Let's Talk About Planner Pens

Whether you're a novice planner, or consider yourself a master of the planning universe... you will run into questions about pens.  Facebook groups are full of people asking for help with their pen choices.  I'm going to break down my hits & misses for you today so you have a reference to planner pens.

These adorable pens from Target are a planner community favorite.  Often coveted as they can be hard to find.  The funny thing about that is the pens are crap.  They skip and write terribly.  Most people [myself included] replace the ink with better ink.  So if you're wanting "cute" these are perfect, but if you're wanting quality you'll need to pick something else.

Paper Mate Flairs are another pen that was widely popular in the early stages of planner growth.  These are felt tip pens that come in a wide variety of colors.  They write beautifully but might shadow through your paper depending on your planner's paper quality.  I was only "okay" with these.  They didn't wow me and I never use them.  I purchased these in medium tip which is a little bit for my taste.  They also seem to feather a little on certain paper.  I also didn't think they were very comfortable in my hand.

These pens.... I have a major love affair with these pens.  Number 1: they're less than $2.  Number 2: they're adorable. Number 3: they're hard to lose!  Ahah!  Seriously though, these aren't for long writing sessions.  These pens are fat, slightly uncomfortable, and your basic ball point ink pen.  I LOVE these pens for photo props && list making.  I purchase these pens at Michael's craft store in their dollar bin section.  There is usually a corresponding note pad of paper with matching designs.  I keep a pad with a matching pen in several places in my home.  I adore these pens so much, but I honestly don't use them in my planner.  Like I said above, I use them in photos because they're pretty && I use them for list making [like grocery lists, etc].

Frixion Ersable pens... Love them.  They erase amazingly well and they write perfectly.  I love that I never had to worry about mistakes because I can just erase it.  I have read the warnings of the ink disappearing on your pages due to heat.  That's never happened to me while using them.  I also live in a very hot & humid climate in the summer.  No issues!  I love LOVE these pens!

More Target One Spot pens.  These write much better than the Target One Spot gel pens I mentioned already.  They are super adorable and also sought out by many in the planner community.  There's absolutely nothing special about the ink in the pens though.  Much like the Michael's Jumbo pens, these are your basic every day ballpoint ink pen.  I don't really use these in my planner much either.  They're for photos and lists.

Ahhh the Sharpie pen.  Unlike traditional Sharpies, the pen doesn't bleed through your paper.  It's a felt tip beauty with no bleeding or shadowing.  This was my holy grail pen for a long time.  This pen is perfect in every way.  If you haven't experienced this pen, you need to run out and get some now.

If you noticed when talking about the Sharpie pens I said it "WAS" my holy grail pen.  That's because it's not any more...  I have heard everyone rave and rave about Staedtler pens before.  I just didn't see from the outside what was so special about them.  I finally decided to pick up a set of black Staedtler pens since I primarily write in black ink.  These pens are everything.  EVERYTHING!  No bleeding.  No shadowing.  They write perfectly.  They feel amazing in your hand.  I think my exact words when trying them for the first time was, "My new pens are luxurious!"  That they are.  Holy grail pen for sure.

What pens do you use in your planner?