Zebra Prefill 3 Color Multi Pen Review

The Zebra Prefill Multi Pen is about three years too late to the gel ink multi pen party. The Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto is the heavyweight champion in this space, holding down that title for longer then The Pen Addict has been in existence. Uni-ball joined the party in 2009 with the Style Fit, along with the Pentel Sliccies. You would think Zebra would have jumped into the fray by now, no?

Despite the delay, Zebra came out with a pretty good product. I was hoping that the ink refills would be as good as the Zebra Sarasa Clip and I think they are. I ordered the black barrel with black, blue, and red 0.4 mm gel ink cartridges. All of the inks performed well with clean, sharp lines. The barrel is no-frills, taking a lot of design elements from the aforementioned Style Fit.

Where does the Zebra Prefill rank amongst its competitors? You may be surprised. Here are my rankings:

1. Pilot Hi-Tec-C - The leader, and no one else is close.
2. Zebra Prefill - Not as many options as the Style Fit, but better writing performance.
3. Uni Style Fit - Well made, but don't love the writing experience.
4. Pentel Sliccies - Don't bother.

How do you rank your gel ink multi pens?

Metaphys Locus 3Way Multi Pen + Pencil Review

I have been fascinated by the design of the Metaphys Locus ever since it showed up on JetPens a few years ago. I wasn’t familiar with the brand, but after a little digging and reading, I learned that Metaphys is essentially a collaborative design shop involving some of Japan’s top design talent. Their goal is to rethink and rebuild common every day objects in innovative ways, and the Locus Multi Pen is the result of one of their projects.

A 2008 Good Design Award winner, the Locus is beautiful to look at. But as with all good writing instruments, performance is where it is at - for me anyway. The 0.5mm ballpoint writes wonderfully, the 0.5mm pencil functions well, and the most unique part of this pencil - the eraser - is incredibly handy. It feels great in the hand, and is a real head turner.

All of that said, there is one kicker - the price. At over $80 you are making a real commitment to this multi pen. The pen I reviewed is one of our test samples at JetPens, so I didn’t come out of pocket for it myself. I’m not sure that I would either, mainly because I have a hard time sticking with just one pen, and therefore the cost would be hard to justify. If you are looking for a unique pen for yourself or as a gift though, then the Metaphys Locus might be just what you are looking for.

Staedtler Avant Garde Light Multi Pen Review

What do you look for in a multi pen? Are the ink options at the top of the list? A manageable barrel size? A cool design? I personally haven’t put much thought into it, but I always seem to focus on the type of ink and how it writes first, and then the quality and the build of the barrel second. The Staedtler Avant Garde Light has a lot of great things going for it, but one minor issue keeps it from being perfect.

The first thing that jumps out at you about the Avant Garde is the barrel design. It is chock full of “just rights”. It is just the right length, just the right diameter, and just the right weight. This is a really nice pen to hold, and I think it is the aluminum body construction that does the trick. I especially like the clip design.

The pen contains two ballpoint ink cartridges - 0.7mm black and red - and an 0.5mm pencil, which is honestly not that common in multi pens. Most with a pencil component are 0.7mm, so that is a nice bonus. To swap between cartridges, the Avant Garde uses what I (probably incorrectly) call gravity switching. Essentially, you hold the pen sideways and face the marker for the cartridge you want towards you and click the plunger. A single button retracts all cartridges, and you just rotate the barrel and click for the next one. I’m making it sound more complicated than it really is - it’s very simple.

Where the issue lies for me is the “click clack” sound the pen sometimes makes when writing. I think the combination of internal components and aluminum barrel are causing this, but mostly it is my writing style. If you couldn’t tell by now I am a printer. What that really means is I lift the pen up and down as I write my letters across the page. This causes the clicking sound with this pen. When I switch over to writing in a cursive style, I hear nothing because my writing style is smoother.

So, I’m torn. I like everything about this pen, but for my writing style it isn’t the best choice. I am going to keep using it though because it is too nice to set off to the side.