Reddit reviews uni JETSTREAM PRIME TWIST SXR-600-38 Ballpoint Pen Refills 0.38mm (Black, 4 Pack)

Here is a sample and abbreviated review of the 10 Parker-compatible G2-sized ballpoint refills (and 1 gel refill) that I've tried in my Parker Jotter XL and my Ohto Rays pens. They are mostly blue because that is the color I typically prefer. They range from extra fine to extra bold, but are mostly in the fine-medium range. I have fairly small handwriting, so I very much prefer pens with 0.38mm to 0.5mm lines. And I tend to write without much down pressure on the page. (For this page, I tried to be consistent with my writing pressure so that I didn't compensate for any refill's potential for skipping.) Paper is Rhodia No. 16 A5 Lined (8mm).

(I have not included refills from Kaweco, Monteverde, Pelikan, Rotring, or Visconti for a variety of reasons, whether it was price, expected reliability, or lack of fine tips.)

So here's the rundown. Standard disclaimers apply, and your mileage may vary.

[1 & 2] Parker Quinkflow Medium 1.0 and Fine 0.8: The Medium came with my my Jotter XL. They are both adequate and write smoothly. But to me, they feel a bit slow – like I can feel the drag from the ink viscosity. If I had to choose a Parker refill, I'd pick the Fine. At $1.25 each (6-pack was $7.50), it's the least expensive refill option I've seen.

[3] Faber-Castell Medium: Like the Parkers, it's adequate. The blue is a little lighter/brighter than – and I like the color a little better than – the Parker Quinkflow. But I don't know if I can point out any particular reason why someone would pick this over some others. One refill costs $5.00.

[4 & 5] Fisher Space Pen Black Fine (SPR4F) and Blue Fine (SPR1F): Some people will say that the Fishers write like garbage. I didn't think they were that bad at all. They're not my first choice, but they could be a solid third (first and second preferences are coming up). This is a top choice for many people looking for a solid EDC refill. So if you need to write underwater, or in extreme climates, this is the refill for you! These refills fit in the Fisher Space Pen, of course, but Fisher include the adapter to add the necessary length and ratcheting endcap to fit the Parkers. With that adapter, these are a tiny bit longer than the standard Parker refill, but that doesn't seem to matter. However, prepare to pay $5.00 for a refill.

[6] Schmidt easyFlow 9000 Medium: Lots of people like this refill. I'm slightly ambivalent about it. It does write quite smoothly and quickly, and the color is a dark blue. But it only comes in a Medium tip, so it writes a bit too broad for my tastes (i.e. tiny handwriting). If you don't have small, compact writing, this may very well be a refill that you enjoy quite a lot. This is another $5.00 refill.

[7] Schmidt P900 Fine: This is my #2 refill. It might not be as "exotic" or as talked-up as its fancier brother, the easyFlow 9000. But I think that this is really good for a ballpoint refill. It's a fine tip that writes smoothly and easily. It's a $3.00 refill, so it's not as expensive as many others. And, it's what I keep in my Jotter XL.

[8] Schneider Slider 755 XB (Extra Bold): Even though this is an extra broad, and easyFlow 9000 is a medium, I think the two write a very similar line. Overall, I don't think there is anything exceptional about this refill. If you like a slightly broader line, this is an acceptable choice. I like the color, and if they made a Fine or Extra Fine version of this, this probably would be my #2. I paid $6.50 for a 2-pack.

[9 & 10] Uni Jetstream SXR-600-05 (0.5mm) and SXR-600-38 (0.38mm): This is my #1 refill. Uni's Jetstream ink is fantastic for ballpoint ink. It's lower viscosity makes for a more effortless writing experience. And both sizes allow for very fine lines. My only gripe is that, for now, they only offer black refills. When they ship a blue refill, I'm probably going to buy a dozen. If you have small writing and/or prefer very fine lines, and you don't mind black ink, these might be the one of your best bets. I paid $10 for each 4-pack. I keep a 0.38mm in my Ohto Rays pen.

[11] Ohto Flash Dry Gel 0.5mm: This is the only gel in the lot, and I've only included it because it came with my Ohto Rays pen. It writes very smoothly, and dries very quickly. In terms of writing experience, I think it could be compared to pens like the Pilot Precise V5. You can see that it's version of 0.5mm is still thicker than Uni's Jetstream version of 0.5mm. But you do get a very dark, saturated black. I paid $3.90 for the entire pen, but the refill by itself is basically $2.00.

If you're looking for a new refill for your Parker-compatible pen, I hope you found this informative and helpful.

Cheers!

​

^([EDIT: Changed the way I numbered the list because some browsers/apps translated some of the items into numbered lists, always starting at 1. So it looked I had: 1&2, 1, 4&5, 1, 2, 3... Weird.])

For my small writing needs I use the Uni Jetstream Parker style refill (Amazon link) or Ohto Flash Dry (JetPens link)

I just wish they’d sell either of them in blue!!

Amazon sells a 4 pack for $20 - $16 for the 0.7mm. And it comes in 0.38mm as well. Need to search for the jetstream twist refill.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L8M8LZB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_aMdHDbPS6EYKG

They were $10 for 4 when I bought them in January, but I guess they got wind of how much jetpens was selling them for and upped their price a bit. Still worth it, imo.

If you choose a Parker Jotter the only gel, not a hybrid, ink available for a Parker G2 refill are from Parker, the Quink which is available in fine and med and the Monteverde Capless Gel Refill which is available in f,m, b and lots of colors. Amazon reviews on the Monteverde gel are not really positive. If you are ok with a hybrid ink which is a cross between an oil-based ballpoint ink and gel ink, then the best writing one, IMO, is the Uni Jetstream SXR-600 series which comes in 0.5, 0.7 and .38mm. If you do not mind using plastic pens, there are lots available in the 0.35mm-0.38mm in different colors. Hope this helps.

You might need to stick a finer point refill in your Jotter, which I believe is 0.7mm. The Onyx is a 0.5mm so any Parker-compatible refill with 0.5mm or smaller would probably give a similar scratchy feeling. I have some Muji 0.38mm that have a fair amount of scratch to them.
THESE or THESE might work for you.

Like these https://www.amazon.com/JETSTREAM-PRIME-Mechanism-Accessory-0-38mm/dp/B07L8M8LZB ?

I typically write on normal copy paper (signing documents) or in my moleskin notebooks. Is there anything slightly cheaper than the above that you’d recommend?

Thanks for the insight!