16 May 2012

pilot frixion vs muji erasables

I recently acquired two Pilot Frixion pens as I had a Union Shop voucher to spend. As a result of this, I decided to review it against the Muji Erasable pens I bought a month ago. Here they are side by side:


Obviously, there'd be a marked difference due to the Frixion's nibs being 0.7mm whereas the Muji Erasables were 0.5mm. Here is a close up of both sets separately:



I'm not sure which one I prefer but at the moment, the Frixions' are winning a bit as they seemed to flow better when in use but I do prefer 0.5mm nibs.

Next, the rubbing out process and comparison with the Pilot blue first:


Then the Muji in blue:


It appears that the Muji ones rubbed out better. I later tested the Frixion in blue with the Muji rubber and the end result was better so it appears the rubber design was the difference here.

And now, both Frixions' rubbed out...


And then both alongisde each other (Frixion on the left and Muji on the right)...


It's not particularly clear but the Muji left less behind bar a pressure imprint whereas the Frixion left some ink residue behind and the rubber left some residue behind too.

One notable difference I noticed was that the Muji erasables had the rubber on the cap so when you write and rub out, there is less of a requirement to remove the cap, then erase, etc. Whereas the Frixion pens have the rubber on the same side as the nib and so, if like me, you put the lid on the pen while you write, rubbing out can be a bit of an annoyance. 

Overall, I rate the Frixion at 7/10 as the flow is brilliant but the rubbing out not so much (and that is one of the main marketing points) whereas I rate the Muji ones at 8/10 as the rubbing out is fine and the flow is fine but not as good as the Frixion; plus, the Muji ones were cheaper for me. However, that can be attributed to the fact that I bought the Frixions' in the Union Shop where things are priced higher than in other stationery stores.

Have you had a personal experience with both? Do you agree with my review? Was I just unlucky with the pens I bought? Let me know in a comment below! :)

10 comments

  1. You can try FriXion Point – they come in 05 and have a better eraser. Or FriXion clicker, they have better eraser, come in both sizes and there are no problems with the cap.

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    1. Oooh they didn't have these in my union shop but I may try and seek them out anyway! Yeah, my main gripe was with the eraser and how poorly it seemed to erase the writing, though will try the Point and Clicker before tarring all of the Frixions with the same brush :p x

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  2. I agree with Tomáš. The FriXion clickers are great pens with perfect eraser placement.

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  3. I use a purple Frixion 0.7 refill in a 0.5 barrel. I've got loads of clickers and I do prefer them, but unfortunately the rubber grip means I can't fit them in my Filofax loops. I find the Frixions ok to rub out as long as I'm going to write over it again. Otherwise it's not as good as it should be really.

    I'd love to buy the Muji ones but don't seem to be able to order them from anywhere. :-(

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    1. Here is a direct link to the Muji pens for you :) http://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?Src=Y

      Sorry for enabling hehe x

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  4. How much do the Muji pens show through filofax pages?

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    1. No show through at all for me on my cotton cream inserts :) x

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  5. Is it possible to replace the ink cartrige for Muji.

    Pens without buying more Muji Pens?

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    1. As far as I know, there are no refills available for the Muji Erasables.

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    2. I just noticed that there are refills - The same as fraxion by pilot. They will fit in Muji erasable pens BUT - you can't change them because the plastic is closed hard around them.
      Muji knows what are they doing. It's a really shame, because I lost acess to Muji shops (as I moved from country to country) and I can't order online (because they don't ship to the country I'm now staying at) and honestly, I'd rather have their pretty pen in my pencil case than the frixion pen.
      In my opinion, they're just trying to make more money, hoping people won't notice. Pity. I really like Muji.

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