Moleskine Pen Wars

Jack The Pumpkin King Avatar

I love my Moleskine notebook. I hate my Moleskine notebook. Well, the paper that is. I like using gel pens and the Prismacolor graphic design pens to write with, but unfortunately I found many of the writing utensils I favor bleeds right through or worse — doesn’t dry fast enough. The only exception to this, is that I do favor Japanese pens, but I don’t know the brand and sadly can’t read the language. I picked a handful up at an import store and I love them so, so much. Just worried the ink’ll run out.

Since these notebooks aren’t cheap, I’d much rather use both sides of the page than abandon half the book. Pencils and ballpoint pens won’t do for me. I did try out the Pentel Wow! series, which comes in a variety of colors, and the ink doesn’t bleed, however it’s not as smooth and quick as a gel pen and the words leave a slight impression on the paper. The Bic Z4 0.5mm bled right through. So, I turned to the hive mind (a.k.a. Twitter) and asked them for advice.

I picked out three contenders from JetPens.com, all of which are pictured below. The Uniball Vision Elite 0.7mm in blue-black (I LOVE THIS COLOR!), the Pilot G2 0.5mm in black, and the “official” Moleskine pen in black ink which clips to the front of my notebook. Love that feature given I’m prone to pen loss. (It’s a disorder.)

The Pens

And now for the pen death match! Er… Writing test. You can see the Moleskine pen has a heavier weight than the other two. Annnnnnnd fight!

Sample Pen Test

The results of the missile test are?

The back

All three dried quickly; no worries there. Slight bleed at certain points, but manageable. I found the Pilot G2 tends to skip (this is likely do more to my handwriting than anything else) and the Moleskine pen feels like more of a novelty item. Big, bulky — I’m happy with it, but it’s not an everyday pen. The winner is definitely the Uniball Vision Elite.

Phew! That was a close battle! I think I shall celebrate with more writing.

    Mood: FEAR MY PEN
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: I was falling asleep at my keyboard, so I had coffee and then switched to Jim Beam and Diet Pepsi later on in the evening. So tired today.
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: W00T! Interval training on the AMT Open Stride
    In My Ears: Meh. Fans and all that white noise crap.
    Game Last Played: Sonic All Star Racing Transformed
    Book Last Read: Lovecraft’s Monsters anthology
    Movie Last Viewed: THOR: A Dark World
    Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list!
    Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Last Man Zombie Standing
    Latest Game Release: Freedom Flyer
    What I’m Working On: Primarily tie-in games work and novels.




Monica Valentinelli is an author, artist, and narrative designer who writes about magic, mystery, and mayhem. Her portfolio includes stories, games, comics, essays, and pop culture books.

In addition to her own worlds, she has worked on a number of different properties including Vampire: the Masquerade, Shadowrun, Hunter: the Vigil, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, and Robert E. Howard’s Conan.

Looking for Monica’s books and games that are still in print? Visit Monica Valentinelli on Amazon’s Author Central or a bookstore near you.

Want to Interview or Hire Me? Send Fan Mail?

Would you like to hire me? Don’t be afraid to reach out! Visit my Contact Page to send me an email. I typically respond to work-related e-mails within one-to-two business days.

Want an interview? If you’d like to interview me or request a guest blog post, please submit your request through theContact Page.

Back to Top