The Parker Jotter is perhaps the most classic refillable rollerball body available. It’s been around for more than 60 years and hundreds of thousands pens have been sold. They retail for around $4 for the basic plastic pen to $20 for the full stainless steel models. In college I picked up the classic plastic and stainless model at a salvage store for around $3 each. I used them extensively until they were lost.
Recently I picked up the blue enameled steel model for $20 at my local Staples. They are cheaper via Jetpens in a wide variety of colors. Via online vendors there are many colors available, my local Staples only had 3 or 4 colors available.The best thing about such a long running pen is that refills are available from a variety of vendors and styles . Refill are available in ballpoint, rollerball, as well as gel ink. Not only are a variety of formulas available, but a rainbow of colors. The Jotter uses a standard Parker refill aka G2*. Jetpens offers a wide variety of refills that fit as does Amazon. The Well Appointed Desk has a massive post about pen refills to help you find just the right fit. I have a few pens that use the standard Parker/G2 refill so buying a gel refill is great. Sadly the Parker gel refills, as I’ve written about before, they don’t last a long time. Those are probably the only gel ink refill I blow through faster than an Inkjoy.
The Jotter is an extremely slim and small pen. It borders on pocket size. It fits into a breast pocket easily and stays clipped to the placket of a shirt. The clip itself is sturdy and has stayed tight during my testing and use. It’s classic design is neither eye catching nor ostentatious. It fits into professional situations, though some colors might not blend in so well. That said, even a neon orange would probably pass the muster in most office settings. The short slim size will be far too thin and short for many, especially those with larger hands. I do not find the slim size comfortable for prolonged writing, rather I use my Jotter for quick notes in my pocket notebooks and occasional progress notes at work.
The nock has a satisfying click that unlike the previously reviewed Alloy, is neither soft nor spongy. I expected that the enameled stainless steel would be slippery in extended or even perhaps short term use, it wasn’t. The plastic version is also not slippery. You can get 10-packs of the plastic version for around $40.
In short, I like the Jotter but I fear that my aging hands and wrist do not like the slenderness of the pen. Writing for long periods of time are out. Though when I was younger I took many class notes with the Jotter ballpoint refills I couldn’t possibly do that now. I like the fact that I can fit many different types of refills from ballpoint to gel ink.
*This G2 is confusingly not the same as the Pilot G2, rather the generic.ly named G2 is for Parker pens.
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