PILOT G-Tec-C Gel Ink Rolling Ball Pens, Ultra Fine Point (0.4mm), Black Ink, 3-Pack (35483)

The G-Tec-C is the 'international' version of the Hi-Tec-C, which is distributed in Japan.Most reviews you see at places such as penaddict.com will be for the Hi-Tec-C, which confuses some people, who assume they are different pens. What is interesting is the Hi-Tec-C has developed a near cult level following, and various times I've gone out to meetings with clients and had people ask me 'Is that a Hi-Tec-C' which is frankly a pretty odd question to get for a pen with such a cheap plastic barrel and look. So why is the pen popular?1. It makes beautiful clear and fine lines2. Despite the very small nib, the scratchiness you find with such ultrafines goes away very quickly as you start writing.3. The ink flows and sets nicely for a gel pen.I love to write and take notes and sometimes mindmap with sketches and non linear jottings. This pen is beautiful for such. The .4mm size (which this one is), is a good size for those getting used to it. I sometimes prefer .3, but .25 pushes the limits and does tend to be a bit scratchy. The black is also a nice black. Another perk about this particular 3-pack is it is a very inexpensive way to give the Hi-Tec-C/G-Tec-C a try. Even when you buy a box you're often paying $2 or more a pen/refill, but this three pack costs a good bit less. So a cult level legendary pen at pretty much the best price out there.The refill does tend to empty a bit faster than a regular ballpoint pen, and some of the other gel pens, but not in a significant manner, especially not for the quality. The main negative to the pen is the plastic barrel. It is a plain cheap barrel. It isn't particularly durable, doesn't have the best ergonomics, and isn't hugely aesthetically pleasing. However, my first criteria for a pen is how it writes, second is how it feels to the hand, and only then do I get to things like how it looks.If you are interested in looks (and hand feel) there are some great Kickstarter projects for the pen. I tend to favor the X-Pen and the Render-K but the Pen Type A is interesting too if you mostly will leave the pen on your desk rather than carry it with you.When you consider people spend $50-$500 on pens that don't deliver anywhere near as great a line of ink as this $1.60-ish pen, you just can't go wrong. If you like writing at all, you simply can't go wrong dropping $5 to give these pens a try.One thing you should consider is that pens like this show to best effect when using better quality paper. You can certainly use them with any basic pad of paper, but lower quality paper can show a bit of feathering and have other properties that will compromise the virtues of any high quality pen. Also the biggest difference between the Hi-Tec-C and G-Tec-C, is that in Japan the Hi-Tec-C comes in something like 40-50 colors. The G-Tec-C comes in the much more standard black/blue/red/green (and purple in the 5 color pack). I suspect however, 90% of the people will be primarily interested in the basic black at least to test.So with all that in mind, really can't review this any more highly. It is a superb pen, it is at a great price, and if you like writing you owe it to yourself to take advantage of that combo.

I write very small. Some people even accuse me of being a laser printer, it's so small. Because of that, I tend to prefer pens with very fine points... the so-called "needle points". Many needle point pens don't write very smoothly. They tend to be very scratchy and feel like they're scraping across the page.That's NOT the case with the Pilot G-Tec-C and Hi-Tec-C pens. They write nice, fine lines. They move very smoothly across the page. They don't tend to bleed (at least on the paper I've used) and deliver nice even lines.Compared to some pens on the market, they're fairly cheap. Some would say that they even LOOK cheap. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. I like the fact that they look a little bit high-tech, but also don't look like they're very expensive. (Hopefully that means people are less likely to walk off with them than they might with a really expensive looking pen.)Regardless, I think these are my favorite pens and I'll have a hard time using any others I own while these are still around...

My favourite pens. The line width is very fine, and it writes very smoothly. Asian characters (particular Chinese/hanja/kanji) which require many small strokes in a small area require a fine line, which most Western pens do not do. While it's not as fine as the pens I prefer, this is a very good pen. The cartridge can also be swapped out if the casing feels too thin/flimsy, but Ive found that the plastic casing it comes in isn't bad once you get used to it, and fits nicely into my pocket (I carry one with me everywhere I go). The only downside is that if dropped and the tip gets bent even the slightest, it becomes very difficult to use. An easy enough "con" to manage.

I love these pens and finding them in stores is nearly impossible. Considering that they are no more expensive than a lot of standard pens on the market I am not sure why office supply stores do not carry them. Finding them on Amazon made me happy as the two I managed to find in a campus store a while back were getting close to running dry. The three pack at the price means I will be happy for good while longer.The pens themselves are delightful to write with. I prefer the thinner 0.4 line from the pens over the typical 0.7mm or larger line from the average pen. Treat yourself to a good pen and good paper and you will find yourself enjoying writing more.

I really like this pen. I'm not a huge pen snob, but I am a hobbyist.The ink flows very consistently. Nice tight lines. This is a very fine point pen- I accidentally stabbed my finger tip once while I mindlessly went to put the cap back on and it felt like a sewing needle.My only real wish is that the grip was a little larger. I don't dock the pen points for this, though, because I have exceptionally large hands. Most users will probably not have a problem. The grip isn't soft, but I personally consider this a plus. In my opinion soft grips tend to make pen lines swerve a bit.

I like the 0.4 mm size of the pen. It makes taking notes in class easier to read. I also like that they don't bleed like some other brands and sizes of pens I've used in the past. I store them upside down (with the tip facing downwards) so that I don't have to worry about the flow issue some other reviewers have complained about. It seems to alleviate that flow issue doing this. I found that the ink runs out faster than some other pens. This is a minor issue though because they aren't that expensive.