Review: Platinum Double 3 Action 2 Color Ballpoint Multi Pen + Pencil

I have had this review in the hopper for the longest time (uploaded the image to Flickr on 9/14/2010), but I am just now finally getting around to typing it up.  Why?  Who knows.  The Platinum Double 3 Action 2 Color Ballpoint Multi Pen + Pencil has a lot going for it - besides a long name - but I have found that it is not for me.

The thing that attracted me most to this pen was the fact that the Pilot Hi-Tec-C Slims refills fit perfectly into the Platinum body, making this one of the fancier Hi-Tec-C multi pens around.  The barrel is exceptionally well designed, with a sleek gunmetal body and sharp chrome accents.  The cartridge switching mechanism is interesting in the fact that a single button press exposes the cartridge you want.  All you have to do is face the text of the ink color you want towards you, press the button, and bingo!  Out pops your ink or lead.

I have never been able to get used to it though.  I felt the overall package was a little lighter feeling than I expected, plus the switching mechanism caused some rattling when writing.  Not terrible, but enough to notice.  In the end, I haven't gotten much use out of it.  Maybe it is time to take the Slims refills back out and use them for something else.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Pilot Acroball 3 Color Multi Pen

The first time I used the Pilot Acroball, I loved it.  From the smooth, clean lines to maybe the best grip in the business, my love for the Acroball hasn't waned at all since that time.  In fact, I keep one within reach at all times, and find myself going to it more frequently than my Jetstreams.  So when JetPens started carrying the Acroball 3 Color multi pen, it was a no-brainer order for me.

The multi pen version is just as great as the single barrel originals.  The ink cartridges write just as well, and the grip is identical.  But you know what?  I can't get into ballpoint style multi pens as much as their gel ink counterparts.  The is really nothing wrong with this pen at all, but I prefer the single barrel Acroball (and Jetstream for that matter) much more than the multi pen.  This isn't the case at all with my gel ink multi pens.  I like them as much, if not more, than the single cartridge versions.  Why is that?

I don't have a great answer, but for me, I think it boils down to my writing form.  Ballpoints lend themselves to a looser, more flowing writing style, and the wide barrel doesn't allow me to write as cleanly.  But I don't seem to have this issue with wide barrel gel ink pens.  I don't know if I am making any sense at all (I am writing this while watching Tosh.0 so my brain has shut down), but I have noticed this for a while.  My ballpoint multi pens just don't get a lot of use despite being nice pens.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Uni-Ball Jetstream 4+1 0.7mm Ballpoint Multi Pen

More Jetstreams?  More multi pens?  Well, for me the answers are unequivocally yes and yes!  I am as big of a multi pen fan as they come, and the Jetstream line from Uni-Ball is one of my favorites, so combining all of that into a four ink cartridge plus pencil package - a sleek black package at that - I am all in.  And the best thing about it is something that I have never tried before, nor actually seen before - green Jetstream ink.

Has anyone else seen green Jetstream ink available in a single cartridge barrel?  I personally haven't, but I would love to know if that combination exists.  As a general rule, I am not a big green ink user, but like red recently, I am coming around to using it more often.  This green is nice and solid, and a very good shade.  It compliments the blue Jetstream ink very nicely.  I use the black and red in conjunction a lot as well, but the pencil only gets rare action.  If you have ever used a Jetstream pen before, you can rest assured that the performance is at the same high level.

I do have two minor quibbles with this pen, and they kind of work in conjunction.  The barrel is wide and the grip is firm.  I use a lot of pressure to write with, so that combination doesn't always work well for me, but this pen is set up perfectly for someone with a nice flowing handwriting.  At $15 it is not cheap, but you can justify it at $3 per cartridge, right?  ;)

Click here for the XL review.

Products used:
Uni-ball Jetstream 4&1 4 Color 0.7 mm Ballpoint Multi Pen + 0.5 mm Pencil - Black Body from JetPens
Writing Pad from Doane Paper