Papermate Inkjoy Gel Pens - I'm Seeing Them More And More

[Mike 59]

For those in the UK, 'Wilkos' now have a stand just for the Inkjoy gels with a promotion which appears to be much less than I paid.

But as of today there are no pens on the stand, so I suspect they are waiting for stock, but I am guessing of course.

[Format]

Thank you Mike 59

[IvoryParker]

Try an Engergel Alloy RT. I get them on Amazon for ~$4.50 as they beat the heck out of a plastic pen and are cheap enough I don't cry much if I loose one.

 

Locally, I can buy the plastic Energel's cheaper than the refills.

Here in South Africa Energel refills are about US $ 2 each! HOWEVER a local retailer sells a Pentel Energel Bl317A (a stick pen) in a three pack for about US $ 2 and guess what? The refill is the same as the expensive Energels. It's basically an LR7 refill.

 

It pays to look around sometimes

[IvoryParker]

On the topic of inkjoys here in SA, they are available but not popular at all. I suspect that people are not inclined to buy a 14 pack multicolor pen set.

 

Instead Mitsubishi pencil company have flooded the market with a gel pen called the "Uniclick RSX7" these pens have taken the market by storm and are available for ZAR 9.00 each.

 

And peculiarly when you take out the refill, WHAM! You're surprised with a uni ball signo 207 refill!!! Oh and strangely enough the uni signo is available in SA for a whopping ZAR 49.00 each!

 

Is it just me or do these conglomerates not expect that their customers would open up the pens and make these comparisons?

 

I mean besides us being pen enthusiasts I'm sure the general public are not as incisive and won't even bother to open up the pen. Just use and chuck it out

[Mike 59]

Hi, I would imagine the general public, not so much 'into' pens, would worry too much about refills, until they run out, then buy a new pen, anyway.

New refills tend to cost 75% or more of a new pen anyway, it's hardly worth it.

The Uni 207 and Pentel Energels have been in UK, probably all EU, for at least 5 years, but the Paper Mate Inkjoy Gels are only appearing now, a May 2017 'release' I guess.

It gives a better choice of refills for those that care to look into it, as the Uni 207, Energel and PM Inkjoy Gels are interchangeable.

The Pilot G2 refill does not 'drop in' to any of these pens, (why would it?) because of the extra sleeve near the point, but I suspect a bit of work might do the trick, (not tested that, yet.)

It would be good to see any refills other than 0.7 though, it's the only width I see for sale retail.

Will look out for that Uniclick RSX7, could be the way to get refills at a reasonable price.

Edited April 29, 2017 by Mike 59

[IvoryParker]

Minor correction it's the Uniclick XSG-R7

[IvoryParker]

Here's a pic courtesy of google

[throwaway3776]

OK, so, is this topic about these pens?

 

http://i.imgur.com/Oo9lmaG.jpg

 

I bought those today in the local Asda, medium point, pack of two. They are good.

Edited May 3, 2017 by throwaway3776

[Mike 59]

Hi throwaway3776, Yes those are the same gel pens, they are very good.

As to date, 4 May, I've seen them in Sainsburys and Wilkos. Sainsbury have some of the 3 pen packs, black, blue & red, and the 'fun' pack, pink, purple & green (?), plus the 2 x black. Wilko have the 2x black only, but are cheaper than Sainsburys @ £1 per pen.

The pens I've seen are all 0.7mm, but that's normal for UK, I don't expect to see 0.5mm retail, if I do I'll buy them.

Edited May 4, 2017 by Mike 59

[MYU]

By the way, JetPens responded to my inquiry and they tried to test-fit a Pilot G2 inside an InkJoy pen... and it didn't fit. I suspect because of the "shoulders" on the G2. But I asked them to try it the other way around, see if an InkJoy refill would fit in a Pilot G2 compatible pen. Hopefully I'll hear back some positive news on that.

 

I didn't hear back... but I discovered that our local Acme supermarket had some Inkjoy pens in the closeout section. I picked up a 2 pack of black InkJoy pens for $2.57 USD plus tax. These are the clicky ones, which have a front end piece that unscrews to gain access to the refill. I was able to insert this into a rOtring 600 rollerball that had a Pilot G2 installed. It fit fine, and wow... this is good stuff! It writes very wet, but dries very fast. I wonder what kind of longevity you get out of these compared to a Pilot G2? I have some Pilot G2 refills installed in a few rollerballs that get use maybe once or twice a month, if that. And despite over 7 years of sitting in a pen, the refills still work fine. That blows the doors off of Schmidt Capless rollerball refills I've used... which have a terrible shelf life even UNUSED (I bought a pack of 12 for a good price per refill, only to discover they all dried up in about 3 years!).

[nigelg]

Our local ASDA has the 2-pack of black 07.mm at £2 and a pack of three, a pinky-red, a light blue and a purpley/blue (blurple? ) also 0.7mm at £7.

[milkb0at]

I finally bought a 2-pack of black 0.7mm InkJoy Gel pens at Rymans, just before I spotted them for a third of the price in Wilkos :-(

 

I'm very happy to finally try it. It's fun to write with since it's so wet and broad and is a nice looking pen. But for me I still prefer the Pilot G-2. The PaperMate is similar to the EnerGel, both definitely more on the liquid rollerball end of things rather than the drier gel Pilot. All the ones I have are 0.7mm, but the G-2 writes thinner than the others too, which I appreciate. So perhaps a 0.5mm InkJoy will be a fairer comparison.

 

For me the EnerGel and InkJoy feel like they're about to feather (on the Leuchtturm 1917 paper I'm currently using), and if you keep the point on the paper for a while they do make a reasonable blob, while the G-2 is crisp and dry.

[MYU]

I finally bought a 2-pack of black 0.7mm InkJoy Gel pens at Rymans, just before I spotted them for a third of the price in Wilkos :-(

 

I'm very happy to finally try it. It's fun to write with since it's so wet and broad and is a nice looking pen. But for me I still prefer the Pilot G-2. The PaperMate is similar to the EnerGel, both definitely more on the liquid rollerball end of things rather than the drier gel Pilot. All the ones I have are 0.7mm, but the G-2 writes thinner than the others too, which I appreciate. So perhaps a 0.5mm InkJoy will be a fairer comparison.

 

For me the EnerGel and InkJoy feel like they're about to feather (on the Leuchtturm 1917 paper I'm currently using), and if you keep the point on the paper for a while they do make a reasonable blob, while the G-2 is crisp and dry.

 

Good way of putting it, milkboat. I'm also finding the Ink Joy a bit more on the wet side than I prefer. And yep, if you're not swift enough it'll put down more ink than you need, pushing the edge of feathering. Still... a nice ink overall. I'd have to agree with you, that I still prefer the Pilot G2. Pilot really came up with a wonderful composition. I've got pens with it installed and the ink evaporation is very slow. So many other refills I've had will dry up after about a year or two, if you put them aside too long. I think the shaft to the ballpoint tip coagulates and prevents the ink from flowing... and there's nothing you can do about it (I've tried everything from heat, wrist whiplash, and even tying a string and whipping around in a circle applying centripetal force--nothing worked for any appreciable length of time).

[milkb0at]

I think my G-2 is years old, so it's a testament to how good Pilot made it, but I suppose it's possible that my one has turned thicker and drier over time. So perhaps it's another thing that makes it less of a fair comparison, but it's a fun exercise all the same.

[Mike 59]

The Pilot G2 refill has a good quality to the ink, some writers have said the 0.5mm is slightly the better choice in planners with thinner paper, some say it's more scratchy than the 0.7mm, either way it won't fit (without mods) into the PaperMate Gel barrel.

But there are many refills that will fit, Pentel, Uniball etc so it's a matter of choice and testing to get the right result.

I like the PaperMate Inkjoy Gel design because of the way that the barrel unscrews right at the tip, so making the pen stronger, with no weak point in the middle. Also the overall 'grippyness' of the barrel, seems as though someone has tried to get all the good design points of other pens all together in this one, it works for me.

[Blue_Moon]

I finally bought a 2-pack of black 0.7mm InkJoy Gel pens at Rymans, just before I spotted them for a third of the price in Wilkos :-(

 

I'm very happy to finally try it. It's fun to write with since it's so wet and broad and is a nice looking pen. But for me I still prefer the Pilot G-2. The PaperMate is similar to the EnerGel, both definitely more on the liquid rollerball end of things rather than the drier gel Pilot. All the ones I have are 0.7mm, but the G-2 writes thinner than the others too, which I appreciate. So perhaps a 0.5mm InkJoy will be a fairer comparison.

 

For me the EnerGel and InkJoy feel like they're about to feather (on the Leuchtturm 1917 paper I'm currently using), and if you keep the point on the paper for a while they do make a reasonable blob, while the G-2 is crisp and dry.

 

 

 

Good way of putting it, milkboat. I'm also finding the Ink Joy a bit more on the wet side than I prefer. And yep, if you're not swift enough it'll put down more ink than you need, pushing the edge of feathering. Still... a nice ink overall. I'd have to agree with you, that I still prefer the Pilot G2. Pilot really came up with a wonderful composition. I've got pens with it installed and the ink evaporation is very slow. So many other refills I've had will dry up after about a year or two, if you put them aside too long. I think the shaft to the ballpoint tip coagulates and prevents the ink from flowing... and there's nothing you can do about it (I've tried everything from heat, wrist whiplash, and even tying a string and whipping around in a circle applying centripetal force--nothing worked for any appreciable length of time).

 

To each his own. Yes, I agree that the G2's are drier than the InkJoys. That's why I like the InkJoys. I do like the G2's. I just like the InkJoys better because they're wetter. All of my G2s skip. They write dry, and they skip at times (not all the time), but there's just something about them to make me like them anyway. My InkJoys write wet, and never skip. Now, given that, how in the world does the PaperMate make a wet pen (the InkJoy Gel) that dries faster than the dry G2?

[y_bauluck]

Seen those in UK supermarkets - ASDA, Sainsbury's and Tesco. Tesco had them on offer at £2.50 for a 2 pack blister (only black ink was available)

[penman1914]

I have one of these and it is the smoothest ballpoint/rollerball I've ever used.

[TranquilTrout]

My old job always kept a lot of the ballpoint version of the Inkjoy laying around and I think it's one of my favorite value pack ballpoints out there.

[Mike 59]

For those in the UK, as of 22 May, Tesco 'Extra' stores now have these Inkjoy gels in stock.

So far have seen 2x blue pack, 6x various colours pack, and 14 x various colours pack, but no prices shown so far.

Also I notice how the price per pen varies wildly, in different shops, from £1 ea, to £3.50 ea, so it pays to shop around.