Your writing utensil is an integral part of your bullet journaling experience. Whenever I’m in a bullet journaling slump, I find that using bright and beautiful pens gets me back into the journaling spirit.
In addition, having a pen that is legible and crisp will improve your productivity and overall journaling experience. Although I love having a hefty collection of pens, I believe that the quality of your pens and markers is important.
That is why in this blog post, I curated the best high-quality bullet journal pens that I love and use. These are suitable for hand lettering, adding flair to your bullet journal, to write your tasks, and more.
Full Disclosure: I use affiliate links for book recommendations, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you.
What to Consider when Choosing Pens for your Bullet Journal
- What purpose your pens will serve you
Will you be lettering? Drawing or doodling? What do you want your bullet journal to look like and what supplies do you need to help you achieve that?
- If you want to archive your journal
If you want your journal to be preserved for years to come, avoid alcohol-based markers and inks as they eat up your paper as time passes.
A popular marker brand that is alcohol-based is Copic Markers — I recommend you avoid these brands if your intent is to archive your journals.
In addition, if you want to check if a pen or marker is archival, check if the packaging has acid-free on it. This means that the pen will not damage the paper over time.
- What you’ll do in your bullet journal
What will you be doing in your bullet journal? Furthermore, what other mediums do you plan on using? If you’re planning on doing a lot of scrapbooking, you might want to consider a pen that doesn’t smudge and smear.
On the other hand, if you plan on using aqua media, it’s important to use a pen that’s water-proof. That way, if you decide to use mediums with water, it won’t ruin your preexisting writing and art.
Tombow Dual Brush Pen
There’s a reason why everyone recommends the Tombow Dual Tip Brush Pens — they are the cream of the crop and the industry standard when it comes to brush pens. I highly recommend you get these if you are interested in improving your hand lettering.
Furthermore, these brush pens are non-toxic, non-bleeding, blendable, and acid-free. This means that you don’t have to worry about the ink seeping through your pages.
2. Prismacolor Premier Brush Tip Marker, Black
I talked about this pen before in other posts, but I truly love the Prismacolor brush pens. This brush pen gives you precise and amazing control. With this pen, I can create a wide variety of brush strokes, ranging from delicate lines to thick and bolder ones.
These are also acid-free, which is perfect if you want to archive your journals.
3. Pentel Arts Aquash Water Brush Assorted Tips
I love love love the Water brush by Pentel. You don’t have to worry about buying ink to refill your pens with or running out of it. You just need watercolors and plain water to fill the brush pen. To use the pen, you just dip the brush in the watercolors of your choice and squeeze the pen so water comes out. It’s seriously so easy to use.
These water brush pens are also economical — buying watercolors that last for months to years is a lot cheaper than buying multiple replacement pens.
4. Microns Ink Set
Where do I start? I’ve been an ultra-loyal customer to the Micron Pens ever since I first started taking my artistic craft seriously. To invest in my art education and learning, I knew I had to invest in high-quality materials.
Microns are inking pens used by many professional artists. My favorite thing about the pen is how clean and crisp the lines. Furthermore, I love how the ink dries up instantaneously. You don’t have to worry about the ink smudging as it is water-proof. I’ve been using these pens since the beginning of my art and journaling journey and continue to use them today.
This pack comes with 6 pens with varying widths. Each pen is useful: these 6 pens will cover all your bases on your journaling and drawing needs.
5. Pilot Juice Gel Ink Ballpoint Pen
I’ve heard nothing but positive things about Pilot Juice Gel Ink ballpoint pens. The pens dry fast and don’t smear/smudge. On top of that, writing with them is a real pleasure: The ink writes like butter and doesn’t scratch the page.
Moreover, there is such a gorgeous assortment of colors suitable for any occasion or theme. I would definitely recommend this to all bullet journalers.
6. Pentel Arts Pocket Brush Pen
You can bring this pocket brush pen wherever you need it! It is compact, neat, and super durable. The ink is a beautiful and deep black, making it perfect for art, lettering, and more. In addition, you can refill your pen whenever you run out of ink.
The ink dries almost instantaneously and is water-resistant. On top of that, I never had an issue of the ink bleeding through my bullet journal pages, which is something I deal with more than I would like to with other pens.
7. Pilot Futayaku Double-Sided Brush Pen – Black / Gray Ink
This double-sided Futayaku pen is a cheap and practical choice for your bullet journal. They are great for practicing and give you amazing control of your strokes. In addition, it will give you the elegant and traditional look you find in Japanese calligraphy.
8. Crayola SuperTip Markers
You might not have expected anything from Crayola to be on this list, but believe me when I say they are a great and practical tool of choice. Because of how affordability and ease of use, the Crayola SuperTip Markers are perfect for the bullet journal/hand lettering beginner.
You can also layer with the Crayola SuperTips, adding more dimensions and shading with your hand lettering.
9. Ohuhu Art Markers Dual Tips Coloring Brush Fineliner Color Pens
The Ohuhu Art Markers are extremely affordable, especially for everything you get. There are 60 highly pigmented dual-tipped markers in this set that you can use for hand-lettering, bullet journaling, illustrations, coloring, and more.
On top of that, these markers dry fast and don’t smudge. They are truly perfect for beginners or anyone who is interested in learning hand lettering.
10. Prismacolor Premier Advanced Hand Lettering Set with Illustration Markers, Art Markers
This hand-lettering set by Prismacolor contains everything you need for your hand-lettering endeavors. This kit is especially perfect for beginners: it contains multiple high-quality brush pens, markers, pencils, and a kneaded eraser. Furthermore, there are tips and tricks included to help you succeed at hand-lettering.
If you want all the bullet journal pens in one kit, I recommend you get this.
11. Le Pen .3mm Sets Bright (10 Piece)
Le Pens should be a staple for everyone who bullet journals — this pack comes in 10 beautiful colors: Blue, Orange, Lavender, Pink, Light Blue, Light Green, Teal, Orchid, Periwinkle, Amethyst. On top of that, the ink is juicy, bright, and vivid.
The pens are comfortable to hold and writes smoothly and easily. From the accounts of many people, including me, this pen will last you for years. You won’t regret purchasing these.
12. Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen
The Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen is a favorite of mine and many others. This package comes with both soft and hard tip pens.
With different applications of brush pressures, you can create many versatile and different looks.
This pen is hands down one of my favorite pens for hand lettering and bullet journaling in general.
13. Zebra Pen Mildliner, Double Ended Highlighter, Broad and Fine Tips, Assorted Colors, 15 Pack
The Zebra Mildliner are double-ended markers perfect for bullet journaling. In this set, there are 15 unique and aesthetically pleasing colors. You can use them as your page accents, a highlighter, a brush pen for lettering, and so much more.
The design of the marker is minimalistic and efficient, allowing for smooth and easy usage of the pen. You’ll find that these pens will bring diversity and personality into your bullet journaling.
Conclusion
My collections of pens make my bullet journaling fun and exciting. I love having the choice of what colors I can use, the strokes I can apply, and ultimately more freedom to express myself.
If you don’t know which pen to get, I recommend you choose one or two bullet journal pens out of this list — choose the ones you think you’ll use the most! Personally, I would go for one brush pen set and a set of writing pens!
If you want to see my recommendation for bullet journals and all the other necessary supplies, check out my blog post here.
