Lamy Pico Laser Orange Pocket Ballpoint Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Pocket pens are always a fun category to get into. The unique designs and limitations in this genre produce interesting and delightful pens that can sometimes out-perform their full size cousins.

In the case of the Lamy Pico, the pen has been around for quite a while already. But, the Laser Orange color option is brand new, and it's fantastic. In person, the orange color is florescent and impossible to miss. If you happen to own a Nock case that features the Mandarin/Blue Jay color-way, imagine the bright orange factor being ticked up a few notches. It's loud, and it's great. It means you'll also be able to find it if you drop it into a large bag with dark interior colors. It's just bright, and I happen to like that about it.

The main selling point of this pen is the fact that it's small when closed, but extends to a normal length when the refill is extended. At just over 3.6 inches closed, it opens up to 5 inches to offer a comfortable writing experience. For comparison, the Kaweco Liliput is about 4.8 inches when open with the cap posted. Another bonus of the Pico is that the barrel diameter is larger than the Liliput (12.7mm vs 8.3 to 9.3mm on the Liliput). For some, the Liliput is a bit too thin to hold comfortably. I don't mind it, but I definitely feel that the Pico is more comfortable in hand.

It's a round body with no clip, so be prepared to catch it when it rolls away on a flat surface. There's a very small "Lamy" logo on the side of the pen, but it's not raised enough from the body to prevent it from rolling if the slope is great enough. It does help prevent rolling, though. Still, pocket pens aren't really known for always having clips, and many of them feature a totally round design that makes rolling extremely probable.

The click mechanism on the Pico can be a bit unpredictable at times, and this is my only complaint about the pen. The click mechanism could use some work to avoid the number of failed attempts you make when trying to open or close it. For example, if you don't press down far enough, it won't open or close. You can feel some tactile indications that you've done something, but if you don't go the full 100%, the mechanism doesn't engage/disengage properly. This can be annoying, but once you've gotten used to the pen and learn that you must press firmly, it's not an issue. Even still, I wish the click mechanism had a more hefty, sure feel.

The body of the pen is metal (and bright orange), but the insides are all plastic. When the pen is extended, you can see part of the plastic in the middle of the pen which provides the extra length to improve the grip feel when writing. I would love to see this bit of plastic replaced by metal of the same color as the rest of the body. I'm not sure why they chose to use plastic here. It breaks up the aesthetic, feels cheap compared to the rest of the pen, and takes the overall experience down a couple of notches. Another complaint about the design and quality is that the spring inside of the pen is a bit noisy. The click mechanism sounds normal and has a healthy "clunk" when opening and closing the pen, but the spring can make some annoying noises at times that make the pen feel cheaper. Again, not a deal-breaker, but seems like something Lamy could fix really easily with some higher-quality springs.

Now, the refill in this pen is also surprising. When I hear "ballpoint," I automatically recoil in disgust because of the many, many bad experiences I've had with regular (non-hybrid) ballpoints. I'm not sure if the Lamy ballpoint refill is a hybrid ink formula, but it's fantastic. Compared to others like the Schmidt EasyFlow 9000 and the Uni Jetstreams, it's not as dark and bold, but it's every bit as smooth and reliable. I'm actually really impressed with the refill.

The pen ships with a 0.7mm "medium" point, but you can also order a "fine" 0.5mm or "broad" 1.0mm point separately. Additionally, you can choose black or blue for any of these refill sizes.

Given the price of this pocket pen, I'd like to see some of the components upgraded with higher quality options, but it's still a great pen at a great value. It easily fits in your pocket or bag, and the metal body gives it a great feel and weight when writing or hanging out in your pocket.

You can pick up a Lamy Pico in Laser Orange at JetPens, and you can also check out the other colors and refill options as well.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Bic Cristal Ballpoint Pen Review

For a blog that reviews pens you would have thought I would have reviewed one of the most famous pens in the world by now. But I hadn’t, despite many, many calls to do so. Why has it taken so long for me to review the Bic Cristal ballpoint pen? I have no idea.

The fact is, this is a good pen, if not a great one. Released to the public in 1950, it has had a 65-plus year run and shows no signs of slowing down. The design is revered too, with its clear hex-barrel being featured in the Museum of Modern Art. A design classic that has stood the test of time? Sign me up.

From a performance perspective it has a wide variety of uses. The oil-based ink writes well on many surfaces, is smooth, and dries quickly. It is also water-resistant, making it a good choice for outdoor use as well as waterproof paper such as Rite in the Rain.

What I find the most impressive is that the Bic Cristal has been the choice of designers, engineers, architects, and artists for decades as well. Just look at the detail someone like Andrea Joseph can get with a balpoint pen. Google “ballpoint pen drawings” and your jaw will drop.

I don’t have the artistic chops to appear in those search results, but I do enjoy writing with the Cristal. It’s lightweight, smooth, surprisingly clean - no globs or mess from the ink around the tip - and you can get shading variation depending on the pressure used. There is some white space in the lines, which is the primary downside. It’s not as solid or deep in color as a Uni-ball Jetstream or Pilot Acroball for sure.

The best part about the Bic Cristal? It will cost you about .20 cents per pen. Grab a dozen or two, throw them around the house, car, office, gym - anywhere a pen might come in handy - and know that you are covered in a pinch. You may discover that it ends up in your writing rotation more than that.

Craft Design Technology Chrome Ball Point Pen Review

Craft Design Technology is a unique Japanese stationery brand whose mission statement is to marry "modern design with Japanese heritage of traditional craft and technology innovation." Their beautiful green packaging has been on my radar for a while and when Rikumo reached out to me offering a couple of products for review I was excited to take a look.

The first item I chose from Rikumo was the Craft Design Technology Chrome Ball Point Pen - Item 22, CDT's take on the classic business ballpoint. This is the type of pen I picture in my grandfather's shirt pocket, on my dad's office desk, or in a Mad Men client meeting. It exudes style and class.

Most pen companies in the 1950's through 1970's leaned heavy on this design and CDT has done their best to refine it. The chrome barrel is a stunner. It is so shiny it is hard to photograph for a hack like me, but in person it makes a statement. I could do without the CDT branding - just their logo would have been nicer - but I would be lying if I said I didn't like the whole "Item 22" thing. Something about that cracks me up. It is so Japanese, and I love it.

As with all writing products in this line, the chrome ball point is built in conjunction with Pentel and therefore uses Pentel refills. The 0.8 mm ballpoint is average at best. The darkness of the ink is excellent, but it is prone to being messy and there is even some spidering (a string of ink between letters/words when lifting the pen of the page.) In the abstract it looks fine, but on closer inspection I expect more.

Getting down to brass tacks, the Craft Design Technology Chrome Ball Point Pen is a value proposition. At $65, this is not a cheap pen, so are the benefits worth the price? I don't think so. The design is excellent and CDT's goals are admirable, but the value isn't there. There is a long list of pens that I would choose over Item 22.

There are Craft Design Technology items that look like they would suit my writing needs better and I hope to try out more soon. This is a company that is well worth keeping an eye on. Big thanks to Rikumo for sending me this pen for review. Be sure to check out their online shop for more wonderful Japanse imports or drop in to their brick and mortar store if you are in Philadelphia area.