Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Five Cartridge Barrel Review

First it was the two cartridge, then the three, then the four, and now the five cartridge Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto has arrived. What's next, an eleventeen cartridge Coleto? If there was, I would still probably buy it, because the Coleto line is probably the best bang for your buck gel ink multi pen on the market today.

I love the versatility of multi pens, and because of that, I have tried as many as I can get my hands on. Compared to its closest competitors - the Uni-Ball Style Fit and the Pentel Sliccies - the Coleto is the undisputed champ in my book. The barrel has a great feel and design, and the many ink colors are vibrant and write wonderfully. If there is any knock on it, it is that the ink cartridges run out too quickly, but that is the case with many gel ink multi pens.

I was actually a little hesitant to pick up the five cartridge model, worrying that it was going to be too wide of a body for me, but it is not bad at all. The two cartidge Coleto is obviously the skinniest of the bunch, while the three and four cartridge barrels are nearly identical in width. The five is only slightly wider than the three and four, but completely comfortable to write with. That said, the four cartridge barrel is my Coleto sweet spot. With the width of the three and an extra slot to boot, what's not to like (I promise I will get them all together for a family photo shoot soon).

Pliot has been doing a great job of late with all of the different Coleto bodies, and I am having a fun trying them all out.

Click here for the XL review.

Products used:

Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto 5 Color Multi Pen - Pen Body - Clear Black from JetPens

Writing Pad from Doane Paper

Review: Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio

Do a simple search around the site and you'll find few pens that write better than those in the Pilot Hi-Tec-C family.

For my writing style, I go with 0.4mm for quick writing and smoothness. Between the ink you can get in the single pens or the multi-pens, I greatly prefer the multi-pen inks. They don't seem to skip as much and there is no hesitation in initial ink flow.

With that in mind, I use the Hi-Tec-C Coleto quite a bit. While I love the feel of the Coleto, it's appearance has kept me from using it in the workplace. Something about a clear multi-pen is off-putting.

Fortunately, the Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio was recently released. It comes in four body colors – black, metallic blue, silver and pink. When I placed my order at JetPens, the black and silver were immediately sold out, so I went with blue.

The Coleto Lumio has a more professional look to it with a slick one-color plastic barrel. The pen is accented with a silver ring where the top screws in, a silver metal clip and silver plastic at the top.

There are a few notable differences between the Coleto and the Coleto Lumio. Most obviously, the Lumio supports four ink cartridges compared to three. So for stick-in-the-mud types who need to use black, blue and red, the fourth cartridge can be the wild card. Pilot also has a pencil component, but more on that later.

The biggest flaw with the Lumio is that it doesn't have a grip at the handle. The standard Coleto has a nice rubber grip while the Lumio is slick. For those with animated hands, such as myself, make sure to put the Lumio down if you're talking. The pen requires a solid grip as more than once it slid out of my hand.

At $15 for the body, the Lumio isn't exactly a cost-friendly pen. But if you're in search of a professional multi-pen, this is worth it.

As mentioned, Pilot offers a mechanical pencil component. It's 0.5mm in size. Unless you desperately need a pencil component, I'd avoid this one. It writes just fine, but aesthetically it's a drawback. Compared to the pen components, it sticks out quite far and downgrades the overall look of the Lumio.

When four ink cartridges are loaded in the pen, it's an attractive writing utensil. Just hold on tight for the ride.

(If anyone has photo-taking suggestions, let me know. I have a Canon G10, but can't seem to take a good close-up photo with it)