Uni Style Fit Meister 3 Color Multi Pen Review

Image via JetPens

My Top 5 gel ink multi pen list doesn’t change very often. The Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto is entrenched at #1, with the Uni Style Fit a solid #2. The Uni Style Fit Meister is the newest barrel in Uni-ball’s gel multi pen lineup and I’m not sure it will crack the list at all.

On the surface, the Meister is a great looking pen. The lightweight metal barrel is an upgrade over the standard plastic barrel and the clean lines make this a pen people will notice. The Signo DX refills are excellent too. While you can choose Jetstream or pencil cartridges, I generally stick with the gels. It’s hard to beat the DX for smoothness and color vibrancy, although I believe the lines are a bit sharper from the standard single cartridge DX as opposed to the multi pen refills.

There are two annoyances with the Meister that keep me from heaping full praise on it. One, it uses a twist-deploy method for the ink cartridges. Some pens get this right, but not the Meister. The twist from station to station is quick from 1-2-3 and 3-2-1 but the second you go past slot one on the way back the barrel starts to unscrew. There is no buffer between that station and taking the pen apart.

Secondly, and this is something that may only annoy me, but the entire top section of the pen is able to be pressed down about a quarter of an inch for no good reason. Looking at the pen, you can depress the top of the pen like it is retractable and it covers most of the ink window in the middle of the pen. It serves no purpose other than to make me fidget with it and drive me insane. What can I say, I’m weird. (UPDATE: As my Twitter followers quickly let me know, I'm an idiot. What is my annoyance is others pencil click mechanism. Maybe I should try that component sometime?)

The Uni Style Fit is an excellent gel ink multi pen but stick with the entry level plastic body for one-fifth of the price. It is a no frills, knock-type multi pen that uses the same refills and gets the job done in a simple, efficient manner.

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

Zebra Sarasa 3 3 Color Gel Ink Multi Pen Review

The Zebra Sarasa multi pen line has been around for a while and their latest release brings the solid barrel Zebra Sarasa 3 3 Color Gel into the fold. Previous versions have included a pencil component or a translucent barrel, but Zebra has gone back to the basics with this model.

While there is no new functionalilty in the Sarasa 3, this multi pen continues to be one of the best values on the market. For under $6 you get three high quality ink refills - black, blue, red - in 0.5 mm, solid knock mechanisms, and Zebra's famously strong binder clip. The pen is lightweight, balanced, and has a solid rubber grip too. What more can you ask for?

If you are new to the gel ink pen world you should know that Zebra's gel inks are fantastic. All the colors are rich and solid, with the blue gel ink being the standout. It is a little deeper and darker than most other brands stock blue inks, which I enjoy. I even went with the Navy barrel to match the ink. Not really.

When you have a dead-solid product like the Zebra Sarasa Multi Pen it makes for an easy review. While it's not a pen that is a mandatory carry item for me, it has proven to be a great pen to have hanging around the house for quick notes or at work for some quick color coding. Definitely a keeper.

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

Platinum Double R3 Action Sarabo MWB-1000F 2 Color 0.5 mm Ballpoint Multi Pen + 0.5 mm Pencil - Chartres Blue Review

Longest. Pen. Name. Ever.

I’ve seen some long, winding, nonsensical pen names before but this Platinum may take the cake. Good thing it is a decent pen or I’m not sure my brain could have handled it.

The Platinum Double R3 fills a spot in Platinum’s lineup for those wanting a complimentary pen to go along with their popular #3776 Century Fountain Pen. The barrel colors are a perfect match - Black, Bourgogne, and Chartres Blue - although the multi pen has silver furniture, while the fountain pens use gold.

The Double R3 features a lightweight, translucent, plastic barrel that is very sharp looking - especially the Chartres Blue. It is very light though, but feels sturdy enough to handle any normal carry situation.

Where this pen seperates itself from its competitors is the use of Platinum’s low-viscosity Sarabo ink in the 0.5 mm ballpoint refills. They are very fine, clean, and impressively smooth. I have never used a Sarabo refill before but it is so nice I would love to see it used in other single cartridge pens.

I don’t use pencils in multi pens very often so I don’t have much to say about it besides it works. What is cool is that it has possibly the largest eraser I have seen in a multi pen before. That’s a nice bonus for my fully leaded friends.

The only hangup I have with the Double R3 is a common multi pen design problem. To switch refills you twist the top part of the barrel from station to station, but if you take it past the far right station you start to unscrew the barrel. This is the nature of the beast until you get into more expensive barrels that feature constant 360 degree rotation.

At $16.50 it isn’t exactly cheap, but it is a fair price for a complementary pen. It’s great looking, feels nice, and the ballpoint refills are excellent. Well done Platinum.

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