BIC Cristal Original Smudge Free Ballpoint Pens, Ideal for School, Black, Medium Point (1.0mm), Pack of 50
Reviewed 9 August 2026 · price checked live
Check price on Amazon →Overview
We track BIC Cristal Original Smudge Free Ballpoint Pens, Ideal alongside 27 other arts & crafts products, comparing it on rating, how many people have rated it and what it currently costs. According to the listing: Medium 1.0mm tip writes a 0.4mm line width. Those are the seller's own claims rather than our testing, so treat them as a starting point. On Amazon it holds 4.7 out of 5 from 37,073 ratings. What that score is worth next to its rivals is set out below.
- Brand
- BIC
- Amazon rating
- 4.7 / 5 from 37,073 ratings
- vs Arts & Crafts
- 0.1 above the category median of 4.6
- Rank in category
- 2 of 28 rated arts & crafts we track
- Price position
- Towards the top of the range (category spans £1.50 to £13.99)
- How proven
- Well established, above-average review volume
How it compares in Arts & Crafts
Across the 28 rated arts & crafts products we track, the typical score is 4.6 out of 5. This one sits at 4.7, which puts it in the upper quarter of the category rather than level with it. Where almost everything is rated well, the gap at the top is small in points and large in practice. That places it second of the 28 we rank here.
It carries 37,073 ratings against a category median of 6,996. A rating from a large base is harder to distort and tends to hold up over time, so a high score here means more than the same score on a new listing.
On price it sits in the upper third of a category running from £1.50 to £13.99, where the midpoint is about £5.00. Paying above the category norm needs a reason beyond the rating, because the score alone does not justify the gap here.
Worked out from the 28 arts & crafts products in our catalogue, not from the brand's own claims. How we rank →
Key features
- Ballpoint pen for everyday use
- Medium 1.0mm tip writes a 0.4mm line width
- Transparent hexagonal barrel
- Ink colour: Black
- Pack of 50 pens
