I have recently discovered a strong fondness for felt tipped pens. They seem to give me a lot of the things I like about pencils in terms of how they feel on paper, but with the convenience of a pen (no sharpening or smearing, consistent tip size, and an array of color options). I have the luxury of an art supply store on campus that sells singles of a wide variety of pens, so I thought that I would do some comparisons and start off with two of my favorites - the Sharpie Pen and the Sakura Pigma Micron. These are two great pens that really set the bar for what a felt tipped pen should be.
Sharpie Pen
Things I like:
- Pretty inexpensive
- Very water and light resistant (see tests here for light resistance)
- Of the two, this pen is the more comfortable to hold
- Tip seems finer/able to resist mushing better
- Dries quickly
- Fairly mainstream
Things I don't like:
- Ink seems like a "light black"
Pigma Micron
Things I like:
- Truly black ink
- Color variety is better
- Wide range of tip sizes
- Metal clip can be adjusted, to a point
- Water resistant and would assume light resistant as well
Things I don't like:
- Slightly harder to find in normal stores and slightly more expensive
- Lots of sharp edges and short section
- Body color scheme is drab
I have a really hard time picking a clear winner between these two. I wish I could mix the body of the Sharpie with the ink of the Micron - that would probably be my perfect felt pen. Until then, I reach for them both equally and the difference in cost is so slight that it will not affect my purchasing habits. If all you have available is big-box retailers, I would highly recommend the Sharpie and I doubt you will find yourself unhappy with it. But, if you have an art supplier nearby, give a Micron a try - maybe for you there will be a clear winner but for me, there's room at the top for two.