I hate messing up my writing, so I use these erasable pens every day

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As a writer, I love pens, markers, journals, planners and every possible accessory you can use to express yourself on paper. Back in 2015, that meant I got in on the first Rocketbook Kickstarter. (You can get a Rocketbook anywhere now, including on Amazon.) The idea of a reusable notebook that erased in the microwave was exciting! Ultimately, while I do occasionally use the Rocketbook (although I don’t really take advantage of its reusable qualities), it was the Frixion pen that came with it that became my favorite thing.

The Frixion pen from Pilot is erasable — and not in that lackluster Paper Mate Erasermate kind of way that disappointed us in grade school. It actually works really well, and since it’s a gel pen that comes in a ton of colors, I truly enjoy writing with it. In fact, once I realized how much I liked it, I started trying all the Frixion pens, and they’re all fantastic. Before, I had to go to Japanese retailers (either online or in person) to get my fix. Today, I can go to Amazon and make sure I always have the colors I need.

Today, I have Frixion highlighters, markers, and pens in every color and there are two Frixion pen sets on my Amazon Subscribe & Save (one all-black pack of 12 and one in 15 colors) because I would seriously get anxious if I ever run out. I use them for everything. The colored gel pens below are reserved for my planner, so I can color-code all my activities without any mistakes.

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At my full-time job, I even requested (and received) these pens for our department. When they arrived, I was so excited I showed everyone in the office that day. They were a bit confused as to how to get them to work at first, since the top of the pen is the “eraser,” so to make the ink come out you actually have to click the clip down. But they were pretty amazed at how well they worked. One declared we better get more orders in so we don’t run out, and now many of my co-workers have Frixion pens at the desk (although I’m pretty sure they don’t use them as much as I do).

I can’t say I understand the science of how Frixion pens do what they do; from what I know, they’re not technically erasable. Instead, the friction of the end touching paper turns the colors invisible. The ink is still there, but you can’t see it. And yes, you can still write over it with no problem, and erase that, too. In fact, you can use heat from a blow dryer to bring your words back, according to a Page Flutter reviewer, and one Frixion marker listing says the words also return if you place your paper in temperatures under 14 degrees Fahrenheit.

This is what the words look like after a quick rub in my Erin Condren LifePlanner (with a Princess Leia cover, of course):

And that’s the only issue I have with them, actually. If you’re looking to archive your writing for posterity, Frixion pens aren’t going to work for you. Under certain conditions, the ink may fade a bit. This happened to my work meeting notebook, so I went over my writing with a more permanent option (my second favorite pen of all time, the Pilot Precise V7).

These pens also dry out a bit more quickly than others, but I still get months of use out of each pen despite using them pretty much every day for small amounts of writing. Black ones maybe last me a few weeks, since I use them for more substantive work.

Of course, many other types of Frixion pens are available. I use the highlighters frequently — they’re not as bold in color as some, but the ability to remove marks from books is pretty nice. The felt tip-style markers work well, too. If you’re looking to try assorted types of Frixion pens, this variety pack includes gel pens, marker pens and a few highlighters.

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