Some time ago I got a Zebra ZMulsion LX pen and have been using it fairly regularly. The construction and balance of the pen are superb and the clicky mechanism feels like a $100 pen. The ink writes super smooth, but it takes forever to dry, is super smeary until it dries, leaves blobs that take even longer to dry, and somehow manages to bleed through paper that I don’t normally have bleed through issues with, even with my fountain pens.

Does anyone else have experience with this pen and its refill? Did I get a dud or is this pretty typical behavior for a Zebra ZMulsion refill?

I really want to like this pen. The pen itself is a marvel…I just hate the refill. I’ve verified that I can fit a Zebra F-refill in it if I use a small spacer, but it seems such a shame to turn this pen into a regular ball point. Perhaps I’ll experiment with putting an Energel refill in it, but I doubt it’ll work since Zebra tips are typically too narrow for refills from other brands. At least that’s been my experience with them.