I don’t know why I keep buying highlighters. Now that I’m out of school I’ve got enough left to last the rest of my life. I’ve got enough highlighter ink left to refill my Platinum Preppy highlighters forever.
In my work life I use highlighters to cross names off a list after I’ve written progress notes for the day. I use a highlighter because I still need to get info off the list when I’m done and transfer that to the progress note after it’s been printed. It’s a convoluted process that has to do with time constraints and access, or rather, lack of access to a computer for my work. I prefer crossing the names off the list to a check mark for visibility. Even with this use, I’m SABLE on all my highlighters.
I used the Sharpie gel highlighter, and like Dee I found it to be chunky and lackluster. I don’t know what possessed me to buy the 4-pack of Yoobi gel highlighters. Hope? Stupidity? I dunno. At $4.50 they aren’t cheap, but I tossed them into my cart anyway.
Each package contains green, yellow, orange, and pink neon highlighters. The highlighter is encased in a thick plastic roll up tube that reminds me of a glue stick and chapstick all in one. Each has a small clear cap with an integrated clip. The cap clips on and off securely and can be posted. When posted it’s only held on with friction but in my use it stays put. I tend to hold the cap in my hand anyway.
The highlighter gel rolls up with ease, like any tube of chapstick, and each twist pushes up a decent amount of highlighter. When first uncapped and in use the gel has a very strong odor, it reminds me of marker, or some fountain pen inks. I suspect that what I’m smelling is something to keep mold from growing on the exposed gelatinous ink bar. I’ve noticed this with Faber Castell Gelato crayons, though to a much lesser degree. I don’t find the smell off putting but know that others might.
The highlighters are smooth and soft. They require the user to find the right amount of pressure without going overboard. Too little pressure and the gel doesn’t lay down enough and with too much, chunks break off. At first I didn’t like the rounded tip, but once I wore down a portion of the highlighter to the right angle it covered a line of text pretty perfectly and without needing additional passes. Though once I did get it to the proper angle I was more likely to break off a chunk with too much pressure. The highlighter does take some time to dry. If you get chunks of it on your page it can sort of glue pages together.
On the rough cheap paper at work the Yoobi highlighter shines it takes less time to dry and the rough paper seems to help it need less pressure to lay down an adequate line. On the silky smooth paper in my StudioC notebook it took days for it to dry. It also had a tendency to bleed through. It doesn’t do this on the cheap paper. The StudioC paper is thin but my fountain pens don’t soak through. I have to wonder if this is due to the amount of time the gel ink takes to dry. Either way, it’s worth noting that Yoobi gel highlighters work best on crappy paper. 
My final take on these? If you need to get a gel highlighter- because you forget to put the cap on your highlighter, or you don’t like ink getting everywhere, these are a better option than the Sharpie version. They are about the same price, are smoother and have cute sayings on the side of the body. If you can control the pressure you use when highlighting, these aren’t bad. Don’t expect to use them on thin nice paper though- that’s where they will let you down.
