If you are anything like the famous Stephen Hawking or James Patterson you would know that the organic feel of a pen and paper are far superior to a typewriter. But for the environmental conditions of today, this isn’t the most eco-friendly method of writing. So, what can be a good enough replacement for the traditional writing tools?
A Rocket Book is the ideal replacement, this modern tool doesn’t just allow you to write organically without wasting paper but you can also save your work to the cloud.
There are other electric notebooks too. And you can compare Rocketbook with the Elfinbook here.
These polyester composite page books are a next-level approach to digital note-taking. All you have to do is write as you would with a traditional pen and paper, scan and upload the note using the rocket book app and erase the pages with a damp cloth or the pen erasers and it’s good to reuse again.
The Pens that work with the RocketBook
So if you are a Rocketbook user or are thinking of becoming one, you are probably aware that the only pens that work with these books are the FriXion line from Pilot. These pens use heat transparent ink that becomes transparent above 60 Degrees Celsius and reapers when cooled below negative 10 Degrees Celsius. This gap in the appearing and disappearing of the ink is what allows the ink in these pens to function in a decent way.
So basically, when you try to erase something that you’ve written on the RocketBook, it doesn’t just erase, but the friction eraser makes sure that it’s heating it up until it disappears.
Different FriXion pens
Some of you might have thought the black pens are the only ones available in the FriXion pen’s category as these are the most commonly used and known pens.
But this isn’t true, there’s a wide range of pens available in different colors that can be used with the RocketBook from the FriXion lineup.
FriXion provides you a few different pens, markers, and highlighters to choose from.
So let’s have a look at some options that you have available.
The FriXion clickers:
The FriXion clickers are the most popularly and most commonly used types of Rocketbook pens. They are the most widely used among the FriXion erasable series and even the pen that comes with the Rocket book itself is FriXion Clicker.
These are refillable, retractable gel ink pens that provide you the convenience of a pencil by being removable very easily along with getting the writing experience of a gel pen, so it is pretty amazing.
The plastic body:
They come in lightweight plastic bodies with magnificent designs. They are easy to use and even easier to carry.
The Tips:
The versions of these pens that use 0.7mm tips are the most common especially in the U.S. Other versions include the 0.5mm tips but these are mainly Japanese manufactured pens.
Which tip is the best for you?
These pens are available in 0.5 mm, 0.7mm, and 1mm tips, with the 1mm ones being rarely available. When you first use the 0.7mm one, they seem pretty appealing but many people prefer the thinner 0.5mm tips. This is because the polyester pages in the Rocket Book don’t absorb the ink as a conventional paper does. With the Rocket Book, the ink cools with the passage of time as it dries that makes it look blotchy at times. So more the ink, the more will you notice the blocking.
The 0.5mm tips take less time to dry than the 0.7 mm ones so there’s relatively less ink smudging with the 0.5 mm ones.
However, both of them are just as good when it comes to providing you the writing experience you need.
Dimensions:
The clicker Rocket book pen is 5.5 inches long each and weighs around 24 grams. They are much lighter than any other FriXion pen and hence are easy to carry around in your pocket.
Colors:
These pens are usually used in black, blue, and red colors only, however there are more options available too. They are available in black, blue, red, green, yellow, pink, purple, grey, etc. However, the lightest grey, green and yellow colors did struggle to come through and their visibility wasn’t very helpful.
The click:
The unique thing about these pens is that though many pens come with a click option on the top, these pens click by moving the clip. This is something that isn’t very common and might take you time to get used to.
This might seem odd but the reason behind this is the eraser at the back. Certainly, If the click option was at the back then your pen would be unintentionally clicked while erasing that would have caused a lot of problems, so manufacturers have made the relevant changes in order to avoid this.
The plastic click can sometimes be fragile but it otherwise works just fine.
Writing:
The writing experience on this pen is comparatively better than the Luxury version RocketBook pens. It’s smoother in writing and does a pretty decent job.
The Grip:
All of these pens have a decently sized grip that helps with writing for long periods of time without hurting your fingers. Besides that, it’s made of rubber so chances are that this is the only part of the pen that might wear and tear.
The eraser:
All the FriXion pens use the same eraser. The best thing about their erasers is that amongst all the other erasable pens, their erasers remove the writings better than any other does, leaving absolutely no traces, marks or residues behind, while the other erasable pens do. That’s partial because you are using the FriXion pens on the Rocket Book and other ones with the normal notebooks but credit must be given to the FriXion pens too.
You can continue using the eraser and it won’t become shorter and you can also get another regular FriXion eraser for your Rocket Book if you want.
Can be refilled:
These pens are off course and can be refilled and the refills can be purchased from any online store at a pretty cheap price.
The ink on these Rocket book pens isn’t the most saturated or the darkest but they provide that for the practical purposes of being erased.
Pilot FriXion LX:
This series was launched to be more professional looking pens and as sort of higher-end FriXion pens. They are comparatively a bit expensive but do have a more premium look than the other ones. These are metal body retractable pens instead of the usual plastic made FriXion pens, available in black, grey, gold, red, blue, and light green colored metallic bodies.
Refill:
These pens come with a refill that you can buy separately too. These refills come in both 0.5 and 0.7 mms which is pretty cool as with most other FriXion pens, you are limited to either of these options.
These are made to last longer than the other ones which were more disposable versions of the FriXion pens.
A luxury Pen with the same cheap maintenance:
Despite a more luxurious look, there are some similarities between this model and the other plastic FriXion pens. The shape of the clip is the same and the size is also similar. They also use the same refills. So it’s a luxury pen with the same cheap maintenance but with a superior look and feels.
Erasers on the LX model:
The eraser on the back is pretty awesome and removes everything cleanly without leaving any marks or residues particularly when used with the Rocket Book. However, the eraser’s cap instead of the metal comes in plastic. Most pens come with a click on the top, but this one has an eraser over there so you have to click it using the clip as an alternate of click on the top just like the Clicker model itself.
Weight and dimensions:
It’s a decent 148 mm long and weighs about 40 grams so it isn’t as light as the plastic FriXion pens and feels solid in the hand and is very well made.
It’s a clicker type pen so you don’t have to worry about losing its cap all the time. Both the pens and the refills are super widely available through stationery stores and on online websites. So if you want something nicer than the standard plastic models, the LX just might be the right choice for you.
Why isn’t your FriXion pen working?
If you find out that your notes keep on disappearing in your Rocket notebook or it seems that your pen has lost its ink, chances are that the reason might be the temperature of the place where your Pen was kept.
As explained in the article, the functionality of these pens is dependent on the temperature. So you might have left your pen in the car on a hot sunny day and now it isn’t working. All you need to do is to cool them down in a refrigerator or a freezer and chances and it’ll start working again.
Just make sure that you also don’t leave your notes written on the Rocket Book with your FriXion pens in a place with temperature rather hot than the normal room temperature. You can put the book in the freezer and get some of them back but it just won’t be fully recovered and isn’t always going to work.
The Pilot FriXion Multi-pen:
The Pilot FriXion multi-pen also known as the Pilot Frixion Ball 4 Click Retractable 4 Color Gel Ink Erasable Multi Pen is another cool pen that can be used with the Rocket book.
How is it different from other FriXion pens?
The major difference is pretty visible from the name itself. It’s a multi-pen and in case you don’t know what that it is, a multi-pen is a single pen that comes with multiple tips that enable you to use different colors in one pen.
This particular pen comes with four tips allowing you to use green, red, blue and black colors within one single pen.
Weight and Dimensions:
It’s a lightweight pen and weighs roughly 9 grams that is four times lighter than the LX FriXion model. It’s around 5 and a half inches which is not a bad size for a Rocket book pen. It’s a bit rounder, thicker and has got more width that is because it fits four colors instead of the usual one.
Keep in mind that the extra width might not feel much comfortable and can cause writing problems to some people.
The tip:
With this pen you are only limited to the 0.5mm tips as the company only manufactures these particular models to be only compatible with them.
Smaller Refills:
This might be a problem but just like the other Rocket book pens, that can use each other refills, this one can’t. The manufacturers had to fit in four colors in one pen and hence created smaller refills particularly for this Rocket book pen. So the standard FriXion refills are simply larger than the ones used in this Rocket book pen.
If you want to change the refills on this pen, then simply open it by turning it around from the grip area and the refills pop out, all you need to do is to replace them with new ones and you are good to go.
The grip:
The grip used in this Rocket book pen isn’t the finest and with the passage of time starts to wear. So this also something to keep in mind that you might need a replacement with the grip too.
Differences in Writing:
The differences in writing experience don’t vary much from FriXion to FriXion Rocket book pens but they do with this pen. It’s also different from the other models in the way that it’s not very smooth and you have to exert a great deal of pressure writing with it, in other words, it’s a great deal of effort writing with it.
This particular Rocket book pen offers a bit more resistance than the other FriXion Rocket book single-colored pen. There’s a more tactile element to it, which means that it doesn’t smoothly slide like the other FriXion Rocket book pens. So it just feels different while writing.
It’s a bit larger than the other pens but besides all the differences it uses the same functionality and the same shades of colors as the other Rocket book pens do.
PILOT FriXion Fine liner Erasable Marker:
With the Rocket book, you aren’t only limited ballpoints, in fact, you also have the options of FriXion Markers for Rocketbook.
These markers also use the same unique thermo-sensitive ink formula so they’ll work just as good on your Rocketbook as the other rocket books pen do.
Fluent:
The Rocket book FriXion Pilot pens aren’t as smooth as the other usual pens but the company made the markers keeping this in mind. Partially, a marketer’s job is to provide you a smoother experience in your writings and the FriXion Fine liner Pens/ Markers will pretty much justify that.
Cap:
The other FriXion pens don’t come with an additional cap, but with the markers, you also get the cap so might want to ensure that you aren’t losing it all the time.
No Refills:
These Rocket bookmarkers are cheaper than pens. The issue is that the pens however are refillable and a wide range of refills easily available for them but the markers aren’t. This means that once the ink is finished, the whole Rocket bookmarker is of no use.
More availability of Colors:
With the FriXion Rocket book fine liners, your color options have also increased. These Rocket bookmarkers are available in two packings. The bigger one offers you 10 different colors including red, purple, orange, blue, pink, yellow, green, black, teal, and silver color whereas the smaller pack consists of 6 markers available in blue, black, green, orange, pink, and red.
Dimensions:
Each marker is 6.7 inches long and weighs roughly 44 grams which is pretty decent for a normal marker.
Better Color previews:
Many people used to complain that the colors aren’t that bright enough on the FriXion RocketBook pens, but with the markers, the company has raised their standards. The colors might not be the brightest like you are fond of seeing them but they have improved to a major extent compared to what you used to get with the pens.
Conclusion:
If you order the Markers on online websites, you may also get a packet of sticky tabs with them and an extra eraser. This extra eraser works a bit neater than the ones that come on the top.
So if you are the marker kind of person and choose markers over pens then choosing the FriXion Markers over the FriXion pens for your rocket book is also a great option based on your own preference.
All the FriXion pens go best with your Rocketbook, they come in many different colors, they write super smooth and most of them are refillable. So to choose either of them is based on your own personal preference keeping all the things in mind.