Ohto Minimo Ballpoint Pen Review

Take any idea of what you think is a tiny pen and throw it out the window. The Ohto Minimo Ballpoint trumps them all, even claiming it is the world's thinnest ballpoint. After using it I have no disagreement with that statement.

This is the first mini pen I have used where I couldn't use my normal tripod-style grip (index finger and thumb on front, backed by my middle finger). It has been close with other pens like the Zebra T3 but I could always get there. With the Ohto Minimo I could only grip it between my thumb and index finger to write with. This was a problem at first but I adjusted quickly and got decent writing performance.

With a pen this small comfort isn't necessarily the priority - vanishing into any notebook, pocket, or purse is. In fact, Ohto packaged this pen with its own credit card sized holder so you can keep tabs on it. That's a hint folks.

The Minimo is too small for me to get any regular use out of. My choices in the mini pen arena are downright gargantuan comparitively, but I'll stick with the Monteverde Poquito or the Pentel Slicci Techo for my mini needs.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Monteverde Poquito Ballpoint Pen + Stylus Review

I was surprised at how diminutive the Monteverde Poquito was when I opened the package. I ordered it myself, so you would think I knew what I was doing, but I honestly had to double-check the packing slip to see what the pen actually was. My next step was to bring up the product page on JetPens and REALLY make sure it was what I ordered.

Yep, it was, and I'm glad I did. This is one of the more surprising pens I have used in quite some time. Most mini or compact ballpoint pens I have reviewed in the past have ranged from passable to unusable. The Poquito trumps them all by a long shot.

Aside from the excellent barrel design, the 0.7 mm black ballpoint ink cartridge is the hero here. Crisp, clean, and smooth lines flow with no mess or skipping to speak of. It was a very impressive performance from an ink category that generally disappoints. It was so good I am going to actively search out other Monteverde refills to test out.

Writing is only part of the picture with the Poquito as it features a stylus as well. I reviewed another mini ballpoint pen with stylus that was horrible but the Poquito stylus handled everything I threw at it with ease. It didn't fail on any swipes or taps on my iPhone and was very responsive overall.

Welcome to my every day carry Monteverde Poquito.

Platinum Mini Ballpoint Pen with Capacitive Stylus Review

I mentioned in last week’s podcast that I had tried out a new pen + stylus combo that I did not like, and the Platinum Mini Ballpoint Pen with Capacitive Stylus is the guilty party. The concept is good, but there are just too many flaws to make this a pen worth using.

To cut right to the chase, my main issue is the stylus performance. First off, it is very non-responsive on my touch screen devices. It took 2–3 taps to register on my iPad without a screen protector and 3–5 taps on my iPhone with an Otter Box built in screen protector. Swiping? Don’t even ask.

Secondly, and possibly the cause of the first issue, is that the stylus is on top of the pen knock. I didn’t give it a passing thought when ordering the pen, but the knock spring is not strong enough to prevent the stylus from receding a large amount when trying to use it. It is like squish, squish, squish every tap. It was frustrating after about five seconds of use.

The pen itself is not so bad. The slim design is great for portability, and the 0.5 mm ballpoint writes very well. It’s a shame that the stylus performance is not up to par. I think JetPens agrees - I have never seen a pen move from New Arrivals to Close-Out so quickly.