Image	Product	Features	Price
	Pineider Avatar		Check Price
	LAMY Studio		Check Price
	Caran d’Ache Ecridor		Check Price
	Montblanc Meisterstück 164 Gold Coated Classique Ballpoint Pen		Check Price
	ST Dupont Liberte Black & Palladium Mini Ballpoint Pen		Check Price

Ballpoint pens are one of the most commonly used types of pens, and rightly so. They’re reliable, affordable, and versatile, and on top of that provide a smooth writing experience on all kinds of surfaces. 

You can find them in different shapes, sizes, and ink colors, so it can be challenging to pinpoint the best ballpoint pens on the market – but not for us! Here at Truphae, we’ve tested a great deal of ballpoint pens, so we can recommend the best ones to our readers and customers.

We’ll explain how ballpoint pens work, cover their history, characteristics, and benefits, and introduce you to some notable brands. But before we get into all that, let’s start with the best ballpoint pen recommendations.

Best Ballpoint Pen Recommendations

Since there isn’t one ideal ballpoint pen for everyone, we’ve chosen the best of the best in various categories, so we’re confident you’ll find something you like.

Best Professional Ballpoint Pen - Pineider Avatar

Specifications

Manufacturer	Pineider
Color	Matte black, Matte cherry, Glossy Black, Metal Clear, Metal Amber, Matte Lapis Blue, Matte Ice Blue, Demo Black Wine, and others
Weight	22.68 g
Length	134.6 mm
Material	Ultraresin and celluloid
Series	Avatar

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Uses high-quality materials, such as Ultraresin and celluloid
• Each pen is packaged in a gift box
• Available in various colors

Cons

• Only uses proprietary Parker refills
• High price for a pen made of celluloid and resin

The Pineider Avatar ballpoint pen is the ideal ballpoint pen for professionals due to its minimal design and reliability. 

Its sturdy body is made of unbreakable marbled UltraResin and has a nickel-free trim, while the other pens in this collection are made of high-quality celluloid. Its hefty price, though, comes from the Glueless technology that’s used in its production, which is an innovative technique in the pen-making market where the pen’s components are attached without using any glue. 

This ballpoint pen provides a smooth and superior writing experience and comes in multiple colors, giving you many options to choose from. And lastly, each pen is packaged in a gift box, which is great if you’re looking for a gift of this kind.

If you’d like to check out other writing instruments, take a look at our ballpoint pen selection.

Best Pen for Students - LAMY Studio

Specifications

Manufacturer	LAMY
Color	Black, Dark Brown, Black Forest, Glacier Blue, Piano Black, Stainless steel, Imperial Blue
Weight	32 g
Length	141 mm
Material	Metal
Series	Studio

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Wide range of colors available
• Unique clip
• Modern and minimalist design

Cons

• Slippery grip section

Whether you’re looking for the best pens for lefties or the best journaling pens, a LAMY pen is bound to be on that list, so it’s not surprising that we’ve included it here as well. 

The modern LAMY Studio ballpoint pen’s minimalistic design showcases its pure cylindrical form and steel propeller-shaped clip. Apart from the elegance and seamlessness of its design, the LAMY Studio is characterized by the twist-action mechanism that reveals the tip of the pen so you can start writing instantly. It’s available in a plethora of colors that are bound to fit the style and taste of every pen enthusiast.

This specific series of LAMY pens is also available as fountain pens and capped rollerballs, all of which can be found in our store. The M16 Ballpoint refills are also available in our store in four colors, black, blue, red, and green, in a fine, medium, and broad tip, and they work with LAMY 2000, Accent, Aion, Al-Star, CP1, Logo, LX, Noto, Pur, Safari, Studio, and Vista pens.

Best Luxury Ballpoint Pen - Caran d’Ache Ecridor

Specifications

Manufacturer	Caran d’Ache
Color	Venetian Palladium, Sunlight, Venetian Chevron Rose, Avenue, Golf, Retro, and others
Weight	24.2 g
Length	128 mm
Material	Brass
Series	Ecridor

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Eye-catching design
• Long-lasting refill
• Balance in terms of length and weight

Cons

• Slender in size

The Caran d’Ache Ecridor is another gem in our ballpoint pens section that’s highly popular due to the comfort it provides during longer writing sessions.

The pen features an eye-catching design and its signature element, the recognizable hexagonal barrel. Its unique barrel is created using the Swiss technique called guilloche, which is known for creating intricate and interesting patterns. Another great feature is how perfectly balanced it is, which is an essential requirement for most pen aficionados. 

This pen works with Goliath cartridges and you can choose between various ink colors, which include the classic ones, such as black, blue, and red, but also some unconventional colors, such as green, violet, and turquoise. 

Best Ballpoint Pen Overall - Montblanc Meisterstuck 164

Specifications

Manufacturer	Meisterstuck
Color	Gold coated, Platinum coated, Rose gold coated
Weight	20 g
Length	136 mm
Material	Resin
Series	164

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Well-know design since the 1970s
• Lightweight and luxurious
• Durable and sturdy

Cons

• High price

While the Montblanc Meisterstuck 164 could have easily made its way into the best luxury category, we decided to add it to our best overall category as this iconic pen has been a favorite among pen aficionados for many years. First introduced in the 1970s, it has only increased in popularity in the last 50 years.

This iconic pen features a timeless design and it’s meticulously crafted using luxury materials like precious black resin and golden embellishments. Its smooth writing experience is provided by the reliable, high-quality, and efficient stainless steel tip that comes in a medium size. Due to all of these features, no wonder the Montblanc Meisterstuck 164 has become a symbol of luxury, quality, and efficiency.

If you’re interested in other luxury pens, don’t forget to check out our collection of pens in the price range between $1,000 and $2,000.

Best Mini Ballpoint Pen - ST Dupont Liberte

Specifications

Manufacturer	ST Dupont
Color	Black
Weight	17 gr
Length	100 mm
Material	Palladium plating and black lacquer
Series	Liberte

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Stylish minimal design
• Compact and lightweight pen
• Versatile
• Smooth twist mechanism to retract and extend the ballpoint

Cons

• High price for a small pen

The ST Dupont Liberte has all the features that are expected from luxury pens but in a travel-friendly, mini size. It’s popular due to the signature ST Dupont minimal design that comes in a compact and lightweight pen that you can use for journaling, note-taking, and every on-the-go writing task you can think of.

It’s an extremely light pen that weighs only 17 grams and is only 10 centimeters long, making it comfortable and easy to write with and carry around. The body is made of luxurious black lacquer polished with palladium trim. Another smooth feature is the twist mechanism that retracts and extends the nib without much effort, making the pen ready for any writing activity.

The only potential downside to this extremely convenient writing accessory is that it has a high price for a product of this size. However, true ST Dupont fans know that it’s all worth it when we take into account how well-made and functional it really is.

What is a Ballpoint Pen?

Ballpoint pens are the bread and butter of the writing community since they’re reliable, durable, and efficient writing tools that work on almost all types of paper and are often the most affordable pens as well.

To dispense the oil-based ink on the paper, they use a small ball located at the tip of the pen that rolls around. The ink is thick and viscous, which reduces the chances of bleeding through the paper. The thickness of the ink, however, can also be a drawback since you need to apply more pressure while writing, resulting in your hand getting tired faster than when using water-based ink pens.

Emulsion, Hybrid, and Low-Viscosity Inks

While most ballpoint pens operate using the standard oil-base ink, some pens are advertised as being low-viscosity, or smoother than the standard ink. This type of ink offers the best of both worlds in terms of ballpoint and gel ink as it enables you to write with less pressure and dries much faster.

Why Use a Ballpoint Pen?

There are many benefits to using a ballpoint pen for your daily writing tasks, so let’s cover the main ones.

• Reliable and water-resistant
• Long-lasting
• The ink doesn’t bleed through the paper
• Low maintenance
• Writes well on synthetic paper and credit cards
• Fast drying, a great feature for left-handed writers
• Able to write on various types of paper, such as cardboard, glossy paper, receipts, etc.

Ballpoint Pen Considerations

There are a number of key features that separate ballpoint pens from other types of pens, so let’s cover the main ones.

Smoothness and Writing Pressure

Ballpoint pens generally require more pressure to write compared to other pens due to the thickness of the oil-based ink. To reduce the strain that people often feel after writing with ballpoint pens for a prolonged amount of time, pen aficionados opt for using “low-viscosity,” “hybrid,” or “emulsion” inks, or use ergonomic pens to reduce hand strain.

Consistency

Due to the thickness of the ink, ballpoint pens can sometimes be inconsistent in terms of producing more and less potent lines, as well as thinner and thicker lines. It’s also quite common for the ink to build up at the tip of the pen from where it easily transfers onto the page, which increases the drying time significantly and can easily be smudged.

Tip Size

Because of the thickness of the ink, ballpoint pens produce thinner lines compared to rollerball and gel pens. Therefore, their typical tip size is either 0.7 mm or 1 mm, while 0.5 mm is rarely found. When choosing a ballpoint pen, always go for a larger tip size than the one you would choose for a gel or rollerball pen.

History of the Ballpoint Pen

Ballpoint pens have been used for nearly 100 years, however, the mechanism was first created back in 1888 by John Loud. This pen had an ink reservoir and a rolling ball that dispensed the ink at the tip of the pen, but it wasn’t further developed since the ink was too viscous, which resulted in a lot of leaking, clogging, and smearing.

In 1938, the Hungarian newspaper editor László Bíró and his brother György, a chemist, designed their ballpoint pen and developed the formula for the ink that actually worked. László Bíró noticed that the type of ink that was used in newspaper printing was much more viscous and dried quickly without smearing, so he used a similar formula for the new ballpoint pen. The patent was successful and their company Birome, which later became Biro in Britain, started producing the first functional ballpoint pen. 

Nowadays, ballpoint pens are the most popular and widely used pens in the world and can be found in a variety of designs.

Buyers Guide on What to Look for When Buying Ballpoint Pens

The perfect ballpoint pen doesn’t skip, writes smoothly, and doesn't leave ink smudges on your favorite notebook. So, to ensure that the pen you’re buying is of good quality, ask yourself the following questions before purchasing:

• Do you plan on using your pen for longer periods of time?
• Would you like to have an ergonomic grip section?
• Do you need an extremely durable pen that you’ll carry around everywhere, or do you want your pen to be a statement piece on your desk?
• What’s your budget?
• Do you just need one pen of higher quality, or a few, more affordable pens that you’ll swap from time to time?
• How important is the size and weight of the pen?

The answers will help you find the right pen for your needs.

Ballpoint Pen Brands You Need to Know

Last but not least, let’s briefly cover the most popular brands that produce ballpoint pens.

BIC

BIC is one of the first companies that comes to mind when talking about ballpoint pens. After all, they created the BIC Cristal, the most recognizable ballpoint pen in the world. Apart from the Cristal, other popular ballpoint pens include 4-Color, Round Stic, Soft Feel, and many others.

Pilot

While Pilot is a company that’s well known for its fountain pens, they also produce quality ballpoint pens with a low viscosity ink that simulates the ink in rollerball pens. 

Parker

If you’ve heard of the Jotter ballpoint pen, you’re also acquainted with Parker, one of the first ballpoint manufacturers. They’re known for creating refillable and sturdy pens made of precious metal materials, which is why they’re also very reliable and long-lasting.

Uni-Ball

Another brand that’s known for the production of efficient ballpoint pens in Uni-Ball. The company’s flagship pen is the Uni-Ball Jetstream, a pen with a low viscosity ballpoint ink that bonds with the paper instantly, dries quickly, and doesn’t smear.

Caran D'Ache

Caran D’Ache is a brand that’s behind the production of reliable ballpoint pens that feature a fresh and artistic design, and write smoothly. One of their most popular pens, the 849, is as high quality as Montblancs, but at a slightly lower price point. 

Waterman

The epitome of smooth and luxurious French design is engulfed in each pen that Waterman manufactures. Once you start using them, you’ll become a fan for life.

Conclusion

Ballpoint pens are the epitome of functionality, versatility, and longevity, which is why they’ve been popular ever since they were invented and are now found in all kinds of shapes and sizes. 

To choose your ideal pen, you need to assess the characteristics, writing performance, and price before making a decision, and our template on how to assess and determine the pros and cons of each pen should help you with this task.

We’ve concluded that the Montblanc Meisterstuck 164 is one of the most iconic ballpoint pens of all time. It’s extremely functional, pleasing to the eye, and made of high-quality materials by a renowned pen brand. It’s a pen that you’ll use and love for years to come.

So, what are your favorite pens from our list? Is there another ballpoint pen you’d add? Let us know in the comment section below.