Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Writech Dual Color Multi Pen Review

Writech Dual Color Multi Pen Review

Writech pens have been making their way around the stationery blogosphere over the past few years, including a couple of reviews by Sarah right here on The Pen Addict. Since I hadn’t participated yet, I grabbed a couple of their Dual Color Multi Pens to try out, picking some bright colors, as opposed to the darker Vintage & Black set that Sarah reviewed.

If I’m going to use a two-color multi pen, I want to see some brightness on the page, and that’s what I got with Hot Pink & Grape and Sky Blue and Steal Blue (yes, that’s how they spell it, and who am I to change it?)

Writech Dual Color Multi Pen

Technically refillable, but no refills available from Writech’s site. Also, these refills are oval in shape, so nothing else is going to be able to slot in the barrel properly.

Aesthetically speaking, I like the look of the Dual Color. As the name dictates, they are a two-cartridge multi pen, which keeps the barrel narrower than 3, 4, and 5 cartridge multi pens, for obvious reasons. They are colorful, not flashy, mimicking the colors found inside the barrel on the outside. The White clip offers a great contrast with its over-the-top design, and is flanked by the matching color refill buttons.

When it comes to the writing experience, the 0.5 mm gel ink refills are average at best. The colors are nice, but the feel isn’t as good as nearly every other gel ink pen I use regularly. They aren’t scratchy, but the ink doesn’t exactly glide from the tip. I felt like I had to press harder to get the right line width and color, if that makes sense at all.

Writech Dual Color Multi Pen Writing

Out of the four colors in my two pens, Steal Blue was the clear performance winner. I didn’t have to push it as much as Grape, which was noticeably worse every time I compared the two. Sky Blue was close to Grape, in that it did not effortlessly glide across the page. Hot Pink was closer to Steal Blue in feel, but didn’t get all the way there.

The colors themselves are great, and I would be fine using these as a marking or notation pen, not a regular writer. At just over $2.00 per pen, they are inexpensive enough to get use situationally, but I can’t recommend them for more than that. That’s too bad, because I think they look fantastic.

Writech Dual Color Multi Pen Notebook

I’m still interested in trying another type of Writech pen, the Clictek Liner Pen, which is a retractable fineliner that looks right up my alley. Just don’t ask me to review the Clictek Retractable Fountain Pen, because that trapdoor design is a non-starter. Sometimes you have to make a stand!

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


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Posted on December 29, 2025 and filed under Writech, Multi Pen, Pen Reviews.

Benu Haute Collection - A First Look

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

A couple months back, Benu announced a new addition to their family of fountain pens - the Haute Collection. This collection “embodies elegance and modern sophistication with its faceted design and striking finishes.” Thank you to Bryce Gillett from Luxury Brands of America for sending these pens for review.

Benu is known for their colorful and sparkly pens, which tend to evoke a squeal with grabby hands or a shudder because it’s “too much”. As I said in my Benu comparison article a couple years ago, they definitely aren’t boring, nor would you confuse them with other brands.

The Haute Collection comes in 10 colorways - Satin, Decadence, Grace, Perle, Lustre, Chic, Lush, Flair, Icon, and Allure. Bryce kindly sent Grace and Perle for review.

Benu Haute Collection

Grace (top) and Perle (bottom) from the Benu Haute Collection.

Each of the colorways of the Haute Collection are unique and offer not just different colors but also different levels of sparkle and mixes of colors. Grace, for example, has blue with bits of turquoise sparkly flakes. It also has subtle bits of black mixed into the blue resin.

Benu Grace.

The black flecks in the blue resin gives it a nice depth.

Contrast this with Perle which is a primarily pink pen with a light blue gradient in the middle, and very fine light blue shimmer throughout the resin. The cap band and grip section is clear with silver flakes.

Benu Perle.

Sparkly ombre light pink to light blue in the center, along with a clear with silver flakes in the cap band and grip. Note that the nib unit’s top band is gold-toned - the distinction is visible in person but isn’t super clashy due to the silver flecks in the grip.

Unlike the Euphoria, which has 11 facets on the barrel and cap, the Haute Collection pens have four “main” facets and subtle, smooth, thinner facets that connect the main facets.

The Haute Collection (left) and Euphoria caps - you can see the more square profile of the Haute versus the Euphoria.

The reflection is from the slim facets.

Schmidt puts the nib sizes in the little square - both of these pens have Medium nibs, as indicated by the script M in the middle of the square. If your Benu nib doesn’t have this design, it is likely a Jowo nib, which has the size on the side of the nib.

The Haute Collection is similar in size to the Benu Euphoria with a slimmer cap and barrel. The grips are similar in size.

Comparison pens capped (left to right): Benu Euphoria, Sailor Pro Gear, Pilot Custom 823, Benu Haute Perle, TWSBI Eco, Platinum 3776, Esterbrook Estie.

The Benu Haute Collection pens are packaged in a Benu-branded white box with an inner paper pen “pouch”, warranty information and a long standard international cartridge (pretty rare to find long carts!). The included Schmidt K2 standard international converter (no metal on the tip end) is already installed in the pen. The Haute Collection is available with a steel #6 nib - Fine, Medium, Broad, Flex Fine, Stub 1.1, and Stub 1.5 (the latter 3 are Jowo and not Schmidt).

Writing samples of the Fine, Medium, Broad Schmidt nibs, along with others for comparison. From the Benu comparison article.

The Haute Collection pens retail for $210-252 and can be found at authorized Benu dealers including Dromgoole’s and Goldspot.

(Disclaimer: The Benu Haute Collection pens were sent for review by Luxury Brands of America. All other pens are my own, including the Benu x TPA Euphoria.)


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Posted on December 12, 2025 and filed under Benu Pen, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Tactile Turn Short Ultem Bolt Action Pen Review

Tactile Turn Short Ultem Bolt Action Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

Need a pen that can survive almost anything? Probably not! But is it fun to try one, anyway? Yup! Conditions at my work rarely reach the extreme levels this pen was designed for, but it's good to know that it's safe even in the crushing pressure at the bottom of my bag.

Tactile Turn Short Ultem Bolt Action Pen

Tactile Turn is well known for their bolt action pens, which come in a variety of sizes and materials, including super fun limited series. Of all the ones I've tried (which is a fair few, as they're my spouse's favorite), the Short Ultem Bolt Action Pen may be my favorite design. Not just because it's indestructible, but because it's so light.

Ultem 1000 is not just resistant to heat, flame, chemicals, and force, it's also super lightweight. This pen, made entirely from Ultem 1000 with a few titanium accents and a stainless steel clip, feels like it could blow away in a breeze. I can write with it for hours without getting any hand fatigue, and it doesn't add any weight to my overpacked bag.

Tactile Turn Short Ultem Bolt

This short length is the Goldilocks of the Tactile Turn offerings. I also love their mini size, as I adore a good pocket pen, but it isn't as comfortable for longer writing sessions and has fewer refill options. The body of the pen has the signature ridged texture of all Tactile Turn pens, which make it easy to grip.

Tactile Turn Short Ultem Bolt Nose

The steel clip is very sturdy and clips firmly to papers and pockets. The titanium bolt works smoothly, with just enough resistance to make it an exceptional fidget. The nosecone unscrews to access the refill, and the refill is the one thing I don't love about this pen.

Tactile Turn Short Ultem Bolt Refill

The short size comes with the Schmidt EasyFlow 9000 medium refill, and mine was super smudgy. It never seemed to dry all the way, so even pages that were written the previous day were smudging when I touched them. That's not a dealbreaker for me, just a temporary annoyance. There are a lot of other refills that can replace this one when it runs out. They even have a handy list on their website.

The Short Ultem Bolt Action Pen sells for $99 at Dromgoole's, which is quite a good price considering the difficulty of working with the material and the specialized machinery required.

Tactile Turn Short Ultem Bolt Clip

This pen has been in my purse since it arrived (alongside the Buccaneer Tactile Turn Mini Bolt) as one of the main pens I reach for on a daily basis. It certainly won't be my last Tactile Turn pen. I nearly ended up with a new one just by going to their site to grab the link. I highly recommend them, and this one especially.

(This product was purchased from Dromgoole’s at regular price.)


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!

Tactile Turn Short Ultem Bolt Box
Posted on December 4, 2025 and filed under Tactile Turn, Pen Reviews.