Lamy Pico Pearl Chrome Ballpoint Pen Review

In all of my recent discussions around pocket pens on the blog and the podcast, the Lamy Pico was left out of the primary conversation. That was a mistake on my part, because it is one of the best pocket pens on the market today.

The main feature of the Pico is the unique retractable mechanism it offers. When closed, it is a sleek, compact pen that is easy to slide into a pocket or a bag. When deployed, the pen extends into a full length writer that is comfortable to hold in any situation.

Many compact pens offer a standard length when in the writing position, but what sets the Pico apart is the full-sized, or even over sized to some, barrel diameter. Pocket pens generally have a slimmer profile to suit their reason for existence, so it is nice to see a normal barrel width in a compact pen. The Kaweco Sport series is another pocket pen that does this well.

The refill is above average quality for a ballpoint, but the size is proprietary. So, there is no swapping of refills for your favorite D1 or Parker. The Pico ships with a medium black ink cartridge, but Lamy offers a fine blue refill, which is always my go to choice if possible.

Aside from being an excellent pen, the Pico is part of Lamy’s limited color rotation, so you will see fun colors like Neon Pink and Blaze Orange pop up about once per year. This Pearl Chrome is part of the stock lineup, and features a satin silver finished that feels great. And since the barrel is metal, is is perfect for engraving, which makes the Pico a great gift.

This makes my second Pico, although I can’t seem to find my white one at the moment. Regardless, it won’t be my last, especially if Lamy keeps releasing fun colors in this lineup.

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

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TEC Accessories PicoPen Ti Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

For most of the writing I do, I'm looking for a pen that's comfortable for using while jotting notes in a meeting, recording important events or notes during the day, or scribbling thoughts during a journalling session. Then, there are other times when I'm out and about and just want to have a pen for those "just in case" purposes. Normally, I grab a small pen and throw it in my pocket along with my keys, or clip it to the inside of my pants pocket. Recently, I've been using another pen for that purpose — the PicoPen Ti from TEC Accessories.

The PicoPen Ti is a pen built for a specific purpose, which is attaching it to things that you already carry on a daily basis. So, I guess you could call it an EDC pen. Either way, it's a perfect pen for attaching to your keyring, a zip pull, and countless other objects and bags that accept a small keyring attachment. For me, I've exclusively used it on my keyring, and I've been pretty happy with it.

First, let's talk about what this pen was designed to do. It's small, portable, durable, and lightweight. It's a pen that you use when you have no other pen on hand, and it's meant to be carried without any planning beforehand. The idea is that it always comes with you, whether you mean to bring it along or not. Just like a flashlight on your keychain, it serves a specific purpose. To me, that purpose is to always be with me, staying out of my way until I need it. One job.

The pen is constructed out of titanium, which makes it very durable and lightweight. Like most titanium objects, this will probably accumulate a large number of scratches and imperfections over time. I look forward to the added character.

The pen uses a magnetic cap system, where the cap holds the keychain ring for attaching to other items. You might worry that the pen might accidentally fall out of the cap during a rough ride, but I can assure you that this pen is not going anywhere if you use it as intended (insert some sort of "do not use for climbing" joke here...). Without any weight attached to the pen, it will not uncap by accident. When attached to my keyring, I can pick up the pen, and it stays capped with the weight of my keys on the other end. I don't have a large set of keys (3 door keys, a car key and fob, a flashlight, and small carabiner), but you can use that as a point of reference.

It's the same system as the Ti2 TechLiner except the PicoPen does not post, and the magnet system isn't as flawless as the TechLiner. With the TechLiner, the cap always finds it way onto the pen without much help from me. Meanwhile, the PicoPen requires some stern guidance when placing the cap on the pen properly. That minor complaint aside, I'm very happy that the cap is very secure once it's in place.

For the occasional note while you're out, this pen does a great job. It uses a standard Zebra F refill, which isn't a favorite of mine by any definition, but it works just fine for a standard ballpoint. I wish it could take a Fisher refill or something similar, but it just can't fit anything else. Believe me, I tried every refill I own, and nothing else will fit. This pen is custom made around this specific refill shape. I'm sure you could hack something else to fit, but it would require trimming the refill.

Writing with the PicoPen Ti is utilitarian at best. In a pinch, it works far greater than other "keychain pens" I've tried. Most of the other I've used feel like a nake refill in your hand, which is very hard to control. I was able to write legibly with little changes to my normal handwriting style. All things considered, a great trade-off.

And that brings me to the things that this pen was not designed for. This isn't a pen that you'll want to use for long writing stints. It's just too small and uncomfortable. The refill is mediocre and skippy, and there's no other compatible refills to replace it. For me, these are acceptable trade-offs. Remember, this pen was designed for a specific purpose, and it meets that purpose with flying colors.

If you want the flexibility of other refills, the original PicoPen (shorter than the PicoPen Ti) takes standard D1 refills. I haven't tried one, but I imagine it will be even harder to use since it's about an inch shorter! If you're interested, Brad wrote about this one back in 2009.

Overall, the PicoPen Ti is a fantastic keychain pen that I've enjoyed carrying. It's not a long-form writer, but it's a great option for an "always around" option for those situations where you didn't bring the good stuff.

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

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Lamy Pico Laser Orange Pocket Ballpoint Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Pocket pens are always a fun category to get into. The unique designs and limitations in this genre produce interesting and delightful pens that can sometimes out-perform their full size cousins.

In the case of the Lamy Pico, the pen has been around for quite a while already. But, the Laser Orange color option is brand new, and it's fantastic. In person, the orange color is florescent and impossible to miss. If you happen to own a Nock case that features the Mandarin/Blue Jay color-way, imagine the bright orange factor being ticked up a few notches. It's loud, and it's great. It means you'll also be able to find it if you drop it into a large bag with dark interior colors. It's just bright, and I happen to like that about it.

The main selling point of this pen is the fact that it's small when closed, but extends to a normal length when the refill is extended. At just over 3.6 inches closed, it opens up to 5 inches to offer a comfortable writing experience. For comparison, the Kaweco Liliput is about 4.8 inches when open with the cap posted. Another bonus of the Pico is that the barrel diameter is larger than the Liliput (12.7mm vs 8.3 to 9.3mm on the Liliput). For some, the Liliput is a bit too thin to hold comfortably. I don't mind it, but I definitely feel that the Pico is more comfortable in hand.

It's a round body with no clip, so be prepared to catch it when it rolls away on a flat surface. There's a very small "Lamy" logo on the side of the pen, but it's not raised enough from the body to prevent it from rolling if the slope is great enough. It does help prevent rolling, though. Still, pocket pens aren't really known for always having clips, and many of them feature a totally round design that makes rolling extremely probable.

The click mechanism on the Pico can be a bit unpredictable at times, and this is my only complaint about the pen. The click mechanism could use some work to avoid the number of failed attempts you make when trying to open or close it. For example, if you don't press down far enough, it won't open or close. You can feel some tactile indications that you've done something, but if you don't go the full 100%, the mechanism doesn't engage/disengage properly. This can be annoying, but once you've gotten used to the pen and learn that you must press firmly, it's not an issue. Even still, I wish the click mechanism had a more hefty, sure feel.

The body of the pen is metal (and bright orange), but the insides are all plastic. When the pen is extended, you can see part of the plastic in the middle of the pen which provides the extra length to improve the grip feel when writing. I would love to see this bit of plastic replaced by metal of the same color as the rest of the body. I'm not sure why they chose to use plastic here. It breaks up the aesthetic, feels cheap compared to the rest of the pen, and takes the overall experience down a couple of notches. Another complaint about the design and quality is that the spring inside of the pen is a bit noisy. The click mechanism sounds normal and has a healthy "clunk" when opening and closing the pen, but the spring can make some annoying noises at times that make the pen feel cheaper. Again, not a deal-breaker, but seems like something Lamy could fix really easily with some higher-quality springs.

Now, the refill in this pen is also surprising. When I hear "ballpoint," I automatically recoil in disgust because of the many, many bad experiences I've had with regular (non-hybrid) ballpoints. I'm not sure if the Lamy ballpoint refill is a hybrid ink formula, but it's fantastic. Compared to others like the Schmidt EasyFlow 9000 and the Uni Jetstreams, it's not as dark and bold, but it's every bit as smooth and reliable. I'm actually really impressed with the refill.

The pen ships with a 0.7mm "medium" point, but you can also order a "fine" 0.5mm or "broad" 1.0mm point separately. Additionally, you can choose black or blue for any of these refill sizes.

Given the price of this pocket pen, I'd like to see some of the components upgraded with higher quality options, but it's still a great pen at a great value. It easily fits in your pocket or bag, and the metal body gives it a great feel and weight when writing or hanging out in your pocket.

You can pick up a Lamy Pico in Laser Orange at JetPens, and you can also check out the other colors and refill options as well.

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

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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, which I am very grateful for.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!