Uni Jetstream Prime 3 Color Ballpoint Multi Pen Review

The latest entry into Uni-ball's ever changing Jetstream multi pen line, the Prime 3 Color Ballpoint is the professionally-styled pen many users have been waiting for. It features the first metal barrel in the lineup and a classic style perfect for the office. But is it worth the premium $45.00 price? Maybe.

There is no denying the design of the Prime is excellent. I chose the two-tone black model and it is sharp looking with chrome accents against the black barrel. The grip is smooth and I had no troubles gripping it but sweaty fingers might pose a problem. The retractable mechanisms are flawless - very responsive and snappy. They pop out one of the three ink colors, all of which are standard D1 refills. That is a big deal because that opens up a wide range of refills to use, like my favorite D1 the Zebra Sharbo X Gel 0.4 mm.

On the downside, the Prime falls victim to what all most barrel multipens have trouble with: Rattling noise while writing. It is almost unavoidable with all of the moving parts. It just depends on how much it bothers you. This pen falls in the middle of the noise category. I've used quieter and louder. What actually bothers me more is the silly faux jewel on the top of the clip. Why it is there I have no clue. This pen has many beautiful Lamy-like design elements going for it then boom! Tacky jewel.

I like the Jetstream Prime a lot but in the end it comes down to a value proposition. If you want the full metal barrel and D1 refill flexibility then it is worth it. If that is not important to you and you just need a good Jetstream writing experience then their less expensive models will suit you just fine. I have reviewed some of them here:

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

Uni-Ball Jetstream 3 Multi-Pen

Uni-Ball Jetstram 3 0.5mm Multi Pen

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

Lamy Studio Fountain Pen Review

I've had Lamy Studio envy since I saw Office Supply Geek's lovely Instagram photo of his blue barrel model back in December. I decided this was it and headed over to JetPens to pick up the exact same steel nib model. Who am I to argue with good taste? I hit the page, then had a "Squirrel!" moment. 14k nib? Yes please.

The only other 14k Lamy nib I own is on my Lamy 2000, and it is of the hooded variety. I thought I would give the full-sized 14k nib in the Lamy Studio a shot to see if there was any difference. If you recall my experience with the 2000 I felt it needed some nib work to get it where I wanted it. As fate would have it, I had to go the same route with the Studio.

There was nothing wrong with the Studio's performance right out of the box except the EF line was too wide and too wet. Much more than I expected from an EF nib, even a German one. One of the reasons may be that the 14k Studio nib has some flex to it. I'm used to stiff Japanese nibs and this one is very different. I liked it a lot, but something had to be done about the line width.

Enter Shawn Newton.

My enabler Thomas has a few of Shawn's pens, and recently has used Shawn for some nib work and spoke very highly of his talents. When Thomas says "Jump!" I say "How high?" so a week or two later I had my Studio headed Shawn's way to turn the German EF nib into a Japanese F nib. Not a huge change but more in my wheelhouse. The results were fantastic. The line is clean and smooth and right where I wanted it to be. I can't recommend Shawn's services higly enough. Contact him if you are in the market for nib work. (Full disclosure: Shawn provided his services at no charge for this pen as a trial run and I paid full freight for a second I had him work on.)

Back to the Studio itself...it is a fantastic pen. The barrel design is what originally sold me, and as usual, Lamy nailed this one. The stainless steel grey-lacquered barrel is sleek with slight tapers on each end with a chrome clip, grip, and end caps. I was curious how slick the grip would be and I found it to not be an issue. The slight natural tackiness of my fingers held well, although I left plenty of fingerprints behind. Not crime scene friendly.

And that clip - wow. Sometimes the simplest little feature grabs me and won't let go and with the Studio it is the clip. The paddle design is unique even among Lamy's other highly engineered offereings, and might be their best.

So after all of the praise I have heaped would I recommend this pen? I'm 0-for-2 with Lamy's gold nibs. Whether that is the manufacturers fault or my pickiness (I think it is one of each in my case) you should understand that the nib may not be perfection when you first ink it up. Some will argue that for a pen this price it should perfect out the gate, and that is fair. For me, a little extra work gave me a pen even more suited to me than when it first arrived.

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

Ohto Multi-Smart Multi Pen Review

Working on my Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto N 3 review last week made me realize I did not have a multi pen list on my Top 5 Pens page. I would have bet money it was there. In fact, it was only when I went to make sure that the Coleto was locked in at number one that I realized no such list existed. That will change soon because the Ohto Multi-Smart needs to be on it.

The Ohto Multi-Smart succeeds in packing four total cartridges - black, blue, and red ballpoint, plus pencil - in what I consider to be a standard size diameter barrel. This is no small feat but Ohto has pulled it off well. The failing of many multi pens is that poor design often leads to the pen tip coming out of the barrel at an angle (the Pentel Sliccies has this problem) and I actually wonder if the narrower barrel helps with that. There is no room for play in the Multi-Smart and the pen and pencil cartridges deploy at a perfectly straight angle for writing.

The Multi-Smart uses a gravity knock mechanism, meaning you turn the pen to where you can read the color label and press the knock to deploy that cartridge. It works smoothly, and a quick press down of a small button on the clip retracts the cartridge quickly. The knock itself hides an eraser. You would think that would be standard with multi pen + pencil combos but many companies can't seem to fit it into their design.

To top it off, this is an aluminum barrel pen so it is lightweight and easily pocketable. The aluminum construction may also explain the almost $25 price tag, which is the only downside I can find with this pen.

Job well done Ohto! Now send some of your multi pen designers over to help out your fountain pen team. They could use it.

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