For writing in your pocket notebook, we recommend our ballpoint-pen pick, the Uni-ball Jetstream RT, which was one of the few pens that wrote cleanly even on cheap or slick paper like receipts, and its ink is water- and fade-resistant. Or consider the Fisher Space Pen, which is compact to carry but expands into normal pen size thanks to the cap design. It can also write in the most extreme situations—outer space, upside down, in Arizona in July. “Do you ever need to write something in a zero gravity situation?” staff writer James Austin, who is a fan of this pen, said. “Probably not, but it’s nice to know I could record my thoughts about the experience if I ever needed to.”
