I love pencils, but pens have a definite place in my writing tools kit. I love a good pen. I have too many, frankly, outside of preparing for the Apocalypse.
I also use multi-pens but for this topic Iām focused on dedicated ballpoint type pens.
One of my favorites is a beat up black rOtring 600 capped rollerball. This thing is rugged and I donāt baby it. Lots of scratches & edge wear. I drive it with a Pentel Energel refill (LRN5), fine point. Works like a champ. Doesnāt dry out. It lives in my car, sometimes going a couple of months without use.
I also like to go off the beaten path. A pen hardly anyone uses but is still very much worthwhile. With that, I got addicted to the PILOT Hi-Tecpoint twist-extend pens. Theyāre not made anymore and sadly the very nice proprietary āmicro tipā refill made for them has been discontinued. There is no direct swap equivalent. However, there are DIY adaptions possible. @drifand has converted dried out refills to take D1 refills. Iāve gotten LAMY M22 and PILOT BRFN refills to fit using trimmed spacers. The Hi-Tecpoint came in a variety of 3 steel finishes and about 5 or 6 different lacquer colors. I keep one clipped to an 8 x 10 notebook folder and sometimes stash one in a jacket pocket.
But by far, the coolest of my arsenal has to be the MechaSEA. Thanks to @drifand for telling me about it! Iād have completely missed it otherwise.
On a more conventional note, one of my favorites is the Diplomat Aero. Itās a tapered fluted design reminiscent of a Zeppelin airship. I do prefer the pencil version but the ballpoint is fun to write with.
Lastly, I have a beat-up old Fisher bullet space pen that has been with me for over 20 years. 2nd refill presently installed. Itās 100% reliable and super easy to pocket carry.
EDIT: Just in case anyone is interested in adapting a BRFN30 or M22 refill into a PILOT Hi-Tecpoint pen, I have some details Iād posted in another topic.
I should mention that the M22 refill cap is ideal. It has a smaller end piece which has a curious hole through it (donāt know what thatās forāthe whole piece comes off rather easily) and the size allows it to sit inside the Hi-Tecpoint screw cap. The plastic is soft enough for easy cutting. Itās easy to trim it to the right length so that the refill sits well inside the pen.
One might wince at the rather short refill size of the M22, but itās a well formulated ink that lasts a long time and certainly much longer than a D1! If one is planning to do very long writing sessions and somehow runs out early on the M22, the BRFN30 is a terrific substitute. Itās just a little bit more work to get it to work well in the pen. Like the M22, the provided refill cap (black) can be trimmed a little to work as a spacer. In one case, I used some aluminum tape at the āshoulderā (you can see it in the photo) to help seat the refill for one particular Hi-Tecpoint in my collection.