Zebra G-350 Gel Retractable Pen

Name: Unsharpen
Item: Zebra G-350 Gel Retractable Pen
Rating: 4.5
Author: Unsharpen.com Staff

The G-350 is a gel pen from Zebra. It was announced in November 2019 and was released later that month.

The G-350 maintains the metal body the line is known for. It also features an upgraded textured rubber grip and a much-improved click. The pen body is also longer, and larger in diameter than the G-301. It also has a folded metal clip and chrome-plated tip.

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The pen has a metal barrel and will used Zebra’s rapid drying gel ink, similar to other pens in the “G” series, like the G-301. Unlike the G-301 the 350 will be a premium pen, with a higher-end barrel, a nicer overall design, and a rubber grip.

The pen is in the Steel Series so the body is presumably steel, but it looks and feels more like aluminum.

The G-350 uses a 0.5 mm or 0.7 mm Zebra JLV Sarasa gel refill. The pen will be sold as a mechanical pencil as well, the Zebra M-350.

Zebra G-350 Review

The G-350 is a stylized upgrade from the classic G-301 pen and is exactly what Zebra fans have been wanting. The major changes are the increased the body diameter and length — this is to accommodate the Sarasa Dry JLV refills. Zebra made an excellent decision with this and has solved the one major complaint about the older G-301. It always ran out of ink too fast, but now it will last much longer with the more typical-sized gel refill.

While the body was brushed steel on most of the Steel Series pens, this new one seems like it could be anodized aluminum. Zebra only calls it “metal” on their website.

The second major change is the grip. The G-350 uses a textured rubber grip instead of a plastic one. The grips texture is a subtle diamond pattern that looks very good. It also feels very good. I tend to like simple but effective grips on pens and the 350 does it right!

The next major upgrade is the click. The G-350 is about as close to perfect as you can get with a pen click, in my opinion. If you have read any of my reviews before then you most likely know that I’m a big fan of the Parker Jotter‘s click. Well, the Jotter very well may have been dethroned. The 350’s click is strong, tactile, and incredibly satisfying. For a fidgeter like me, it’s a dream come true. (Sorry, fidget cube.) For comparison, the G-301’s click is soft, quiet, and more or less underwhelming. The G-350’s click is exactly what a pen click should feel like. (#sorrynotsorry Energel)

The last major upgrade is color option: the G-350 is available in black, red, and blue. This was also a fine decision on Zebra’s part since the G-301 was only ever stainless and black. The new color choices are bold and suit the new model very well. Obviously, I chose the black one. The grey lettering of “G-350” and “0.7mm” also look amazing against the black body. The aesthetics of this pen are my favorite of Zebra’s pens.

What’s Not So Great

I only have two complaints with this pen. The first is the clip. The folded steel seems a little on the flimsy side. This seems to be one place where Zebra decided to cut costs. If you are not too rough on clips it should be fine, but it’s something to think about.

Second, the cone at the tip doesn’t feel up to snug. It could be metal or a chrome-colored plastic, it’s hard to tell. I wish Zebra had kept the angular metal cones like the G-301. This is hardly a deal-breaker but it seems like a step backwards.

Both of these complaints are small and shouldn’t be any reason not to buy the pen.

Writing With The G-350

Writing with the G-350 is an absolute joy. It uses Sarasa Dry ink and as a lefty, it’s a superb performer. My palm is overjoyed every time I write a page of notes and isn’t covered in smudged ink. My notes also still look great too.

The refill is the best upgrade from the G-301. It lasts much longer and writes crisp, clean, and smooth. In the few pages of testing I did, I had one skip and I think it was more my fault than the pen’s. The 0.7 mm tip and Sarasa ink are a solid pairing. The ink looks gorgeous on the page and has an excellent bold black color.

If you prefer a finer tip, Zebra has you covered. They offer the Sarasa Dry JLV refill in 0.4 mm and 0.5 mm sizes too. You can swap out the refill with ease. The 0.5 mm is my favorite and I use that refill in a handful of pen bodies.

I could write notes with this pen all day and not complain. The grip feels good and the weight and balance are ideal for me. The length and weight also make it a great pen for spinning if you’re like me and do so like a drumstick.

I like this pen a lot and it’s an excellent value. This $5 pen writes like a $20 pen. I have expensive rollerballs that don’t write as well this pen. The price to performance ratio of this downright phenomenal. When I first found it on Zebra’s website, I thought to myself “shut up and take my money!” Well, Zebra did and now I am a very pleased owner of the G-350.

Alternatives To The Zebra G-350

You shouldn’t need alternatives to this pen because it’s great and only $5.00… but if I had to pick one, it would be the Zebra Sarasa Grand. For $8 you get an all-metal body and it can use the same JLV refills. I like the G-350 a little better because of the rubber grip and the much better click, though. That said, if you want a good quality all-metal pen, you can’t go wrong with the Grand.

In conclusion, Zebra hit a home run with the G-350. It checks all the boxes I want out of a good quality office pen. It even checks almost all the boxes I want out of an affordable EDC pen (though I’m not sure how well it writes on receipt paper). I really can’t recommend this pen enough. Zebra has listened to it customers and has given us a solid offering. The G-350 is a well-deserved upgrade to the G-301 and now sits at the top of my “go-to” pens list.