Pens & Writing Gifts
PILOT G2: What the Specifications Say, and the One Thing It Is Bad At
The default gel pen in most American desk drawers. Here is what PILOT publishes about it, the single paper problem that gets it returned, and when a different gel pen is the better buy.
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The short version
Yes, the G2 is a good pen, and the 0.7 mm twelve-pack is the one to buy. It is a refillable gel pen with quick-drying ink at a price most people treat as disposable, which makes it the best-value writing gift on this site. Skip it if the paper it will meet is thin - gel ink lays down more ink than a ballpoint and will ghost through a cheap planner. If that is the situation, buy the uniball Jetstream instead.
Every published specification
| Specification | Published figure | What it buys you |
|---|---|---|
| Point | Fine, 0.7 mm | The everyday gel width - fits planner boxes without feeling scratchy |
| Ink | Quick-drying gel; PILOT states it helps prevent smudging | Less drag-smudge than a standard gel, which matters most to left-handed writers |
| Refillable | Yes | The specification almost nobody uses, and the one that makes it cheap over a year |
| Grip | Contoured rubber | Comfortable for long sessions; it is also what makes the pen bulky in a shirt pocket |
| Quantity | 12 pens | A year of supply in one box, which is why it works as a gift |
| Show-through on 70 gsm paper | Not published by any maker | The one figure that would actually settle the thin-paper question, and nobody states it |
Quick picks
Ranked for the person doing the buying. Every pick names who it is wrong for.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  PILOT G2 Premium Gel Roller Pens, 0.7 mm, 12-Pack Twelve refillable gel pens with quick-drying ink, which is the most-used gift on this site by a distance. | Filling a planner without ruining it | |
| 2 |  Zebra Sarasa Dry X20 Retractable Gel Pen, 0.7 mm, 12-Pack The one gel pen here whose maker makes a drying claim and names left-handed writers while doing it, which is a specific promise rather than a general one. | Gel ink a left hand can actually use | $14.46 - View on Amazon #ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded |
| 3 |  uniball Jetstream RT Retractable Ballpoint Pens, 0.7 mm, 12-Count A ballpoint that writes with far less drag than a cheap one, which matters because ballpoint ink is the ink that dries fastest on the page. | The fastest-drying ink type, in a fine point | $20.12 - View on Amazon #ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded |
1. Filling a planner without ruining it
PILOT G2 Premium Gel Roller Pens, 0.7 mm, 12-Pack
Twelve refillable gel pens with quick-drying ink, which is the most-used gift on this site by a distance.
0.7 mm is the everyday gel width and the one that suits planner boxes without feeling scratchy. 0.5 mm is finer and better for very small grids; 1.0 mm is for signatures.
Quick-drying matters disproportionately for left-handed writers, who drag their hand across what they just wrote. It is the reason a gel pen can be a thoughtful gift rather than a filler one.
Understand the trade before you pair this with a thin-paper planner. Gel puts down more ink than a ballpoint, so it shows through more. On 80 gsm and up it is fine; on unstated-weight planner paper it is a gamble.
| Point | Fine, 0.7 mmSource: Amazon listing - PILOT G2 Premium Gel Roller Pens, 0.7 mm, 12-Pack |
|---|---|
| Quantity | 12 pensSource: Amazon listing - PILOT G2 Premium Gel Roller Pens, 0.7 mm, 12-Pack |
| Ink | Quick-drying gel; the maker states it helps prevent smudgingSource: Amazon listing - PILOT G2 Premium Gel Roller Pens, 0.7 mm, 12-Pack |
| Refillable | Yes, with a contoured rubber gripSource: Amazon listing - PILOT G2 Premium Gel Roller Pens, 0.7 mm, 12-Pack |
| Show-through on 70 gsm paper | Not publishedNo maker publishes this. Gel ink lays down more ink than a ballpoint and will ghost on thin planner paper; how much depends on the paper, not the pen. |
What it does well
- Twelve pens, so it is a gift that keeps working for a year.
- Quick-drying ink, which genuinely helps left-handed writers.
- Refillable rather than disposable.
What it does not
- Gel ink shows through thin planner paper more than a ballpoint does.
- A twelve-pack is a practical gift, not a ceremonial one.
Skip this: Skip this as a standalone gift for someone you want to impress. It is the perfect second item beside a planner and a slightly flat first one on its own.
2. Gel ink a left hand can actually use
Zebra Sarasa Dry X20 Retractable Gel Pen, 0.7 mm, 12-Pack
The one gel pen here whose maker makes a drying claim and names left-handed writers while doing it, which is a specific promise rather than a general one.
#ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded
Gel ink is the ink most likely to smear, because it sits wet on the surface longer than a ballpoint's oil-based paste. A gel pen sold specifically on drying speed is therefore aimed at exactly one problem, and it is the problem a left-handed writer has every single line.
Read the claim carefully. Zebra says seconds, on most surfaces. That is not the same as instant, and it is not a controlled figure you can hold the pen to. What it does tell you is which of two gel pens the maker built for this.
The 0.7 mm point is described as medium, which is a wetter, broader line than the 0.5 mm in the same family. If drying speed is the whole reason you are here, the finer point is the safer buy.
| Point size | 0.7 mm, medium pointSource: Amazon listing - Zebra Pen Sarasa Dry X20 Retractable Gel Pen, 0.7 mm |
|---|---|
| Ink | Gel, blackSource: Amazon listing - Zebra Pen Sarasa Dry X20 Retractable Gel Pen, 0.7 mm |
| Count | 12 pensSource: Amazon listing - Zebra Pen Sarasa Dry X20 Retractable Gel Pen, 0.7 mm |
| Maker's drying claim | Rapid Dry Ink; Zebra states the ink dries in seconds on most surfacesZebra's own wording, not a figure this site has measured. There is no stated number of seconds.Source: Zebra Pen - SARASA dry X20 Gel Retractable |
| Maker's left-handed claim | Zebra calls it "an ideal pen for the left handed"Worth knowing because almost no other gel pen maker says it out loud. It is still a marketing claim.Source: Zebra Pen - SARASA dry X20 Gel Retractable |
| Grip | Soft, latex-free rubberized gripSource: Zebra Pen - SARASA dry X20 Gel Retractable |
What it does well
- The maker makes a drying claim and names left-handed writers, which is rare.
- Twelve pens, so it is a supply rather than a single object.
- Rubberized grip at a price where most pens have a bare barrel.
What it does not
- The dry-time claim has no published number of seconds behind it.
- 0.7 mm is the wetter of the two common widths, which works against the drying argument.
- Black only in this pack - no color range without buying another set.
- Gel ink still soaks into cheap copier paper and shows through more than a ballpoint.
Skip this: if the paper is the real problem. A quick-drying gel pen on 70 gsm office stock still bleeds through to the reverse, and no pen fixes that. See ink and bleed-through.
3. The fastest-drying ink type, in a fine point
uniball Jetstream RT Retractable Ballpoint Pens, 0.7 mm, 12-Count
A ballpoint that writes with far less drag than a cheap one, which matters because ballpoint ink is the ink that dries fastest on the page.
#ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded
The useful fact about a ballpoint is not the brand, it is the chemistry. Ballpoint ink is an oil-based paste; gel ink is water-based. The paste sets on the paper surface in a fraction of the time, which is why every serious answer to the smearing question starts here.
What separates this from a supermarket ballpoint is drag. Ordinary ballpoint paste is stiff enough that you press to keep the line going, and pressing is what makes long writing sessions hurt. This one lays down with noticeably less force for the same line.
Twelve pens is the right unit for a pen like this. It is not an object to be looked after - it is the pen you leave in three bags and a coat pocket so there is always one to hand.
| Point size | 0.7 mm, fine pointSource: Amazon listing - uniball Jetstream RT Ballpoint Pens, 0.7 mm, 12 Count |
|---|---|
| Ink | Ballpoint, blackOil-based paste rather than gel, which is the whole reason it dries as fast as it does.Source: Amazon listing - uniball Jetstream RT Ballpoint Pens, 0.7 mm, 12 Count |
| Mechanism | RetractableSource: Amazon listing - uniball Jetstream RT Ballpoint Pens, 0.7 mm, 12 Count |
| Count | 12 pensSource: Amazon listing - uniball Jetstream RT Ballpoint Pens, 0.7 mm, 12 Count |
| Stated dry time | Not publishedNo dry-time figure appears in the product data this site can cite, so the case for it rests on ink type rather than on a number. |
What it does well
- Ballpoint ink, which is the fastest-drying ink type on the page.
- Far less writing pressure needed than a standard ballpoint.
- Twelve pens, so it is a year of pens rather than one.
What it does not
- No published dry-time figure to hold the claim to.
- A ballpoint line is thinner and grayer than gel - it never looks as black on the page.
- Plastic barrel, so it has no presence as a gift.
- Black only in this pack.
Skip this: if the writing is meant to look like something. Ballpoint ink is the palest line of the three ink types here, and for a journal or a card a gel or fountain pen puts far more ink on the page. See gel vs ballpoint.
0.7 mm is the right width, and the alternatives are worse defaults
PILOT sells the G2 in several widths. The 0.7 mm is the one to buy unless you have a specific reason not to, because it is wide enough to lay ink reliably and narrow enough to fit inside a weekly planner box.
The 0.5 mm is the choice for very small grids and for people with small handwriting; it is also more prone to feeling scratchy because less ink is reaching the paper. The 1.0 mm is a signature width and will swamp a dated diary. If you are buying for somebody else and have not seen their handwriting, 0.7 mm is the width that is hardest to get wrong.
The refillability is the specification nobody uses
The G2 is refillable. PILOT publishes this, it is printed on the packaging, and in practice almost every owner throws the pen away and buys another twelve-pack.
That is worth saying out loud because it changes what the pen costs. A refill is a fraction of a whole pen, and the barrel - rubber grip, retractable mechanism, clip - is the expensive part you are discarding. Over a year of heavy writing the difference is real, and it is the strongest argument for the G2 over genuinely disposable gel pens that cost the same per unit.
It is also the reason a twelve-pack is a defensible gift rather than a filler one. Twelve refillable pens is a working setup; twelve disposable pens is a stationery cupboard. Is a pen a good gift covers when that framing works and when it does not.
The thin-paper problem, stated honestly
Gel ink is water-based and lays down more ink than a ballpoint's paste. On good paper that is the point - the line is darker, wetter and more satisfying. On thin paper it ghosts through to the next page, and on genuinely cheap stock it can strike through.
No maker publishes a show-through figure, which is the honest state of this question. Not PILOT, not Zebra, not uniball. Show-through is a function of the paper as much as the ink, and the paper weight is exactly what most planner makers decline to state. What gsm means on notebook paper explains why the figure matters and pens that do not bleed through planner paper is the page to read if the paper is fixed and the pen is the variable.
Where it is beaten
- On drying speed claims, by the Zebra Sarasa Dry, which publishes a Rapid Dry Ink claim and calls itself an ideal pen for the left handed. PILOT claims quick-drying; Zebra claims it louder and more specifically. Neither publishes a number of seconds. The head-to-head works through both.
- On thin paper, by the uniball Jetstream, which is a ballpoint and therefore lays down far less ink. If the paper is the constraint, the mechanism is the answer.
- On archival permanence, by the Sakura Pigma Micron, whose pigment ink publishes waterproof and fade-resistant claims. G2 ink publishes neither, so it is not the pen for anything signed and kept - see pens for signing documents.
- On pocket bulk. The contoured rubber grip that makes it comfortable also makes it fat. A steel Parker Jotter is the pen that goes in a shirt pocket.
Who each pick is for
- PILOT G2 0.7 mm - best for filling a planner without thinking about it. Refillable, quick-drying, and twelve to a box. Honest downside: gel ink shows through thin paper more than a ballpoint does, and no maker publishes how much.
- Zebra Sarasa Dry - best for a left-handed writer. Zebra publishes both a Rapid Dry Ink claim and an explicit left-handed recommendation, which almost no other gel maker states out loud. Honest downside: it is still a marketing claim with no measured drying time behind it.
- uniball Jetstream - best when the paper is thin. A fine-point ballpoint puts far less ink on the page, so it ghosts least of the three. Honest downside: uniball does not publish a dry time either, and ballpoint ink is less satisfying to write with than gel.
Is the G2 a gel pen, a rollerball or a ballpoint?
A gel pen. The distinction is the ink, not the tip: all three use a rolling ball, but a ballpoint uses thick oil-based paste, a rollerball uses thin liquid ink, and a gel pen uses a water-based gel that sits between them.
That middle position is the whole appeal. Gel is darker and smoother than a ballpoint without the feathering and bleed of a true liquid-ink rollerball. Gel vs ballpoint and gel vs rollerball each take one side of that comparison properly.
Questions people actually ask
Is the PILOT G2 a good pen?
Yes. It is refillable, the 0.7 mm point suits everyday writing and planner boxes, and PILOT states the ink is quick-drying. Its one real weakness is thin paper, where gel ink ghosts through more than a ballpoint would.
Is the PILOT G2 refillable?
Yes, and it is the specification most owners never use. Replacing the refill rather than the pen is considerably cheaper over a year, because the barrel, grip and retractable mechanism are the expensive parts being thrown away.
Is the PILOT G2 a gel pen or a ballpoint?
A gel pen. All three types roll a ball, but a ballpoint uses thick oil-based paste and a gel pen uses water-based gel, which is why the G2 writes darker and smoother - and shows through thin paper more.
Is the PILOT G2 waterproof?
PILOT does not publish any water-resistance claim for G2 ink, so do not assume it. If water or fade resistance matters, the Sakura Pigma Micron publishes archival and waterproof claims and the uni-ball Vision Elite publishes a water- and fade-resistant claim.
Which G2 point size should I buy?
0.7 mm unless you know otherwise. It fits a planner box and lays ink reliably. 0.5 mm suits very small handwriting and tight grids; 1.0 mm is a signature width and too broad for a dated diary.
G2 or Zebra Sarasa Dry?
G2 for the refill economics and the familiar feel. Sarasa Dry if the writer is left-handed, because Zebra publishes both a Rapid Dry Ink claim and an explicit left-handed recommendation. See Pilot G2 vs Zebra Sarasa.