Pilot G2

[Dillo]

(Since you like black, you'd like the Costco 15 pack, 10 black, 3 blue, 2 red for about $8.)

 

I think I deplete a gel refill about every... um, have I ever? Hold on. Once. I did once, about four years ago. :-)

 

While I do love that bargain, I wouldn't want to keep all those refills around, languishing, maybe even evaporating (would that happen?) over the many years. I appreciate the suggestion, JohnS; thank you!

 

 

I'm pretty sure gel refills have a limited lifespan, so it don't think it would be a good idea to keep them around.

 

Dillon

 

I buy the 15 packs and haven't had any problem. The unused pens may be sealed in some fashion, as they don't seem to dry out. Once a pen is "started," if it is then set aside and forgotten, it may be dry. Even so, if you "squiggle" on scrap paper, once it restarts, it is fine. Can't comment on other brands but this seems a minimal or non-existent problem for G2s. I lose them, loan them out to people, etc. One of these 15 packs last my wife and I 2-3 years.

 

 

 

 

If I needed a G2 refill for something else, I would dismantle one of the pens from the pack and steal its ink. The pens in the pack are less than $0.60 apiece, and the over-priced refills are over a buck everywhere I've seen them.

 

I'm thinking about 10-15 years because I know that with my usage habits, those pens might last me quite a long time since I never really write with anything other than fountain pens, pencils, and sparkly gel pens. I always grab a fountain pen when I want to make a quick note.

 

Dillon

[JohnS-MI]

(Since you like black, you'd like the Costco 15 pack, 10 black, 3 blue, 2 red for about $8.)

 

I think I deplete a gel refill about every... um, have I ever? Hold on. Once. I did once, about four years ago. :-)

 

While I do love that bargain, I wouldn't want to keep all those refills around, languishing, maybe even evaporating (would that happen?) over the many years. I appreciate the suggestion, JohnS; thank you!

 

 

I'm pretty sure gel refills have a limited lifespan, so it don't think it would be a good idea to keep them around.

 

Dillon

 

I buy the 15 packs and haven't had any problem. The unused pens may be sealed in some fashion, as they don't seem to dry out. Once a pen is "started," if it is then set aside and forgotten, it may be dry. Even so, if you "squiggle" on scrap paper, once it restarts, it is fine. Can't comment on other brands but this seems a minimal or non-existent problem for G2s. I lose them, loan them out to people, etc. One of these 15 packs last my wife and I 2-3 years.

 

 

 

 

If I needed a G2 refill for something else, I would dismantle one of the pens from the pack and steal its ink. The pens in the pack are less than $0.60 apiece, and the over-priced refills are over a buck everywhere I've seen them.

 

I'm thinking about 10-15 years because I know that with my usage habits, those pens might last me quite a long time since I never really write with anything other than fountain pens, pencils, and sparkly gel pens. I always grab a fountain pen when I want to make a quick note.

 

Dillon

 

 

I use a fountain pen predominately too, but I always carry a loaner G2 as I hate people borrowing my fountain pen. The loaners have a high loss rate, but I don't much care. I am sure I lose a lot more than I use.

[XiaoMG]

I tried to get into the G-2 when I was in university, after hearing some hype about it. Never really became a fan. The finer points weren't smooth or reliable, the more common larger points didn't work well with common paper. I had mostly given up on gel pens altogether until I found the Uni Signo DX in Taiwan in 2004. Less pressure to write and much more durable ink, and while not always perfect, my rate of bad Signos is lower than my rate of bad 78Gs or Platinum Preppys.

 

 

For a while, I branched off and accumulated Pentel Sliccis and Hi-Tec-Cs, but in the end I always came back to the Signos. Today, they are still probably the single biggest impediment to my appreciation of fountain pens. Every few months I'll be in a store and pick up a G-2 and give it a quick scribble to see if I was unreasonable or unfair in dismissing one of the most hyped of all pens...but I have yet to leave the store with one.

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

With all the things available in Taiwan, I think you should skip the G2. The G2 falls a bit short in comparison. The G2 pens didn't seem to be so common in Taiwan, but I wasn't looking for them.

 

Dillon

[chefz]

The G2 is not a fountain pen, but it is the fountain pens of gel pens and rollerballs.

 

This! I was a die-hard G2 fan, used them exclusively once I discovered the multipacks with the special colors, like burgundy and teal and golden brown (LOVE those!). But then I discovered Lamy Safari's and haven't looked back. Now my G2's are collecting dust. It's kinda sad really.

[randyholhut]

A G2 may not be a fountain pen, but the 1.0mm refill writes pretty fountain pen -ike to me. Lays down a lot of ink and glides across my notebooks and legal pads.

 

The 0.7mm is a good general purpose point and the 0.5mm is the best XF refill out there, especially since Sheaffer and Parker don't make them.

 

I love fountain pens, but G2 pens have become my go-to pens. Inexpensive, comfortable to write with, and more adaptable to bad weather than FPs.

[ethernautrix]

I had no idea there was any hype about the Pentel G-2 until I heard rumors in Fountain Pen Network.

 

I learned about them, because they were available at work. I tend to notice when I like a pen, and I liked this one. I've used other gel pens that I've liked, too, mentioned in this thread.

[bphollin]

I wouldn't use my Lamy 2000 rollerball if I didn't hack it to accept G-2 refills. (The Lamy rollerball refills are pretty pathetic, if you ask me.) I had a few G-2 Pro models in blue that were a close match to the Pelikan 215 blue, but I gave them away to admiring friends. I really like the 1mm refills. Does anyone know if there are any wider sizes?

 

I picked up some Uniball 207 refills, but haven't tried them in the 2000 yet...

[tomgartin]

I've always had bad luck with the Zebra Sarasa--every one I've used performs like a Bic. Maybe it's just me. The G2, however, has never let me down even when I needed to sign one of those slippery birthday cards.

[bizhe]

G2s come in 4 widths:

 

-ultra-fine (0.38mm)

-extra fine (0.5mm)

-fine (0.7mm)

-bold (1.0mm)

 

Count me in as another person who uses G2s when not using FPs. I have blue and green and prefer 0.7mm for writing English. Oh I also use wooden pencils sometimes too.

 

At one time I went on a quest to find the FP ink that was closest in color to G2 blue. Seriously. The answer I came up with was Visconti blue (I'm mostly through the first bottle), although I seem to remember that there were a couple other candidates.

 

Hype about G2 refills, oh my.

[Sailor Kenshin]

The G-2 comes in minis! Or it used to. Bery bery handy for slipping in the spirals of a memo pad.

[ethernautrix]

This thread inspired me to bring the Montblanc Scenium into rotation. Right on!

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

As I mentioned earlier in my review, the mini version is really a regular G2 with a shortened barrel. Everything about it is the same as the regular G2 and all the other parts interchange. Refills aren't sold for it, so I usually refill it by writing with a G2 until the ink is used up to a certain point, then cutting the refill to the proper length.

 

Dillon

[bphollin]

At one time I went on a quest to find the FP ink that was closest in color to G2 blue. Seriously. The answer I came up with was Visconti blue (I'm mostly through the first bottle), although I seem to remember that there were a couple other candidates.

Skrip Blue is very close, too.

[erica_483]

This! I was a die-hard G2 fan, used them exclusively once I discovered the multipacks with the special colors, like burgundy and teal and golden brown (LOVE those!). But then I discovered Lamy Safari's and haven't looked back. Now my G2's are collecting dust. It's kinda sad really.

 

@chefz which nib size for Lamy Safari do you think matches the line thickness of a G2 0.5mm?

[OcalaFlGuy]

Oh and that turn the refill around every time you push the button part?

 

You can think Parker for that. They patented it[1] with the Jotter.

 

In the first BPs the ball was the weak point. Those that didn't move around freely wore a flat spot quickly causing the pen to skip. Parker came up with the idea to turn the refill every time it was extended so the writing started on a fresh spot of the ball. This Greatly improved the life of the ball.

 

[1] I Believe they patented it, it was certainly their idea. However, in the BP beginning, the Big 3 pen makers were So Flummoxed by setbacks trying to perfect the BP that they actually set up a consortium on the BP to Work Together to perfect it. Parker may well have made the rotating refill "open source" for all I know,

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl