A while back, I ordered the Pilot Juice Pens in .38 tip size. They are heavily praised in the stationary community as an all-round staple to keep in your case. Being a pen addict myself, I decided to give them a shot. Here is my review on the Pilot Juice Pens.
Packaging
I bought the ten pack of colours. They came in a plasticky slipcover that I guess you could use as a “case,” but I wouldn’t really recommend that because it is rather flimsy. The pens themselves are made of plastic, with a textured smooth rubber grip.
Honestly, I thought they looked kind of cheap in the photos online, but they don’t look too tacky in person. They are definitely for the more casual, fun environment though.
Usage
I do have to admit that they write super smoothly. The ink flows out evenly, and I have not yet encountered any problems with skipping. Be careful on thin paper however! Pressing too heavily on the paper will cause the ink to bleed through. At .38 tip size, you really shouldn’t be pressing too hard anyway.
The pens dry fairly quickly, and I have not encountered a problem with smudging. However, if you are highlighting over these pens, I’d suggest letting the ink set before going over them. The pens are pretty inky as I’ve mentioned, and I did get some smudging if I did not wait long enough before highlighting over.
The colours are all really nice, and the ten pack gives a nice variety of colours that work well together. I really like how the regular blue isn’t the typical ballpoint pen blue. It’s a deeper, navy blue.
One of the two complaints I have is about the two pink colours they included, because they look very similar. It would be nice if they swapped out one of them with a brown or something. The other complaint is that some of the lighter colours, such as as the lime green, really have no use for me; they are way too light to to see on paper.
Longevity
I’ve been using the pens for about five months now. I use them to markup notes that teachers give me, to write in and decorate my bullet journal, and take down class notes. While I’ve made a healthy dent on all of the colors, the black one is the most battered, with very little ink left.
I’ve written maybe, one to two pages of notes a few times a week with that pen. For five months, it’s not bad.
Price and Accessibility
These are Japanese pens, and seeing as I live in Canada, I could not find them anywhere in stores. I got my set off of Amazon for $15, plus free shipping. It was a super long wait though; almost a month, because they were being shipped from Japan. I found them the cheapest on Amazon, and really did not need them urgently, so I didn’t mind the wait, but it’s helpful to keep the shipping time in mind if you’re ordering far.
The Verdict
Are the Pilot Juice Pens worth your money? I’d say yes! They are smooth, inky pens that don’t skip or bleed (on nicer paper). I’d say they are reasonably priced for the number of pens that come in the pack.
If you’re looking for a trusty tool to carry you through dozens of lecture notes, these pens are probably not for you. But if you are simply looking for some nice pens for journaling, annotating, or light writing, these Pilot Juice Pens are a great addition to your case!
Buy It Here
Have you used or heard of these pens before? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
The Jinxed Goblet 