The Trouble with Pilot Frixion Pens: Review and Hacks

I love Frixion Pens by Pilot, but there are some struggle that I had to get over before using them in my traveler's notebook planner. I've decided through tests that I can not use them in my personal long term writing, but they are great for party tricks :)
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[@jessicat3762]

I've found frixion pens to be the only pens to work in a walk in freezer unit... I'm a chef/kitchen manager and do inventory daily which involves being in the walk in for a long time... I usually used pencil then rewrote counts in pen because pens will freeze up in minutes to seconds in the freezer and cooler. I got frixion pens initially for food safety log(has to be accurate and in pen) and my production charts and when I realized they worked in the freezer 😍

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

That’s a thought 😃

[@jessicat3762]

@@SylviaWithAPlan have you tried the frixion art fineliners or markers?

[@sandercohen3309]

@@jessicat3762 If you need a pen that works in all conditions, then you might want to check out the Fisher Space Pen. When I say "all" conditions, I really mean *ALL* conditions. You can write with it at any angle (even upside down) You can also write with it over grease, in a vacuum, underwater, in zero gravity and at temperatures ranging from −30 to 250 °F (−35 to 120 °C). The ink is forced out by compressed nitrogen at a pressure of nearly 35 psi (240 kPa), and it functions at altitudes up to 12,500 feet (3800 m) I’m not affiliated with the Fisher Pen Company. I just love technology :)

[@jessicat3762]

@@sandercohen3309 I just recently heard about those! It was an Elon Musk recommendation lol.

[@rzooter]

Perfect. Thank you for the info. I work outdoors in all weather conditions and need to log in info and quick notes. Cold temps up to -40° and raining conditions. I will give them a try

[@ZJCitricAcidGraf.E.T.]

One thing i do want to say that wasn't mentioned in the video was that if a page is especially thin then any Frixion pen writing on the back side of the page will also be erased. That or if one vigorously erases regardless of paper thickness. Keep this in mind.

[@elijahosullivan1011]

frixion have improved so much over the last few years, i swear by the standard clicker pens in 0.5 or 0.7 depending on how fine you like writing, but as somebody who constantly makes errors an erasable pen is a lifesaver and i have used them for about 2-3 years and refills have been a lifesaver i often use spirax notebooks and they worked well but i've never been the hugest fan of their highlighters and never really needed to use theirs

[@marierosetj]

I like the highlighters because I don’t do it often- but sometimes I used to find myself highlighting in textbooks I’m not supposed to write in. These solve that issue because I can just erase it! The others ones took FOREVER to get off!

[@lavernejohnson9166]

The Frixion pens erase on fabric with heat from your iron-great for quilt marking!

[@winterrain1947]

omg! i must try that!

[@winterrain1947]

@@its_yellow Now I really need to give this a try. Sounds fun to experiment with.

[@CodeMars9]

Good to know! Thank You!!

[@carmeferrandis]

Great video!! I had heard of the writing disappearing just if your notebook gets the heat of your laptop, so I wasn't really thrilled to use them. The freezer trick, though!! Also, I've seen people using a frixion pen when sewing, to mark measurements on the fabric, and then erase it with the iron, so in this case I think It's very useful.

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Carme Ferrandis Yes, there are some great videos on how to use these in an artsy-fartsy way, but I stuck with how I use them for my everyday use 🙂

[@jackmckenna1886]

put it in the freezer, heat erases it, but only physical friction will remove it.

[@febed01]

Thanks a lot, lots of useful info in you video ! My experience with these pens : - In the beginning I didn't pay attention about what was making the ink disappear ("don't think too much and let the magic work")... I learned when I put my laptop on my notebook (to prevent the computer to damage a very old furniture) and after a while it ereased about 15 pages... "Oh, ok, it's a thermosensible ink XD !" One night in the freezer and my notes were back :) - What I don't like, especially with the broader nibs, is it tends to railroad (at least with me, maybe I'm applying too much pressure) - If you happen to have a refillable Moleskine pen (the one that have a cap) you can use the Pilot Frixion refills with it (but the Moleskine refills won't fit in a Pilot)

[@alaskahope6816]

I literally made an account so I could comment and tell you this is incredible. You’ve just solved so many different issues I’ve always had with the frixion pens.

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Oh, thank you 🙂

[@sunlitrain]

Hi! Your detailed demo of frixion pens is the most helpful I have found. Thank you!

[@giulianamiglioli3514]

Just found your video. I am in love with friction pens ... I basically use them for books. Thanks a lot for your testing and inputs!

[@goatshenanigans6090]

If you’re using a rocketbook with these pens, the removable cap pens are better bc you’re less tempted to use the eraser because the eraser actually ruins the rocketbook.

[@Somebodyelse141]

If you use a hair dryer to erase the friction in your planner it won't smear

[@vi9763]

Great video. Very thorough and thanks for talking about the highliters

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Vi Isaac Yes! I thought they would be great, but you can’t erase them without smears 😕

[@LisbethJimenez]

Excellent review on Frixion pens. But I swear I snarfed when you showed the hot/cold pics of Colorado I needed that giggle TFS :)

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Lisbeth Jimenez 😂😂😂

[@GordieGii]

Does anybody know whether Frixion multi-pen cartridges are compatible with other Pilot multi-pens? I want a pen with permanent black and erasable red (and perhaps a pencil)

[@DennisHicks78749]

LOVE the hacks, and jetpen suggestions, THANKS! I have just discovered Frixion, coming off of a fountain pen addiction.

[@lizadabu9064]

I bought a new refill of frixion but it doesnt work.. any fix to this? Thanks!

[@kellymanon6791]

Thank you you answered all my questions and you showed me other pens too. :)

[@DiogoSalazar1]

Hi, would it be possible to replace one of the frixion multi-pen cartridges/refills with a mechanical pencil component? I am looking for an erasable multi-pen with a mechanical pencil. Tks

[@Geemeel1]

Great and helpful, thank you so much!!

[@_soggy]

Thank you! This video was SO helpful!!

[@MAnasK-wy2wr]

After writing it fade when u put paper in a printer to print something

[@TerryFedora]

This was a very nice/helpful video. I just got a Frixion pen and am very excited to start trying it out. (Love pens in general lol)

[@Barbie_All_The_Way]

Which on disappears after you apply heat?

[@pinwheelgrl9304]

I liked Pilot G2's also, but they just don't dry well at all. So I switched to Pentel EnerGel X and they do not smear right away, BUT if it gets wet even later on, it just fades away like water color. So the Pentels are great to write when you don't have to worry about your hand getting on it. So I just found out about these Frixion pens and I want to check them out, so thanks for doing this review!

[@imnotyou6905]

Does anyone know if the Frixion stamps work well with the Rocketbook?

[@tspfl9073]

I've never had problems with ink disappearing, but i have a whole drawer full of dead purple color refills. I've fixed one or two, but you have to apply pressure to the ink to force it to flow again.

[@Julietaescasan]

What happens when you use a Laser printer? Would it do the same?

[@csikomas8910]

I really appreciated this vid! Good information! You've thought of everything! :)

[@Vic-tw8bw]

Is the Multi pen (3 or 4 colors) heavier? I AM looking for a heavier pen to make it less tiring to write. I'm considering the metal version Multi pen.

[@annicat4062]

Hello i have a question.. for example if you use a ballpen but not an a eraser fricxion and you try to erase it what your writing it is still working???

[@DennisHicks78749]

Can say anything about blending colors, as in for artistic uses? I am trying these as alternative to my trad colored pencil sets, which don’t actually blend. Any other tips for using them artistically?

[@roxie1117]

Thanks so much for this. I was ready to send them all back because I couldn’t figure out how to work the clicker.

[@catherineroberts5490]

So I have a odd question. I’m huge fan of Frixion pens but I recognize the issues of them and I’ve only ever used the US pens. My question is: Do you feel the US or Japan versions work best? I’m looking at scooping some of the Japan ones from JetPen in hopes they work better.

[@John-yl7cg]

I you got 21 of these pilots...would it be 21 pilots?

[@simrat4540]

faucetTime lol 😂

[@MrTHEORIGINALICEMAN]

Buy a Rocket book (everlast) and it will address all of your concerns.

[@encapsulatio]

how?

[@foreq4894]

how come when I use my frixion clicker 0.7 diagonally, the ink is not dark on the rocketbook. When I shake it, the ink comes out for a few seconds than stops. Anyone else know how to fix this?

[@Rye_Toast]

I use frixion pens at work almost exclusively, but I DON'T use them for signing official documents or anything that's an official record that could be audited years from now. Besides the temperature issue I know that some inks fade over time, thermal receipts fade and while that's a completely different product I'd prefer not to leave it to chance.

[@Jimalcoatl]

I use them at work as a teacher. At my school, all the students must use the expensive official workbooks, I also have to sign completed work and give written feedback on some assignments. These pens let me fix mistakes in my corrections, and helps keep my kids book resale value up. They do smear on glossy paper of you don't give them a minute to dry though.

[@suburbohemian]

I use both Frixion clicks and the highlighters, but my main gripe is that when highlighted, the Frixion pen color fades out some and if you rewrite over it again, it makes it almost another color, especially with blue, and since I use for color coded entries it's a bit frustrating.

[@mathstm3839]

*WHICH MAKES ME HAPPY*

[@SummerSunset2207]

I really like using frixion pens in my planner but find that the marker/highlighters dry out too quickly . Even the pens I find run out relatively fast and I try to stock up on refills through amazon. I use .5mm

[@pmiller451]

they dry up and cant be fixed, i have over a dozen with full ink barrels and tips that dont work, Im done...

[@janelleevesacil907]

I really like my frixion slim pen coz its very light and slim. But Why is my frixion slim pen cannot be open to change its refill? Huhu. Why is yours can be opened and changed refills?

[@icesk8er]

I didn’t know about the heat erasing the ink. I left my notebook in the car in the summer in Las Vegas. It gets to over 100degrees in cars. Umm..... was I surprised when my notes I had written with the Frixion were completely gone. I don’t do that anymore but I learned when using for sewing the iron makes it disappear. Now it’s my favorite sewing fabric marker.

[@emmicd11]

Can you erase and write over the same place repeatedly? I'd like to write on the same piece of paper a couple thousand times if possible.

[@thecookiegirlgamer8851]

There are new ones though that have a cap but the erasers are at the end of the cap and those are the ones I have

[@benjones1458]

If you use frixion on frixion stuff and then erase it, they will both erase!! so its best just to highlight text in a book

[@lrla8657]

I do puzzle books and the paper is newsprint. These not only erase the print on the page, they leave a huge smudge mark on the paper. And when I am changing passwords at work and I tried to erase and write over it, it NEVER writes over the area I erase on standard printer paper. Not sure why but I did throw them all out.

[@wesleypipessmokes]

how do you revive them DOA???

[@ddpaw7]

Amazing and helpful video thank you

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Thanks for watching 🤗

[@greysoncreates776]

maybe a dumb question but then can you photo copy something written in frixion pen? I need to start using pen in school work but i always mess up spelling or want to change something and cant without making a mess but i need to photo copy most of it to turn in. (Im homeschooled its different)

[@zadokamar1651]

Only a pen or pencil in a non-photo blue would have an effect like that.

[@simple.family.life.5452]

Sylvia, I really love your planner with all the little notebooks inside. Can you share where you found that cover and the inserts?

[@ReBroochable]

They are called 'Traveler's Notebooks' if you want to shop for them

[@thepedanticplanner5356]

I have been able to find individual refills for the slim on Jet Pens

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

The Pedantic Planner I will have to look! I’m sure much has changed in the three months I’ve been trying to make this video. Thanks!

[@iiuniqueii5609]

That Midori... calendar at 8:05 is really nice lol I don't know why i like it so much? Probably because it is like Japanese themed maybe... :)

[@mollychrisa1]

WOW this is Amazing 😊🎊🎆🌸 THANKS 💖

[@DennisHicks78749]

Ooh! Good point about possible impermanence making them inappropriate for journaling! Don’t know if I would have thought of that. I am thinking of using these for art projects that I will scan and use in reduced size so I have have good detail. So the scanning makes it permanent, sorta, as long as you back up your data! But there maybe times I want a permanent original. Suppose after finishing it in Frixion, I could sort of make a copy with permanent media. Lot to consider, I will come back to this vid again as a useful reference, thanks heaps for making it!

[@moonbabe612]

Omg. I’m a huge frixion user! Everyone I hand one too does the same thing lol.

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Katrina Wilson It is the funniest thing to watch all in good fun 😂

[@BardockPlay_]

Gracias buen video

[@clover9812]

OMG at 2:59, I did the exact same thing with my peers. None of them figured it out.

[@Barbie_All_The_Way]

Have you ever tried it on fabric? I'm making a shirt and I have to keep washing the tracing off because I keep messing up. I think FriXion pens will help me because after I trace the design, the markings will wash off after I decorate it. Please let my know if you tried as soon as you see this post

[@MishaMishaSoprano]

Yes but test first. Not all colors ease well from fabric: Pink, lime, turquoise. Black works well. My mom is a quilter, and that is what she uses.

[@debbr2304]

I have a frixion multi that comes with red,blu,black. May be why the green prob came later. I love how you wipe away the eraser, I used to until I 😳 realized it's frixion there is no eraser dust. Sometimes the ink is to wet, I'll use a finger to dry it. Also it helps if I realize I need to erase right away the ink needs to be dry to get a clean erase. Ive used for years, but just like you I stopped using for a couple years. I have all the same types as you and wanted to resurrect my frixion to temp write in my planner the perm with fountain pen. I'm looking for the best way to store frixion.

[@momorose6388]

Do you find that your frixion highlighters dry out the more you use them in your reading? For some reason mine begin to dry out. I think the poreous paper in my books is causing the ink to dry out faster. I know that the ink will turn clear through heat and that you can revive them by putting them on ice or in the fridge, but even doing that didnt work on the highlighters. Is it the ink, or the paper, or just me?

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

No, that’s weird!

[@ThreadedAlchemyArt]

I have this all the time

[@excusemybeauty7916]

can a frixion eraser be used on a regular pen?

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

No.

[@lisalyons4462]

So thorough

[@zym5435]

papermate still makes the erasable pens. i bought like 3 packages of them bc i liked the frixion but thought they were too expensive. they arent 100% terrible,, but erasing them is basically equivalent to erasing very thick pencil lines, and you have to push down hard to get them to write. only really used them for situations where pen was required, and once i had access to frixions again i used those instead.

[@DocumentedJourney]

Thank you so much for this video! I love frixion pens but always force myself not to use them in my planner because I don't want it to fade and your right in colorado you never know what the weather is going to do. Im going for it this year!

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Great! I’m glad it was helpful🙂

[@ralphweeks7209]

How well do these work when writing in a Bible on thin paper? Do they bleed through in this environment?

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Very well! I use tomorrow river page in 52 to gsm. They work great!

[@katjorbar]

You had me at 0.38! It's the ultimate pen size for me!

[@lisaleone2296]

Frixion has been around since 2006. So your 10th anniversary pens might have been sitting around for a little bit :) Or maybe it took them a while to get the pens to market? I've been using them since they first launched. I live in Florida and I've never had an issue with ink disappearing after leaving my work bag with my planner inside it in a hot car for an hour or so. Bags tend to shield what's inside if they're not in direct sunlight. I agree with a lot of your findings about combinations of pen/highlighter/marker/paper combinations.

[@traceythibault4946]

I been getting my FRIXION pens at Walmart but i looked on Amazon Canada and found themm🖋✔️ i love writing with them I can erase my mistakes at to me that's so cool

[@linsanganfamily4852]

I love it so much

[@syedali92314]

My pilot frixion write very light I try very trick but It writes very very light in color what I can do?

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Is it a pen or a color frixion? If it’s a pen I would try a broader tip. The largest is a 0.7 mm.

[@syedali92314]

@@SylviaWithAPlan pilot frixion blue 0.7 mm don't working properly

[@rubybevan2847]

Would you recommend the Frixion 0.7’s for someone who’s left-handed? How is smudging?

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Not bad but Sarasa Dry is the best and what I give my lefty niece and nephew! Now if only they were erasable!

[@elanasafford5509]

I’m a lefty, and I don’t run into too many smudge issues. It’s not super fast drying ink, but it won’t smudge your entire hand.

[@Jesss8697]

I know I'm late but I'm left handed and I use Paper Mate pens! They are fast dry and have multiple colors :)

[@tigercat8982]

The old North American Frixion pens literally felt like they were constantly drying out even though they were brand new.

[@wildbill23c]

Great tips with those pens. The only Frixion pens I have..rather had, came as a trial pen in a package of other pens I had bought a while back. I was looking back through some notes I had written a while back...probably about 3 months ago, and the ink has faded quite a bit. When you first write with them the ink is pretty vibrant. My pen was black, so it was pretty dark. Now looking at the writing it looks like I wrote those notes with a pencil, the ink has faded that much in just 3 months. I wonder if I'll even be able to read my notes in a year...luckily it was just a rough draft and I typed them and saved them on my computer.

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Yes, thank goodness 😅

[@wallywang5072]

G2 is gel pen so water based, frixion highlighters are also water based, of course it would smear because frixion dissolved G2 ink again .... I do like both G2 and frixion.

[@andreakerekes5258]

tldr; opinions and experiences wanted, scared to lose my study notes, but motivated to purchase these pens This video was so, so helpful, thank you for that! :) I've just recently watched another video (by studytee) where she uses the frixion pens to take notes at the uni, and I got super excited to purchase a few of these. But I am super scared, what if all my notes disappear? E.g. in our country, on the trains, it's always like 25 celsius in the cabins (sometimes even if you turn the heating off), what if by the time I get from one city to the other, all my notes will disappear? :( and what if I want to take a look on my notes 5 years later; should I keep them airthight, away from sun and basically in, like, basement in order to keep them? :D and if I put them in a freezer - is everything supposed to come back, like the ones I erased earlier and wrote something on the top of it? I find them really cool but I'm full of fear, so please someone either convience me to buy them, or not to buy them, I can't really decide for myself just yet, and I would loooveee to see some opinions and experiences. Thank you :))

[@anamariamorenorodriguez9886]

I've used Frixion pens on a city where the usual temperature is 32C° and they work just fine... Never got erased. I don't know if this helps?

[@EntertainMeNow78]

60°C is when it's supposed to go clear. So it would have to super hot.

[@funwithpoorva4767]

What the amount of one ink pen please send me thanks good day 😁😀🌹🌷

[@olerius1235]

5 years ago my moms professer had a blue pilot frixon pen she was like what does that he's its an erasable pen next thing she got one now I'm a 8th grader who uses those now

[@caxctus9487]

An 8th grader*

[@su5512]

I think some clickable pens are not opening from the top . I bought one and I think it is not refillable. They don't open. But the packaging says it's refillable? Totally confused? Does anyone knows what to do?

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Which pen is it?

[@su5512]

Sylvia From Wright Your Life the one with the tattoo on it . At last after many people telling me that they are not reuseable . I managed to open the top barrel and also found online that pilot makes refills also .

[@su5512]

Glad to get a reply from you.

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Of course🙂

[@Lortagreb]

Dont write in school books even with frixion pens thats rude! Only write in books that are your own property. Frixion pens become unerased in cold. say for example if carry your book with you in a really cold winter day, they might just get erased!

[@ksha735]

Forget the heating gun, I once lost all my writing which had me baffled for a second, then caught a glance of the friction pen in my hand, from the corner of my eyes. In other words, I must have picked it up b accidentally instead of the Uni gel pen I’d usually used for pages with printed

[@moonbabe612]

Ooo I didn’t know about several of these!

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Katrina Wilson Yes, I like to add something new😊

[@moonbabe612]

Sylvia From Wright Your Life Frixions are the only pens I will use in my planner. I make way too many mistakes or things change so much. I’ve been using the Sticks (I think that’s what they’re called) but they have the eraser on the cap. I need to try one of the multi colored ones. I would love if I could put a frixion refill in a pen gem! Do you know if that’s possible??

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Katrina Wilson I do not have a gem pen because I’m crazy! 😂 I need one! Let me know if it works because that would be great!

[@celesteyeo4367]

I'm confused does she like it or not?

[@stephanieallen9441]

Can you refill the clickers with the erasable

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Yes!

[@Zyztem300]

i love frixion pens a lot, i have a lot of frixion pens in my house

[@MonstersOfTheUniverse]

That ink only disappears with heat. and will reappear if frozen or very cold

[@justsayin7317]

I got a whole bunch of the clicker 0.7 pens because I love the bolder point and wanted the erasable ink. I bought a bundle of 8, and 5 of them wouldn't write at all. I put them in the freezer per some online advice and the ink is flowing, but not at full saturation. They are supposed to be black but they write super light gray now. If you leave them in the freezer for longer, do they darken up? Does anyone else have experience with this?

[@preray]

You know you can Microwave those pages and erase them and if you leave the paper over night in the freezer and it will come back fairly well.

[@supersoupss]

I guess the microwave trick only works if you have something to be heated from like a mug of water

[@Barbie_All_The_Way]

Your handwriting is really pretty

[@GordieGii]

You could possibly use this to erase without smearing: therapik.com/product/therapik/ When I find mine I can verify whether it produces a high enough temperature.

[@mitchhannah9930]

Very enlightening. Thanks. M and I gave you a thumbs up. We'll see about subscribing if I get in the habit of viewing.

[@Manon1986]

Do you know if you can fit a 0.5 refill in a 0.7 pencil? (clicker frixion)

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

Yes, the refill is the same, just the tip is finer for the Frixion!

[@wendyw-b6456]

I noticed that you kept sweeping [bits] away whenever you erased. I used to do that too but found that the frixion/friction didn't create any [bits] like we get when we erase pencil with a typical eraser. So, does the frixion large eraser create [bits] or are you just sweeping things away out of habit? * [bits]=those nameless pieces of eraser you get from using a conventional/normal eraser.

[@SylviaWithAPlan]

True, the eraser does not flake off, but sometimes the ink gathers instead of disappearing. Not much but tiny balls of it!

[@levicarmody444]

Are these good for left handed?

[@graaace1]

I just got one, and it takes a little longer to dry than normal pens, so I've had to twist my wrist above the writing to stop the previous words from smearing. But it really depends on how hard you press, I've always held my pens really tightly, so if you keep a lose grip, you probably won't have as much ink and smudging.

[@johnlaurrenzdelrosario3137]

You can order from the Philippines cause they have .3 and .4

[@Fairygoblet]

Does anybody else have trouble getting the ink on the pens to flow properly? I can really only use them workers because if I try to use the pens it keeps skipping areas and I can't write legibly Update- apparently it is the pen and not me XD thank you!

[@Justme_247]

I only use frixion pens for my puzzle books.

[@hurmaes]

They actually sell refills for the slim frixion one!! Well, at least in Japan they do.

[@charachoppel3116]

I bought Frixion Clicker 0.7 - could not write nicely, letters got clumsy - and smears like hell. Would not recommend. But Ball Clicker is not the same I guess.

[@KatieCottingham]

PLEASE DO NOT WRITE IN YOUR HIGH SCHOOL TEXT BOOKS WITH THESE!!!!! These do NOT stay fully erased over time, especially when students take home books and walk in the cold or when classrooms get cold. The ink isn't actually removed, that's the misconception of this ink tech; it's a combination of color changing chemicals and heat sensitive chemicals that make the marks *transparent*, but is NOT removing the ink. Damaged textbooks can come back to haunt you if they're rented in college or school property in high school, so please, do NOT use ink in textbooks or materials that don't belong to you personally.