| Pen Type | Rollerball pen |
| Point Size(s) | 0.3mm (Staedtler Liquid Point 5 is 0.25mm) |
| Water-resistant | No |
| Ink Color | 4 – Black, Blue, Red, Green |
| Capped/Retractable | Capped |
| Clip | Yes |
| Approx Price | $11 for 4 color pack |
Staedtler Liquid Point 7 and Staedtler Liquid Point 5 are same (as far as I know) except for the point size. I own a 4 color set of Staedtler Liquid Point 7.
The pen has a gray body with a slight shimmer. The tips of the pen and the nib match the ink color. The clip has a nice arch that allows you to clip it to thicker fabric. The barrel has a more clear part that shows you how much ink is left. (It’s the black section in the photo where the name is.) Once you remove the cap, you see discs that make up the ink feed under the clear grip. I’m a sucker for clear plastic over seemingly useful (probably only decorative) technical details.
The grip of the pen is pretty crappy. It’s also a bit thinner than the usual pen. Lacking friction and surface area, this is NOT the pen you want to use if your palm sweats at all. And since the body is so narrow, you have little to hold on to when uncapping the pen. Now imagine taking a test and removing the cap from your pen just tired you out 
Just as with most capped pens, the balance of the pen is good for me without the cap. With the cap at the end, the end is heavier than the front. I need to apply more pressure to compensate when writing.
The ink flow is pretty inconsistent to me (despite what the company claims). Sometimes I get no ink flow. Sometimes I get too much. Also, I’ve rarely seen an ink that bleeds this badly on notebook paper. The lines I ended up with are often thicker than what I would get from a 0.5mm pen. Because of the ink blots, there’s no way you can take notes on both sides of a sheet of paper as the ink soaks through quite badly. (Because of the bleeding, I’m going to assume it’s a water-based ink and is not going to be water-resistant.)
Decent looks, bad grip, inconsistent ink flow, and bleeding ink make this a crappy pen. You can get much better pens at much cheaper prices.
| Nib/Ink flow | 1/5 (inconsistent flow, bleed-y ink) |
| Grip/ Balance/Weight | 2/5 (slippery grip, narrow barrel and grip) |
| Design/Looks | 4/5 (professional looking, especially like the clip arch) |
| Construction | 5/5 (well made, should stand up to time if I keep it around) |
8 comments
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January 15, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Fany Fabrega
I am interested in buying Staedtler liquid point 7 via web. Any suggestion as of how can I buy it ?
Fany
March 16, 2007 at 1:46 pm
James Bond
I don’t know much about pens – but I do know a little bit about women. – James
February 25, 2008 at 8:25 pm
A
The packaging for this pen says it has a refillable ink supply, but I cannot find any information on how to refill the ink. I was hoping you’d address this and was disappointed to see you say “chuck it” when it’s empty.
February 25, 2008 at 8:54 pm
A
Ugh, I totally did not leave this comment on this pen’s page. It was supposed to be on the Uniball Vision Elite page!
April 14, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Michelle
omg, i loooove this pen. So much. I’m a magazine editor, so it’s very helpful for making marks on the page where there’s little space — no smudges, very precise.
You’re right, though about those pens not being refillable. The life of these pens is pretty low.
September 26, 2008 at 1:34 am
Nexxie
I just recently replaced my Pilot Precise V5s with this and like it much better. The ink rolls smoother and doesn’t seem to clot at all, the nib doesn’t scratch against the paper, and overall it looks much better. I find it somewhat strange that this 0.3mm pen makes much bolder, richer lines than my previous 0.5mm pen. It makes lines comparative in size to the Pilot V7, but its lines are much more richer and very suitable to my hasty, thin scrawl. Also, I had problems with bleeding through the paper only when scribbling out mistakes the first few times, then figured out I couldn’t scribble that hard and have had no problems with bleeding since.
Just felt like giving a second opinion.
October 22, 2008 at 9:57 pm
someonesdad
I’ve bought a package of four of these pens a few years for about $6.50 at Staples Office Supply and think very highly of them. Staedtler says the line for the Liquid 7 pen is 0.35 mm wide and I’ve measured it to be nearly exactly that.
The set came with red, blue, green, and black pens. The colors are rich and saturated. I use the red pen the most, especially for marking and editing.
The ink is not waterproof. The black and blue stay reasonably visible when the paper is immersed in water, but the red and green will lose a fair bit of contrast. I’m comparing these to e.g. the Uni-ball Vision fine point pen in black or the Sakura Pigma Micron pen, both of which will show essentially no degradation after soaking the paper in water for half an hour. Thus, if waterproofness is important to you, these Liquid 7 pens aren’t the pen to choose.
In spite of the above, I consider them excellent pens and I will probably buy another set soon, as it’s not uncommon for me to decide I like something and find out it’s no longer manufactured when I go to get another one. Unlike the reviewer, I’ve had incredibly consistent ink flow from these pens. And they never have skipped nor spoiled the writing area with a blob of ink.
The grip of the pen is uninspired, but so are all the other pens that I have. I guess I’ve written with writing sticks like this for so many years that the new-fangled rubber grip pens don’t do much for me.
Oh, one other thing: the paper you write on has a lot to do with how you feel about a pen. For general around-the-house stuff, I use the cheap copy/printer paper the wife buys at Wal-Mart, but for comparing writing sticks, I like to use HP Premium LaserJet paper for testing, both because it’s quite smooth to write on and is commonly available.
January 29, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Jonathan
I don’t agree at all with your ratings. I find this to be a fantastic pen, and most likely my favourite pen I had ever used. But I am also a pen lover, so I am glad to have found your page, as I am always trying new pens to experiment with.
I find I write best in blue ink, it is a shame I need to buy a four pack to hardly use red/green/black.