their United States website: www.pilotpen.us. I don't know if various stores sell the pink ink pen. This pen as far as I know is the same G2 pen with the only difference being it has the pink ribbon emblem on them symbolizing breast cancer and every purchase of these pens causes a contribution to be made to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. A set of 2 will cost $4.41 on Pilot's U.S. website.
The G6 is a larger version of the G2 and comes in blue, black and red ink (not nearly the great range of colors the standard G2 has) in fine point only. It comes singly ($2.88), 2 pack ($5.69) and 12 pack ($32.40). Note: Prices quoted are from the Pilot's U.S. website.
The G2 Pro is a more stylish sleek pen which comes in 3 different barrel colors (red, black and blue) with black ink and a fine point. It comes in single packs and sells for $5.15.
The G2 Limited is a high end G2 pen which comes in a metallic finish in fine point with black ink. It sells in single packs for $15.
The G2 Mini is the smaller version of the G2. It comes in fine point with blue, black, red and green inks. The 3 pack sells for $4.50 (no green pen). The 4 pack sells for $6 (all 4 colors or just black). The 12 pack sells for $17.76 (just black or blue).
The regular G2 pen comes with 4 different points: ultra fine, extra fine, fine and bold. For ultra fine, extra fine and bold, you have a choice of just 4 colors: black, blue, red and green. For the fine point, there are an incredible 15 colors. They are:
- Black
- Blue
- Red
- Green
- Purple
- Pink
- Turquoise
- Navy
- Burgundy
- Hunter Green
- Orange
- Teal
- Periwinkle
- Lime Green
- Caramel
One thing I found that confounds me a bit is Pilot's G2 20 pen fine point set. The G2 20 pen set contains ALL 15 colors as well as 4 additional black pens and 1 additional blue pen. The Pilot website doesn't offer this pen set for sale and yet, you can buy it at Sam's Club for $16.24 and higher on Amazon and Ebay. I don't understand why that's the case. If you want to get all 15 colors on Pilot's Internet store, you'll have to buy the 12 pen assorted box ($25.68 - doesn't include shipping) AND the 4 pen set that contains Teal, Periwinkle, Lime Green and Caramel ($8.61 - doesn't include shipping). Shoppers would do better to buy the 20 pen set at Sam's Club or on-line at Amazon or Ebay.
Another plus about the 20 pen set is it comes in a decent case that you can store the pens in. This keeps them from getting beat up.
Another issue I have with Pilot and their G2 pen is their claim that it's refillable. This is only partially true in the United States (U.S.). If you need a refill for a black, blue, red, green or purple pen, you're in luck. If you want any of the other colors except Hunter Green (they apparently don't offer that color any more in the United Kingdom), you'll have to order the refill from a British website. I found 2 that offer 14 of the color refills for L1.15 without Value Added Tax (VAT) and L1.38 with VAT. I don't know what they charge for shipping to the U.S. though both state they ship there. The 2 British websites where you can buy the refills are:
- www.tigerpens.co.uk
- www.cultpens.com
Writing wise, I found the regular G2 pen to write fine. It glides across paper smoothly enough. I don't know if Pilot's claim that it lasts twice as long as other gel pens is true. The ink cartridges do seem to have the normal amount of ink in them.
Overall, I like Pilot's G2 pens. I particularly like the regular fine point pen because of the array of colors it comes it. I think that's a big plus compared to other gel pens. If it weren't for that option, I don't think the pen is any better than other gel pens on the U.S. market. Happy writing all!
Update January 3, 2016: I've tried 3 different nib/point sizes with these pens so far. I didn't realize they had an ultra fine point (yes, I know I mentioned it in this blog entry but, it's been a while since I wrote it). I plan to buy an ultra fine point G2 pen to see how well it writes. Of the broad (1mm), fine (.7mm) and very fine (.5mm) point sizes, I've found the broad and fine points write very smoothly. Conversely, it feels like the very fine point scratches the paper when I write with it. Because of that, I don't like writing with it as much as I like writing with the other 2 point sizes. The broad point lives up to its name in that it does have a broad line. One last bit of information for this post: I had to buy a 4 pack of the broad point pens at the Laurel, Maryland Staples to try one of them out. The 4 pack cost me $7.99 (just to give you a current price on the pens). Stay tuned for another update once I get an ultra fine point pen and see how well it writes.
Update April 30, 2016: I've tried the G2 ultra fine point nib i.e. .38mm and, I feel it scratches the paper too like the .5mm does. On a different subject, I've found out Pilot produces G2 fine point pens in metallic colors - silver, gold, blue, green, purple and pink. The set also came with a black pen and a white ink pen. I don't think I've seen these in many stores. I had to buy my set through Ebay. Also, they sell outside the United States a set of pastel colored G2 pens - green, yellow, pink, purple and blue. This set came from an Ebay seller in Greece. I've never seen these pens in the United States. I continue to be pleased with these pens though I like Pilot's erasable Frixion pens too (see my recent review on those).
Update May 18, 2016: From now until June 5, 2016, Sam's Club has a special on G2 pens for Advantage Plus members. You can buy up to 3 fourteen pen packs of either black or blue fine point pens for $11.43 vice the normal price of $14.43. Also, you can buy up to 3 twenty pen packs of assorted colors (has all 15 colors in it, I checked!) for $13.98 vice the normal price of $16.98. I think this is a particularly good deal compared to the black or blue pen packs. You're talking getting 6 more pens for just $2 more. One slight downside with the 20 pens packs is they have the nice carrying case they used to have. I really like the carrying case and, I think it's a bummer they don't have it anymore at Sam's Club.
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