Uni Style Fit 3 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.)

Just when I thought my curiosity with multi pens was at an end, I find another "need" to fill with a new pen. I've reviewed several multi pens in the past, and they're all pretty similar. Really, it comes down to personal preference. If you have a certain brand of pen or refill that you love, you can probably find it in a multi pen.

Personally, I really love Uni gel pens. I love the UM-151 and UM-138 for how well they write — they're both extremely smooth and dependable. But, they only write in one color unless you carry around several at a time. If only there was a solution for this specific problem...

My work has recently changed so that I'm working for two main clients, and I need to be able to track my time and so forth separately. There are many, many incredible tools online that can handle this modest task, but I'm already in the habit of tracking my day with pen and paper. Hence, the need for a pen that can write in at least two colors (for the two clients), and offer a smooth feel and tiny writing tip.

Enter the Uni Style Fit. This is a multi pen made by Uni, the same maker of the previously mentioned UM-151 and UM-138. In this case, the Uni Style Fit comes in a variety of colors, refill capacities, and materials. You can check out the entire selection at JetPens, but I settled on the Uni Style Fit 3 for my purposes. One color for Client A, another for Client B, and a third for non-work stuff.

Now, I know I own about 6 other multi-pens that fit the requirements for my "need," but I wanted to try the Uni version to see if the refills match up with their other gel pens. Luckily, they certainly do.

Aesthetics

On the outside, the Uni Style Fit doesn't look like much. I went with a silver version, which looks like any other cheap gel pen at first, but then you notice the weird top with three buttons and the clear barrel. The three refills are clearly visible through the barrel, and that's a dead giveaway.

The pen is extremely light, just like most other cheap multi-pens. It doesn't feel fantastic, but that's OK for my purposes. Uni offers other, more expensive models that probably feel better in the hand, but I didn't opt for those in my experiment.

Another thing that annoys me about every multi pen I've tried is the sound of the knock devices. They sound cheap an annoying, and I can never get past it. When I'm writing with the pen, it's fine, but once it's time to open or retract, I cringe a little at the sound.

I typically shy away from multi pens that hold more than 3 cartridges because I'm not a fan of the barrel size required to hold that many refills.

Overall, the pen doesn't feel fantastic, but it's also less than $4 for the body, so you shouldn't expect much.

Writing

I was very pleasantly surprised when I started writing with the pen — the refills I got are smooth and reliable, even at the 0.38mm size.

Each refill is sold separately, so you have the choice of size and color for your pen from the beginning. They don't ship with a boring black or blue cartridge that you have to store somewhere, which I find very appealing. Cartridges are less than $2 a piece, and there are many, many colors to choose from.

Installing the cartridges is a simple task, and once they snap in place, you're ready to write.

For the past year or so, I've been using a Leuchtturm 1917 notebook to track my work and time spent on projects. At the end of the week, this data gets added into a timesheet, which in turn gets me paid. But, once you add in a second timesheet requirement, things get complicated in a hurry.

To keep better track of what tasks go to what timesheet, I chose a bright blue and lime green refill. These contrast so well that I am delighted by how much easier my weekly timesheet task is. The third refill is a bright orange, and I use this for non-work notes or appointments.

The blue and green refills are fantastic — they're smooth, bold, and reliable. I can't tell a difference between these refills and the ones in a UM-151, although I'm sure some can.

The orange refill is a bit more rough, but only slightly so. I've had this problem before with light colored gel refills, and I'm assuming it has something to do with the ink properties for lighter colored inks. It still writes perfectly well, just not as smooth as the other two. Also, it could just be a fluke cartridge. I didn't buy two orange refills to test.

Wrapping up

At the end of my work day, I can look at a page of multi-colored notes that makes it simple to see where my time was spent through the day. I love this solution, and I'm very happy that I can use my favorite gel pens to do it. So far, the Uni Style Fit is my favorite multi pen. I wish they had some more attractive high end offerings (like Zebra), but that's not the case for now. At least they write like a dream, and pen aesthetics don't affect that.

If you like Uni gel pens, this is the multi pen for you.

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

Zebra Sarasa Gel 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.)

In the world of multi pens, there are probably hundreds (thousands?) of different pen, refill, maker, body, and color options available. For the most part, the multi pen version of your favorite gel or ballpoint will likely be just as good as the regular single refill pen. But, there are still differences, and that's why picking up multi pens can be so much fun.

As a kid, I always treasured my Bic 4-Color because of the versatility of having 4 colors (4!) in a single pen. But, as you probably know, those aren't the best refills. Luckily, there are many, many options out there to fit your needs/wants.

The Zebra Sarasa gel multi pen fits a specific genre for my uses: it's inexpensive, it has gel refills, and it writes really well. In this genre, the Zebra is my absolute favorite (possibly until Pilot decide to offer a Juice multi pen, but who knows if that will happen). With that said, let's get into a bit more detail on this little gem.

Options

Like any good multi pen, the Sarasa has plenty of options for you to choose from. As far as the internals go, you can get a few different configurations (every option is in 0.5mm): - 2 gel and mechanical pencil - 3 gel - 3 gel and mechanical pencil - 4 gel and mechanical pencil

After the internals are chosen, you still have more options for body colors. The colors are slightly different for each configuration.

Feel

To be honest, some multi pens can feel cheap, uncomfortable, or make rattling noises when writing. This isn't the case for the Sarasa. The plastic body has a sturdy build with a nice strong clip — similar to the single refill Sarasa version. There's a nice rubberized grip section that makes writing just a bit more comfortable, and the barrel is a nice width for writing comfortably. I've used this pen for some long note-taking sessions, and it's never been uncomfortable to use.

Oh, and the clip has an auto-retract feature that retracts the refill if you clip it onto something (like a shirt or bag pocket).

The refills

Ah, yes. The refills — one of the most important aspects. If the Sarasa multi pen refills write any differently than the original Sarasa Clips, I can't tell. They're really good.

The ink flow is smooth and consistent, there are never any skips or hard starts, and the lines on the page are super crisp. For me, it's an absolute pleasure to write with. I've never had the ink act in a way that was undesired or unpleasant. Again, it's really good.

Now, these aren't the same refills as you'd find in the Zebra Sharbo X bodies, so just be aware of that going in. As far as I know, the Sarasa refills are proprietary and only fit this one series, but I could be wrong. I only have so many multi pens around to test.

At the end of the day, the quality of the refills for the price make this a stupid-good value. You're spending between 6 and 10 dollars for the pen and refills, which is a bargain. The refills are also inexpensive at just over a buck. Of course, these refills are skinny and won't last anywhere near as long as a regular pen, but that's the price we pay for having options.

Wrap up

I've tried a lot of multi pens, and I've always been impressed and happy with the Sarasa. If you're looking for a 0.5mm gel ink multi pen, I'd highly recommend these.

Zebra Sharbo X LT3 Review

(Please welcome Susan M. Pigott as the latest addition to the Pen Addict family. Susan is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more of her work at Scribalishess.)

The Zebra Sharbo X LT3 is a brass-body multipen with three interchangeable components. I chose the pen in Cobalt Blue, but you have a choice of other colors for the exterior (black, silver, champagne gold, and azure blue). The pen feels solid in the hand because of the brass construction. It isn't heavy, weighing 22.9 grams with the refills inserted. At only 9.3mm in diameter, it might be a bit thin for those with larger hands.

The pen allows for three components: a mechanical pencil (0.3mm, 0.5mm, or 0.7mm) and two pens or a pen and a stylus. The stylus is only for resistive touch screens, so it won't work with iPads, iPhones, or other capacitive touch screens. Pen refills come in a variety of colors and sizes. You can choose gel inks in 0.3mm, 0.4mm, and 0.5mm or ballpoint refills in 0.7mm and 1.0mm (these are the only sizes I could find for ballpoint refills on JetPens, but I did find a 0.5mm ballpoint refill on another site). Colors include Royal Blue, Carmine Red, Blue Black, Black, Blood Red, Blue, Magenta, Sepia, Mandarin Orange, Evergreen, and Emerald Green in the gel inks. In ballpoints you can also choose Fluorescent Pink or Green. Refills come in small cellophane packages, one refill per package. Gel refills cost $2.75 each, ballpoint refills are $2.65 each, and pencil refills are $5.00 each. If you want the stylus it is $5.00.

One of the benefits of the Zebra Sharbo X system is you can mix sizes for the components in each pen. For instance, you can have a 0.5mm mechanical pencil, a 0.4mm pen, and a 0.3mm pen in different colors.

The Zebra Sharbo X LT3 comes with a small eraser underneath a screw-on cap on the end of the pen. If you do lots of erasures, you may want to leave the cap off (but put it in a safe place because it is small and easy to lose). With such a small eraser, you'll either need to buy refills (pack of 3 for $1.65) or use a larger, separate eraser.

The pen does not come with any pen components, so you'll need to order those along with the pen. Inserting the refills is fairly simple (which is good, since all the instructions are in Japanese). Just unscrew the barrel portion below the Sharbo X logo and push the refills in.

It took me a while to figure out how to get the pencil refill in it takes a bit of force to push it onto its barrel. To select which pen/pencil you want to use, twist the barrel to one of the marks on the outside. When you want to advance the lead, push on the back of the pen with your thumb on the eraser cover. To retract the writing implements, twist the barrel so it is between the exterior marks.

I never use a clip with my pens, but the clip on the Sharbo X is flexible and should work fine on a shirt pocket.

I bought the Zebra Sharbo X LT3 for underlining and making marginal notes in textbooks. I'm not a big fan of highlighters, but I wanted to underline in different colors and make notes using a color code. I use the pencil if I want to erase my marks (for instance, in a library book). The pen works quite well for this purpose. Underlining and making brief marginal notes does not tax the hand. However, while writing this review, I found my hand cramping. This may be due to the pens small barrel size or the fact that I am using 0.3mm pen sizes that make me write smaller than usual. I ordinarily write with fountain pens, so I am accustomed to larger barrels and larger nibs.

The Zebra Sharbo X LT3 is well made as it should be for $49.50. The brass construction is solid. Nothing about this pen body feels cheap.

However, I am very disappointed in the quality of the gel ink refills. They run out or dry out quickly. I've had to discard one refill that refused to write at all. At $2.75 a pop, they aren't inexpensive you could buy a full-sized gel pen for that much. I haven't tried the ballpoint refills yet because they only come in larger sizes, but I may resort to them if the gel refills continue to drive me crazy. My first multipen was the Pilot Hi-Tec C Coleto. That pen is plastic and much cheaper. But the refills worked like a dream and the pen was a bit wider, lighter, and easier to hold. I may wind up going back to that pen in the future even though I didn't like the Coleto's plastic construction.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Excellent construction, solid pen
• A selection of pen body colors; I love the Cobalt Blue
• Easy access to the pen/pencil components
• Easy to refill

Cons:

• Refills are fairly expensive
• Gel ink does not last long and dries out quickly; sometimes it doesn't work at all
• The thin diameter of the pen caused hand cramping at least for me

The Zebra Sharbo X LT3 is available at JetPens for $49.50. Pen/pencil components are not included with the pen.

Handwritten Review (Paper: Rhodia Dot Pad)