Do you need a special pen to Bullet Journal? Of course not. But it doesn’t hurt to have one you enjoy using, and the team behind the Bullet Journal hopes it might be their own model, The Pen, designed in collaboration with long time partner Leuchtturm1917.
The simple name belies its design. The Pen is small and narrow, with a lightweight aluminum barrel and brass ends. The twist mechanism is simple, and finishes off a design that is right at home next to your favorite notebook.
If the design looks familiar, it is because it is based around Leuchtturm’s popular Drehgriffel pen. The standard model was released in 2020, featuring a German design aesthetic from 100 years prior. It was modernized with a dozen different barrel colors, and features a ballpoint ink refill, in blue or black.
Pro tip: Add a bit of washi tape to the refill to mitigate the metal on metal clicking sound when writing.
The Pen differs aesthetically, with black on black barrel text as opposed to the standard white stamping, and with the use of an 0.5 mm gel ink refill-a better choice in my book, and maybe for Bullet Journaler notebooks, too. It certainly caught me by surprise. Not that it was gel ink per se, but the 0.5 mm tip size. 0.7 mm is usually the default. Having a Parker-style 0.5 mm gel ink refill as the stock option is rare these days.
The refill works well, too. It’s not as glassy smooth as other mainstream gel ink refills, but that is a fair trade for the finer line. I saw no skipping issues, and the lines were clean and mess free.
There are a few minor considerations if you are thinking about this pen for yourself. The most minor one is the Bullet Journal logo if you aren’t a user of the system. As I mentioned before, the black on black text makes it barely visible-it’s only there if you go looking for it.
A bigger issue could be the elongated nose cone that extends into the grippable area of the pen. This is part of the traditional Drehgriffel design. I’m a low-gripper, so my fingers cross into the brass area most of the time, where the pen narrows out. I didn’t have an issue with that, because my grip and writing style mesh with the fine gel refill. The thinness of the faceted barrel does allow you to grip it further back comfortably, if needed.
The biggest issue is the price. At $31.95, I think it is completely reasonable. I’d guess many readers of the blog feel similarly. That puts it in the same class as the Retro 51, and more expensive than many Lamy ballpoints and rollerballs, which are another great upgrade option over the basics. Of course, you can #BuJo with any pen or pencil, and could buy a fistful for $30. What will fans of the Bullet Journal system think?
Combined with an upgraded 2nd Edition of the Bullet Journal notebook, The Pen is a nice addition to the BuJo ecosystem. And, as a stand-alone product, it’s pretty darn good in its own right. I think Bullet Journal fans will enjoy it, as will general stationery lovers.
(Bullet Journal provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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