The Uni-ball Jetstream is unassuming. It looks like any other ballpoint pen. It’s lightweight, has a retractable tip, and is sold in several tip colors and widths.
But the Jetstream is the only pen I use when I can help it, and it’s the one pen I protect over all others.
Our pick
With its fast-drying ink, this pen is our go-to for everyday writing on any kind of paper.
The Jetstream writes smoothly with minimal pressure against the page and doesn’t bleed through the paper or smudge, and its rounded barrel is comfortable to hold while freewriting over long periods of time. It comes in two widths — 0.7 mm and 1.0 mm — and three colors.
At Wirecutter, we’re serious about our pens. We’ve had 70 professionally picky employees and four pen experts (for real) offer their input on the more than two dozen pens we’ve tested since 2013. And the Uni-ball Jetstream has been a Wirecutter pick through it all (even among lefties!).
Our testers found that the Jetstream was a workhorse: reliable, versatile and pleasant to use. It’s not the most exciting pen but it also doesn’t need to be. It just works well.
Ballpoint technology was invented in the 1800s, but Uni-ball (originally the Masaki Pencil Manufacturing Company, founded in the late 19th century) didn’t produce its first ballpoint pen until 1959.
What makes the Jetstream, introduced in 2006, feel totally different from other ballpoints is its low-viscosity, quick-drying, archival-quality ink.
Branded as “Super Ink,” it effortlessly flows without having to get the pen-to-paper pressure ratio just so, as is necessary with other ballpoints that skip or fade the longer you write. The Jetstream ink’s vibrant color mirrors that of a gel pen, and it bonds to the paper better than other ballpoint inks to protect against water damage and fading. It’s even refillable! (When your Jetstream runs out of ink, check Uni-ball’s Refill Guide.)
I keep two pens in my purse: the Jetstream, and one of those cheap stick pens that float around event booths and are nowhere near as good.
If someone asks to borrow a pen, I’ll spend the extra minute rummaging in my bag for the giveaway pen, in case the passerby mistakenly walks away with it.
The original version of this post was part of our 2020 “52 Things We Love” series, an ode to Wirecutter picks that have withstood the test of time. Read the entire series. The current version was edited by Rachelle Bergstein and Catherine Kast.
