The Sarasa SE is the United States model of the Sarasa Dry. The two use the same refill, but have very different body designs. Most notably the SE does not have the spring-loaded clip that is commonly associated with Zebra’s gel pens. The Sarasa line of gel pens is excellent overall, but the Sarasa SE (along with the Japanese version, the Dry) is one of the best gel pens of 2019.
The Sarasa SE has a prominent metal clip with a wrap-around design — which resembles a tubular fountain pen nib — and a sneaker-style grip. The grip is quite comfortable and is one of the pen’s top features. This soft grip is latex-free in order to avoid allergen issues.
While available in seven colors, the pen is only sold in a 0.7 mm tip size.
The undisputed top feature of the Sarasa SE is the quick-drying gel ink. How quick? Zebra says the ink dries 85% more quickly than standard gel ink. While hard to verify, this is a great feature… even if the improvement is just 20%. This ink is praised by lefties for it’s lack of smudging while having quite vibrant colors that look great on almost all paper.
A number of people have moved over to the Sarasa SE from the more popular Pentel Energel line.
Zebra Sarasa SE Review
The Sarasa Dry is a great gel pen and one of the top picks for lefties, and it’s US version, the Sarasa SE, is excellent as well. The SE has the same quick drying gel ink, using Zebra’s JLV-0.4, JLV-0.5, and JLV-0.7 refills, as the Dry but a different body.
The Dry has a conventional Japanese pen body, not unlike that of the Jetstream, but the SE has more of a US market look to it. The SE has a “sneaker” grip which looks like a piece of athletic gear. It’s actually quiet comfortable. It also has a wrap-around metal clip that looks handsome enough, though lacks the uniqueness of Zebra’s spring-loaded clips.
With a retail price of under $3 and top quality gel ink, this is an fine pen. We still prefer the Dry for its styling and Japanese pen appeal, but the SE is quite good.
Zebra Sarasa SE Gel Pen Information
| Street Price | Check Price |
| Manufacturer | Zebra |
| Pen Type | Rollerball / Gel |
| Rating | |
| Barrel Color | Smoke |
| Barrel Material | Plastic |
| Body Diameter (mm) | 10.7 mm |
| Grip Color | Black |
| Grip Material | Rubber |
| Grip Diameter (mm) | 10.5 mm |
| Country of Origin | Japan |
| MSRP | $2 |
| Still Sold | Yes |
| Similar To | |
| Refills | |
| Capped? Retractable? | Retractable - Top Button |
| Clip? | Metal |
| Length Capped / Retracted (cm) | 14.3 |
| Weight (g) | 11 |
| Refillable | Yes |
| Ink Color Shipped | Black, Blue |
| Writing Sizes | 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.7 mm |