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The Best Pens for Taking Notes

You can use any pen to take notes, but some are better than others. The most important factor is to choose a pen (or pencil!) that you find comfortable to use, and that you can write quickly with. Studies have shown that we tend to remember things better when we write them down with pen on paper, which makes handwritten notetaking an obvious win - not just to look back on, but to help you to retain the information at the time.

Features to look for:

  • If you tend to smudge, you'll want something with quick-drying ink. Even if it's not usually a problem for you, it's more likely to happen when you're trying to get notes down fast.
  • You'll want something reliable - a pen that might run out of ink unexpectedly could leave you stuck.
  • Something smooth-writing is good, so you can scribble faster.
  • It'll need to be comfortable for you. But that can mean different things to different people. Big, soft grips are ideal for some, but some people find slim pens better, so look for what you know works best for you.

Uni Jetstream - super-smooth ink

This is the Uni Jetstream - these pens use hybrid ink, which (in this case) writes like a ballpoint, but smoother and with more dense colour. the result is a pen that works anywhere a ballpoint works, but your notes are a bit more solid, easier to read.

The writing experience is really nice, too, with the smooth ink making it easy to take quick notes. It's quick-drying too, reducing smudging.

The Jetstream Sport is the most basic model, great for using anywhere you wouldn't want to risk a nicer pen, or perfect when you might worry about losing it. Also ideal for keeping a few in different places, so you always have one ready to go when you need it.

Uni Jetstream Sport SXN-150 Rollerball Pen

£2.10 GBP
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Uni-ball Jetstream Sport rollerball (also known as the Junior). Jetstream hybrid ink writes super-smoothly and dries super-fast. Very popular with left-handed writers. As usual with Uni the ink is waterproof, fade-proof pigment ink - technically superior to most of the competition. Retractable nib and rubber comfort grip.
1.0mm ball writes a 0.45mm line.

Ink Colour
Pack Size

But if that one isn't the Jetstream for you, there are more - capped and retractable, and even multipens with different colours of that lovely Jetstream ink, all in one body.

Uni Jetstream

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Whichever you choose, the Jetstream would be our top pick for notetaking, for most people.

Multipens

We love multifunction pens, or multipens to their friends, for notes. The combination of features varies, but they usually have at least two colours of ballpoint pen, and often a pencil, all in one pen body. Some are quite chunky, but some are as slim as most other pens.

They make it very easy to keep notes colour-coded, which you can use for whatever purpose makes most sense to you.

  • Notes in black, good points in green, bad points or problems to solve in red.
  • Notes in blue, important things to remember in red, things to check or change in pencil.
  • Different colours for each person's ideas.

However you use them, they're very handy. And our top pick is one of the cheapest - the classic BIC 4-Colour that most of you have probably seen before:

BIC 4-Colour Multipen Original

£2.10 GBP
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BIC's 4-Colour Multipen ballpoint is a classic. You get 4 colours - black, blue, red and green - in one pen and it's refillable too. All you need do is push down the side button for the colour you want, and retract it by pushing down any of the other buttons. It has a handy pocket clip and a little ring on the end, just in case you need to attach it to something.

This is the original one, with its familar blue and white barrel.

Pack Size

But if that one isn't for you, there are lots of others, including some luxurious pens, and even some based on the same Jetstream ink we were just talking about.

Multifunction Pens

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A little extra note - a lot of multipens use standard refills called 'D1' - they're small, and a lot of different brands make refills of this shape and size. It can make a multipen even more useful, because you can swap out the refills for ones you use - if it comes with black, blue and red, but you'd prefer black, red and green, just change the refills.

Uni Kuru Toga - the pencil of choice

The Kuru Toga was a literal revolution in mechanical pencils when it first appeared, and the design has been refined over the years since. The lead is slowly rotated as you write, avoiding the tip becoming worn in a chisel-shape, which can dig into the paper, breaking the lead.

Our top pick would be the Advance model, with its metal barrel. A major reason for picking this one is that it has the 'slide pipe' feature - the tube that holds the lead at the tip is free to slide easily back as you scribble, getting out of your way. If you don't have time to click out more lead, you can just keep going, and the 'pipe' slides up, letting you keep going. It also helps to keep the lead better protected from breakage, which can be more of a risk when you're trying to take notes fast.

Uni Kuru Toga Advance Mechanical Pencil 0.5mm

£15.00 GBP
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The Uni Kuru Toga pencil is truly - and literally - revolutionary.

When using a normal mechanical pencil at a typical writing angle, the lead point quickly becomes chisel-shaped. This leads to broader, less precise lines; and crumbling of the resulting sharp edge. The unique gear mechanism of the Kuru Toga rotates the lead every time it is touched to the paper, resulting in a clean cone-shaped tip which is sharp and resistant to breaking. Simple, yet brilliant. We've been using early samples from Japan on a daily basis since the end of 2008 and they really do work.

The Advance version of the Kuru Toga features the Slide Pipe mechanism, and wraps the whole thing up in a smart metal shell. It's the same pencil we know and love, but it's dressed up a bit. Holes in the grip section add a little texture for a better grip, but also give you a slight peek at the mechanism inside. The metal barrel and clip make for a pencil that should stand up to longer term use (not that we saw many problems with the standard models!)

The Slide Pipe adds two useful benefits:

  • The tip can be retracted, making the pencil more pocket-safe. The tip is less likely to be damaged when you're carrying it, and it's less likely to poke holes in your pocket, or even you!
  • Because the lead-supporting tube can slide easily out of the way, it pushes back a little as the lead wears, so if the lead wears down when you're in mid flow, you can keep going longer without having to click more lead out quite so urgently. You'll still need to click eventually, but this can make all the difference when you need to get notes down quickly.

The lead rotates approximately 18 degrees with each contact - twice as much as the original Kuru Toga, for quicker turning - around 20 touches will rotate the lead completely.

0.5mm pencil approximately 140mm long,10mm diameter and 14g in weight. Eraser under the push-button.

Colour

But there are plenty of Kuru Toga pencils to choose from, so have a look for the one that suits you best.

Uni Kuru Toga

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Highlighters

Not everyone wants to highlight as they go when taking notes - some people do, others prefer to highlight the key points at the end of the session. And some people would rather not, or maybe write an additional summary with just the key points, to help them remember.

If highlighting is for you, we have quite a wide range of top quality highlighters, but our pick for this is the Staedtler TextSurfer Gel. Unlike most highlighters, it's a solid stick of gel, a bit like a lipstick - that means it doesn't dry out while you're thinking, and it's more resistant to smudging inkjet print and fountain pen inks (though it can still smudge those, test first).

Staedtler TextSurfer Gel Highlighter

£1.60 GBP
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Staedtler Textsurfer Gel is an ultra-soft and brilliant intensity dry highlighter. Translucent wax lead and twist mechanism.
Inkjet safe - does not smudge inkjet printouts. Suitable for all types of standard paper (with the exception of thermal paper), and will not bleed through.
Dry safe - can be left uncapped for days without drying out (test ISO 554).
Write out length approximately 160 - 220 m (depending on writing pressure and angle). Store between 0 °C and 50 °C. Washable from skin with warm water and soap (all colours). Yellow washes out of most textiles.

Ink Colour
Pack Size

If that's not right for you, we have plenty more:

Highlighter Pens

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Pastel Highlighters

Sometimes, highlighters are just a bit too harsh. Yes, you want the bits you're highlighting to stand out, but do they have to stand out so much? Pastel highlighters are the answer to that - highlighting, but more gentle. Drawing attention, but less shouty.

It started with the Zebra Mildliner, which was a revelation when it first appeared, and is still the best known of its type.

Zebra Mildliner Twin Tip Pastel Highlighter

£19.00 GBP
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Zebra's Mildliner is not just somewhat gentler on the eye than your usual highlighter, it's got twin tips too! The colours are pastel but still make words or passages stand out, just as with normal highlighters. This makes them ideal for use in pursuits such as scrapbooking and bullet journalling, as the effect is far more subtle.

The twin tips lend more flexibility as well. One is what you'd expect: a chisel tip approximately 3mm wide, perfect for marking, and the other is a finer bullet tip, which writes an approximate 1mm line and is great for underlining.

Water-based ink that dries quickly.

Ink Colour
Pack Size

Other brands have since joined in with their own pastel highlighters, though, so there are plenty more choices.

Pastel Highlighter Pens

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So now you know what to look for, if none of those suggestions sound right to you, have a browse around our selection - if you can't find the right pen here, it probably doesn't exist!