Gel vs. Ballpoint

I've historically used craptastic ballpoint pens, and I am somewhat accustomed to the pressure it takes to drag one over standard paper. I decided to up my game and bought a Uni Jetstream Ballpoint Pen - 0.7 mm - Alpha Gel Grip. The pen feels fantastic, but I was really disappointed at how faint the writing was compared to the Zebra and Pilot .7mm standard gels I have been using.

I have just bought a Uni-ball Signo 207 Premier Retractable Gel Pen - 0.7 mm from Jetpens and I am hoping that the body of the pen has a similar feel to the Jetstream (bigger diameter with a soft grip).

So a couple of questions from somebody just starting to upgrade their pen selection.

1. Is gel aways going to be that much darker than ball point? I mean Jetstream pen is faint which is odd for a .7mm pen, I'm curious if I am just expecting too much or if that is normal.

2. For those of you using the Signo 207 Premier, what is the comfort level?

TIA