Uni Jetstream Slim Multi Pen 0.38 mm Review

Multi pens have long been one of my favorite categories of pens. When I learned that not only do gel ink pens come in micro-tip sizes, but I can get a single barrel with multiple colors of micro-tip goodness? My pen world view was complete.

As quickly as I fell in love with multi pens, I feel like they were solved pretty early on in my journey as well. The Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto was, and is, still my favorite. The Uni Style Fit came along a few years later and is equally as lovely with as many, or more, refill options. For premium barrel multi pen options there is the Zebra Sharbo X and the Lamy 2000 4 Color Ballpoint. And while new colors and styles and options of these pens have been released over the past few years, nothing has moved the needle for me.

Uni Jetstream Slim Multi Pen 0.38 mm doesn’t move the needle either - sorry to burst your bubble - but what this pen did was remind me how great multi pens can be. And this is a great one.

The minute I grabbed this pen out of the package I was impressed. The barrel looks and feels great, with a comfortable rubber grip and light herringbone pattern in the upper barrel. The knock mechanisms add to the design with their angular buttons, and the silver clip adds to the clean look. And it is Mint Green!

Looks only take you so far with writing instruments. How does it write? The 0.38 mm Jetstream refills are what sent me head over heels with this pen. The line is sharp and fine, and somehow, incredibly smooth. It’s one of those things that shouldn’t happen, and I don’t understand. A tip this fine with ballpoint(-ish) ink should feel like writing with a shard of broken glass. It’s wonderfully smooth, which makes me want to have this pen handy all of the time.

There are other Jetstream multi pen options on the market. Uni-ball even offers options in the Style Fit lineup to use a combination of gel and Jetstream refills in the same barrel. But none of them nail the writing experience for me better than this one.

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

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Pilot Dr. Grip 4+1 4-Color Multi Pen Review

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

As this pen hobby continues to grow and transform, I seem to have an endless fascination with multi pens. This goes back to my early school days where the BIC 4-color pen was the envy of every student. What makes it so enjoyable these days is the superb quality of the refills available to us.

Speaking of school days, the Dr. Grip exploded on my radar during my middle school years. It was so unique and intentionally different from every other pen available at the big box retailers. Even though it was over the ten dollar mark, it was still a pen I had to have.

With the Dr. Grip 4+1 multi pen, you have the best of both worlds. The grip section shares the same excellent grip from the original Dr. Grip, which lends itself nicely to the larger barrels that multi pens require. The grip isn't as "squishy" as the regular Dr. Grip pens, but it still has a great feel.

As for the rest of the body, you might assume it's a variant of the Acroball multi pen line, which is fair. The grip and Dr. Grip branding on the barrel are the only unique features that distinguish this multi pen from the Acroball line. Luckily, the 0.7mm refills provided with the pen are the same found in the Acroball multi pens. And, if you prefer, you can also use Uni Style Fit gel refills in this body. The Style Fit refills are a personal favorite, so the options are a nice perk.

The colors provided with the pen are black, blue, green, and red, as well as a 0.5mm mechanical pencil module. Like the Acroball line, the colors are vibrant, bold, and clean. I especially love the red because of its near fluorescent glow.

Like a lot of multi pens, there are slim tab buttons at the top of the pen that you depress to extend the color you want. To retract, just half press any other button. The mechanical pencil shares its button with the clip, which works great. The clip also manages to be quite strong, which is helpful in securing the pen to pockets, clothes, and other items.

To extend the lead, simply press a bit harder on the clip/pencil selector. There's also a small eraser hidden under a small cap at the top of the pen. I worry that I'll either lose the cap or that it will fall off in my bag at some point, but this hasn't happened yet after a few weeks of jostling around. It's a pretty firm fit, and given the smooth surface of the cap, it would take a lot of effort at the right angle to accidentally knock it off. To add more lead to the pencil, just remove the cap and the small eraser to uncover the lead tube.

In use, this pen has been really enjoyable. It reminds me of my old Dr. Grip from the late 90s, but updates it with much, much better refills and more color options.

At the $14 mark, it's a bit pricier than the Acroball counterpart, but the Dr. Grip branding and grip are worth the premium. Plus, the Acroball version doesn't include a pencil module. Overall, it's a great value and joy to use. There are several body colors to choose from, as well as options between 0.5mm and 0.7mm refills.

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

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Tombow Mono Graph Multi 2 Color 0.5 mm Ballpoint Pen + 0.5 mm Pencil - Mono Color Review

The Japanese are known for two things around these parts: Amazing stationery and terrible naming conventions. Luckily for my sanity, the former outweighs the latter by a large margin, but sometimes I have to post the full product name solely for the humor it provides.

While the name leaves a lot to be desired, the pen does not. The Tombow Mono Graph Multi Pen - yes, I’m shortening the name - is a great choice in the 2+1 multi pen category.

What is a 2+1? I’m so glad you asked! It may not be the textbook definition of describing multi pens, but I refer to any multi pen with a pencil component as a +1. This Tombow has two ink cartridges and one pencil cartridge, therefore it is a 2+1. I like that designation because it saves me from writing “multi pen and pencil” over and over again. These are multi pens, with a pencil component.

Uni-ball, Pilot, and other Japanese brands make multi pens up to a 4+1 size, which requires a wide barrel, as you can imagine. One of them made a 1+1 in the past - I’m thinking Uni-ball or Zebra - but I don’t see it as available right now on JetPens.

When thinking about buying a multi pen, I consider barrel diameter first. How many components can I jam into one barrel and still feel comfortable writing with it? Secondly, I consider the refill choices. If the first part doesn’t satisfy my needs, the second part doesn’t matter, does it?

This Tombow multi pen fits three components in just a slightly larger diameter barrel than most standard gel ink pens. That’s a great thing, primarily for one rarely talked about reason. More components and a wider barrel lead to the refills being deployed at a less-than-vertical angle. That means the tip of the refill looks like it comes out of the front of the barrel crooked. Rotate the barrel in your hands, look at the tip, and you will see.

This isn’t always avoidable from a design perspective, but some companies do it better, and some do it worse. Another thing to keep in mind when shopping for multi pens.

In lieu of a knock mechanism, this Tombow uses a twist to engage the component you want. Rotate the clip around the barrel in any direction (there is no hard stop at any point) to line it up with the component name you wish to use. This one has black and red 0.5 mm ballpoint refills plus an 0.5 mm mechanical pencil.

Unlike other multi pens with a +1, this one has an eraser, and a killer one at that. Tombow makes some of the best quality erasers on the market, and this one has a jumbo twist eraser built right in. No dinky mechanical pencil eraser here!

From a writing perspective, I love the 0.5 mm tip sizes, but they aren’t for everyone. That is especially true for ballpoints, because an 0.5 mm tip gets you a line finer than 0.4 mm, or even finer, gel ink pens. And it’s not completely smooth due to the ink type. Know the fineness of this pen before diving into it.

I had zero issue diving into this one personally. In fact, if I worked at Tombow, this is a pen I would have designed for myself. Two extra fine refills, a fine pencil refill, a large, high quality eraser, as narrow of a barrel as I could fit it all into, and a killer paint job. All for under $10? Count me in.

I’ve been putting this one to good use over the last few weeks, and I can see myself carrying it for some time to come.

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

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!