How the BIC Cristal ballpoint pen became ubiquitous
73 comments
·June 16, 2025TeMPOraL
What's the proper name for that other, arguably even more well-recognized, BIC pen, that looks like Cristal except its main body is opaque orange, and is generally cheap garbage that breaks in your hand if you squeeze it it too hard, and doesn't even write half the time?
(And yeah, I remember the taste of it, too. I've "eaten" through my share of these pens as a kid. It's the one pen you can't bite on, unless you like having shards of orange plastic everywhere.)
It's also magical in a big way - it's almost as if it were enchanted with a "handwriting: -10" debuff, because that's what happens when you try writing with it, relative to anything else (including pencils and crayons). To this day, I occasionally wonder, how did they manage to achieve that distinct effect.
In my circles, BIC as a brand is basically the stuff you don't buy unless as a last resort, whether that's ballpoints or razors or anything else.
Symbiote
It's the fine (thin line) version of the normal one.
I've never noticed any difference other than the line width. Either barrel can shatter if you bite hard enough. They both seem to survive long periods of little or no use better than other brands.
Tsiklon
This is the orange Bic Cristal.
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rsynnott
My favourite thing about Bic's origins:
> Marcel Bich bought the patent for the ballpoint pen from Hungarian – Argentine inventor László Bíró
Presumably beating his rivals John Pencil and Wolfgang von Fountain-Pen to it...
dcminter
I remember a skit in a (terrible) British sketch show a zillion years ago where Biro tells the details of his secret invention to someone with an aside that there was nobody else in the house except "the butler Bic, the housekeeper Pentel, and the chauffeur Platignum" :)
shawabawa3
the word "biro" didn't exist until Biro invented the ballpoint pen, which came to be known after its inventor
WillAdams
Two articles on it (which probably were part of the source for this one):
- https://www.penaddict.com/blog/2016/1/17/bic-cristal-ballpoi...
- https://www.jetpens.com/blog/How-the-Ballpoint-Pen-Changed-t...
a book which has a bit on the usage of this and similar Bic models is:
https://www.paulshawletterdesign.com/2012/12/blue-pencil-no-...
(ob. discl., I received a copy (which I gave to my daughter) to write the review: http://ftp.tug.org/TUGboat/tb34-2/tb107reviews-zapfhallmark....) which has the line:
> Some such details are very humbling, such as the exquisitely beautiful design study for Zapfino-like capitals intended for use with Firenze shown with the 49 cent Deluxe Fine Point Bic ballpoint pen used to render the letters (pg. 43).
Anarch157a
It's such a versatile product. I bet everyone here who's older than 45/50 have at least once used a Bic pen to rewind a cassete tape.
I also used the plastic clip as a stapler remover.
There were many other uses for it, for sure.
cogogo
Never tried myself but I know they were used to defeat older U locks for bikes.
creaturemachine
For that job you needed one of the opaque round ones with a more flexible plastic. It had to friction fit over the centre of the keyway so it could deliver some torque as you were working the tumblers.
brunoarueira
I'm not that older, but I had learned this trick, mainly when the device goes wrong and we need to fix the tape :)
luismedel
The clip is also a superb stress-reliever by biting it :-)
lionkor
I bought a pack of 100 of them for super cheap a few years ago, and a pack of 200 or so pencils with erasers from amazon basics. They carried me through all my exams in university, I have some in every backpack, purse, everywhere. Never had to worry about not having a pen ready, or a replacement if I lost one the morning before the exam. That is truly a buy-it-for-life level investment.
jwagenet
I’m not sure I can get behind buying 100 of a disposable pen as “buy it for life”.
pmg101
It's the perfect product. I pick it up, I use it, it functions perfectly without thought.
It's a lifelong mission to find any such tech product.
wiredfool
I like them. Don't use pens much, used to be a bit picky, either fountain pens or roller balls or gel, but they'd always leak or be dry or not be ready to roll when I needed them.
I had one Cristal pen that I managed to hold on to and use through at least three moves and 8+ years, until I finally ran it out of ink. It didn't get lost, destroyed, eaten (by puppies or humans), or quit working -- until there was nothing left of it. It was a small accomplishment, but one that I'm absurdly proud of.
Al-Khwarizmi
Ever tried writing a few pages with it?
It requires too much pressure compared with gel pens, rollerball pens, let alone fountain pens (although the latter are not for everyone). It soon creates fatigue. And at least in my case I also make uglier handwriting with them that with gel pens, rollerball pens, let alone fountain pens.
It's an extremely reliable product to do what it does, as well as extremely cheap, but far from perfect IMO. I see it more as a last resort if nothing else is available.
Spartan-S63
So true. I hated using BIC ballpoint pens for this reason. I found the Pilot Rollerballs are my favorites to use. The 0.5mm size writes really smoothly.
I picked up a couple bolt action pens for some more heft and put the Pilot rollerball fillers into the pen to get a really pleasant writing experience.
jonhohle
Did you know the inserts would fit prior to buying the pens? I love the Pilot V5 RT, but constantly have stains around my pockets from them deploying as I move. I don’t carry Precise V5s because I’ve had one too many explosions with them.
WillAdams
My Newton MessagePad was like that --- just the friction of charging/replacing the batteries and the physical friction of the resistive stylus got to be too much for me --- I'd give a lot for its functionality on my (stylus-equipped) phone.
Bluestein
I used to have one of those - so so way ahead of its time.-
PS Also, the handwriting recognition was way ahead of the game.-
loloquwowndueo
Newtons were enormous, having to lug it around was awkward, so I stopped bringing mine everywhere.
chrismatheson
`man cat` don't think i've ever been upset at its functionality (or ever read the manual to be fair)
christophilus
There are some amazing drawings done with blue Bics.
https://mymodernmet.com/paulus-architect-ballpoint-pen-drawi...
itomato
I smell these.
xyzzy123
The bic clic (not cristal) is the iconic pen of my childhood.
It's hard to explain how popular they were in NZ, if you asked kids to draw a pen that's what they'd draw.
somewhereoutth
My thinking tool, along with a ream of 80gsm blank white printer paper.
As well as being ubiquitous, reliable and cheap, you can also vary the line weight it produces with pressure. This makes it great for sketches and diagrams, as well as straight writing.
codedokode
I use gel pens, because they leave thinner and more black trace. I think ballpoint pen belongs to history.
kreco
I don't think ballpoint pen belongs to history only because you don't use them.
I use BIC ballpoint because they are the only ones who don't die when I carry them in my backpack. All others just cease to function for unknown reason or leak.
FridayoLeary
I agree that gel writes better but you are wrong about ballpoints. It's like saying i don't write spanish so that means it's useless.
Thick gel pens soak through the paper so they're not great and the thinner nibs break easily or they pierce the paper.
Most times you pick up a pen it's to jot down a quick note or number, a ballpoint makes more sense for that.
abtinf
Try a Uni-Ball Jetsream, especially the capped version.
It’s a ballpoint, with all of the advantages, that writes smoother than any gel.
There is a bit of a learning curve as it glides so freely across paper.
soupfordummies
They’re so good. I was always a pilot g2 guy but I picked up one of the jetstreams at a 7-11 in Japan for like a buck and it’s just the perfect pen.
thaumasiotes
> It’s a ballpoint, with all of the advantages, that writes smoother than any gel.
Gel pens are ballpoints. What do you mean by "ballpoint" here?
> Try a Uni-Ball Jetsream
I would never choose to use one of those, since they aren't available in 0.5mm. 0.7mm is too thick.
wffurr
0.5mm: https://www.jetpens.com/Uni-Jetstream-Lite-Touch-Ink-Ballpoi...
“Gel pens” are technically ballpoints, true, but when one says “ballpoint” it’s usually taken to refer to an oil based ballpoint like a Bic, whereas gel ink writes quite differently.
jackstraw14
Jetstreams come in a lot of forms, including 0.5mm and 0.38mm I believe.
toss1
Just checked, their website lists 0.28 mm, 0.38, 0.5, 0.7, and 1.0 mm, with examples of each. [0]
What pens do you find best and what is your use-case?
[0] https://www.jetpens.com/blog/Uni-Jetstream-A-Comprehensive-G...
garbagewoman
Such a crappy pen design, guess it proves mediocre designs sometimes prevail. The logical backflips that people use to justify its success are a little annoying though
southernplaces7
Care to specify what makes this thing that sold 100 billion copies and is instantly, reliably usable in nearly any conceivable context so crappy? Why not also explain your superior design that you think would work so much better.
pickledoyster
Other comments note how it creates fatigue within an hour of writing, which is also my experience. Whether that's a result of low quality ink holders, tips that force overgripping, weight or something else, I do not know.
I have a pen cup for when I need to jot something quickly and can't be bothered to get my primary pen from another room, and I've noticed that I rarely, if ever, choose the Cristal. Granted, it is far from being the worst pen out there, but I wince at the thought of using it as my daily pen.
Furthermore, I don't think that selling 100 billion copies of a thing is a sign of quality, e.g., see Microsoft's product line.
As for superior design in a similar price category (i.e., get it free at every conference room), hands down, it's the Schneider K15. Solid ink holders, comfortable tip, a nice weight balance (albeit I find it too light overall), with an imo beautiful modernist design as a cherry on top.
dale_glass
I've had a few of those leak ink over a bunch of my school stuff over the years.
I think it's just not very solidly built, and in some set of circumstances (certainly not always) it's prone to making a mess.
stockerta
I guess compared to a "high end" pen its crap, but its like saying that the Citroen 2cv is crap compared to a semi truck if we talk about cargo capacity.
> Cristal became ubiquitous around the world
Not quite; in New Zealand they're surprisingly rare. I've never seen them for sale there, even though they're common in Australia.