SMOOTHERPRO Premium Bolt Action Pen Compatible with Pentel Refill Durable Stainless Steel Clip Weight Balanced for EDC Signature Office School Business Color Gray (PTC051)

This is the third Smootherpro pen I've bought from Amazon. The compatibility with the popular G2 and Energel refills and the metal construction are what attracted me. I EDC these pens in rotation and am completely happy with them.I don't know what other reviewers mean when they talk about "grittiness" in the operation. Perhaps higher priced bolt action pens are internally polished and have tighter tolerances. I don't know, I don't own any, but I think it's unreasonable to expect a sub $20 pen to feel like a $70 pen. I have no problem with the operation of this pen.Complaints about the "cheap" finish of the pen are similarly unreasonable. The finish appears to me to be some form of Ceracote, and what I'd expect from a sub $20 pen.With regards to the compatibility of the Energel refill, this turned out to be true. However, it has nothing to do with the spring. The outer diameter of the Energel refill is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the provided refill. Since the base of the Energel refill contacts the bolt of the pen differently than the provided refill, it protrudes slightly more. To correct this, I took a utility razor and carefully shaved about 1/32 of an inch off of the end of the Energel refill and installed it. Now it works perfectly. There is no drag or contact between the refill and the interior of the pen barrel.If you, like me, want a pen that writes like a G2 or an Energel, but with the permanence of metal construction, and don't want to spend $50+, this is the pen for you.

I bought this to see if I’d actually enjoy using a bolt action pen. The pen is very lightweight and the finish is fine. The body is rather slick and doesn’t offer a lot of grip. I like that it takes the Pentel refills and likely more. The price is easy on the wallet and I won’t cry too much if I lose it. My two real complaints are the pen came with a fake Energel refill in it and installing a real Energel refill makes the bolt action very tight and gritty. The first is an easy fix as I have a ton of Energel pens. I tried fixing the second by working the action over and over and over the past couple of days. It did not improve anything. The real Energel refill is a touch too long so it makes the action very tight which makes the bolt rub the body. This results in a very gritty feel due to the “fit and finish” of the pen and makes the action difficult to use. My thumb was a bit sore from working it so much trying to improve the feel. The easier fix is to remove a small sliver off the top of the refill. Shortening it just a millimeter or two drastically improved the action. I shortened it a hair too much, so the bolt rattles a little. It is actually easy and enjoyable to manipulate now with the modified refill. There is still a bit of grittiness at times, but I can’t expect perfection for the cost of the pen. I bought this pen in particular as it claims Energel compatibility, but it seems it is more suited as a G2 pen as their refills are slightly shorter. It is nice to have compatibility with multiple refills though.Four stars due to not being out of the box compatible with the Energel refills and for the slickness of the body. I would buy another.

As another review added, you do need to use a pin vice, small drill bit, or round file to widen the tip to accept the G2 gel barrel. One thing they didnt include is that you also either have to thin part of the plastic stem of the Refill, or cut off about 1-2mm of plastic from the end and then reinsert the plug. Its possible to mod the inside barrel of the tip to prevent that cutting, but a lot harder to do.The "grittiness" of the bolt I think adds to the tactile nature of the pen, though some will disagree. Im sure a little grease of some kind will do the trick to restore some of that smoothness, Id imagine a dielectric grease or Teflon grease would work wonders when used sparingly.Its lighter than you think, noticeably lighter than one of my other SmootherPro Bolt pens, but with better balance. The clip is tighter too, too tight imo, but for some that means not losing the pen quite as easily. It is so tight it can be used as a money clip or paper clip even.Overall its a great pen at the price, and if youre dying to use G2s, with a bit of modding its perfectly useable. If not then its an easy buy.

I saw a review in September 2022 saying that this pen isn’t compatible with Pentel EnerGel refills. They actually fit. I wanted to replace my 8-year-old Pentel EnerGel Alloy Gel Pen, but the new ones use a clip at the top that is very fragile. I can’t stop using EnerGel ink because it is fast-drying, and I’m left handed. (My hand smears regular gel ink across the page)NOTE: the bolt on the pen is hard to pull.I’ll update this review in a few months.UPDATES:1. The ink cartridges/tubes inside Bic Gelocity pens (0.7mm) also fit in this pen. Their ink is fast drying and writing is smooth. Bic doesn't sell these as refills, but I thought you ought to know.2. I am writing this many months later and there is not a scratch on whatever coating/finish this pen has.The little bolt mechanism is still hard to pull because they used a crazy spring.3. I recommend this pen that is built to last.

This is my first bolt action pen and I really like it. Bolt action is nice and smooth on mine. My problem is Pilot G2 refills absolutely don't fit. I wanted to switch to a 1.0 blue ink refill. I ordered the Pilots and the pen will not work. Pentel refills don't work either, but Uniball 207's do.

Pen is overall okay for a beginner. At the price it is okay if you’re okay with throwing it away when the ink runs out. As you can see in the picture it does not take Pilot G2 refills but similarly styled refills. Actual Pilot G2 refills have a “thicker” neck so it will not cycle in the pen. Just putting a Pilot G2 in the tip of the pen the pen top does not come out enough to use. Putting it together with a Pilot G2 refill, you can not cycle the pen. It simply just doesn’t work.