Monteverde Poquito Ballpoint Pen + Stylus Review

I was surprised at how diminutive the Monteverde Poquito was when I opened the package. I ordered it myself, so you would think I knew what I was doing, but I honestly had to double-check the packing slip to see what the pen actually was. My next step was to bring up the product page on JetPens and REALLY make sure it was what I ordered.

Yep, it was, and I'm glad I did. This is one of the more surprising pens I have used in quite some time. Most mini or compact ballpoint pens I have reviewed in the past have ranged from passable to unusable. The Poquito trumps them all by a long shot.

Aside from the excellent barrel design, the 0.7 mm black ballpoint ink cartridge is the hero here. Crisp, clean, and smooth lines flow with no mess or skipping to speak of. It was a very impressive performance from an ink category that generally disappoints. It was so good I am going to actively search out other Monteverde refills to test out.

Writing is only part of the picture with the Poquito as it features a stylus as well. I reviewed another mini ballpoint pen with stylus that was horrible but the Poquito stylus handled everything I threw at it with ease. It didn't fail on any swipes or taps on my iPhone and was very responsive overall.

Welcome to my every day carry Monteverde Poquito.

Platinum Mini Ballpoint Pen with Capacitive Stylus Review

I mentioned in last week’s podcast that I had tried out a new pen + stylus combo that I did not like, and the Platinum Mini Ballpoint Pen with Capacitive Stylus is the guilty party. The concept is good, but there are just too many flaws to make this a pen worth using.

To cut right to the chase, my main issue is the stylus performance. First off, it is very non-responsive on my touch screen devices. It took 2–3 taps to register on my iPad without a screen protector and 3–5 taps on my iPhone with an Otter Box built in screen protector. Swiping? Don’t even ask.

Secondly, and possibly the cause of the first issue, is that the stylus is on top of the pen knock. I didn’t give it a passing thought when ordering the pen, but the knock spring is not strong enough to prevent the stylus from receding a large amount when trying to use it. It is like squish, squish, squish every tap. It was frustrating after about five seconds of use.

The pen itself is not so bad. The slim design is great for portability, and the 0.5 mm ballpoint writes very well. It’s a shame that the stylus performance is not up to par. I think JetPens agrees - I have never seen a pen move from New Arrivals to Close-Out so quickly.

Pentel Slicci Techo Mini Gel Ink Pen Review

Mini pens are a tough category. Some of the best designed pens come in small packages, but using those small packages often comes at a price. Most of the time the cost is comfort at the expense of barrel diameter. A thin barrel often leads to faster writing fatigue, and therefore limits how long you can write with a pen.

A few mini pens try to shorten the length while keeping the same barrel diameter (the now discontinued Pilot Pockel comes to mind), but most shrink the barrel diameter to almost uncomfortable dimensions. I haven’t found the sweet spot for the perfect mini pen size, but the Pentel Slicci Techo is at least in the conversation.

What I like about the Techo is that barrel diameter isn’t as extreme as other mini pens. Sure it is small, but if you are already a fan of the Pentel Slicci you are used to a narrower than normal diameter to begin with. And if you aren’t but already use mini pens you will enjoy the feel of the Techo in comparison to other pens in this category.

From a writing standpoint it is the same as the Pentel Slicci, and that is good. The Slicci tip has always been a favorite of mine and having it available in a portable, EDC-type package is great. I am seeing a little bit of skipping in my first experience with it but hopefully that will work itself out. Copper also isn’t my first choice in barrel color, but I’ll make do.

There are many boxes I need to check off on the perfect mini-pen checklist and the Pentel Slicci Techo ticks nearly all of them.

Zebra Mini T3 Ballpoint Pen Review

Mini pens are a tough thing. I think that everybody can benefit from having one for various reasons - wallet carry, pocket carry, purse carry, etc. - but there are equally as many reasons for not carrying one. Most of those arguments are size related, and are valid points. Can I even grip a pen that small? How long will the ink last? Am I just going to lose it? The Zebra Mini T3 Ballpoint doesn’t pretend to solve those problems, but it may be the best of the bunch if you want to give a mini pen a try.

The thing that stands out to me the most is the barrel construction. It is fully metal, and just feels durable. If a pen is going to be this small, I at least want to feel the weight in my hand when I write. On top of that, the default blue ink cartridge pleases me to no end. You can order black, red, and green refills for the Mini T3, but blue ballpoint ink is my favorite. It writes wonderfully.

One minor issue that cropped up from time to time is the knock release in the clip. You press the knock down like normal to write, then to retract the pen you press the end of the clip. Since the pen is a shorter length, I sometimes hit the clip with the cup of my hand if I rotate it when writing. Most of the time it isn’t an issue, but I did want to mention it because it happened more than once.

It may not be perfect, but I am not sure what else I could ask for in a mini pen. What do you look for in a mini pen? What other mini pens do I need to check out?