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.)

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.)

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.)