Posts filed under Ohto

OHTO CR01 Ceramic Rollerball Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

If you have someone in your life that needs a tough pen (maybe it's you!) the OHTO CR01 Ceramic Rollerball is worth a glance. It has an aluminum body with brass accents and a hefty weight to it, so it's much more likely to survive in a heavy work environment than a standard disposable pen. The matte finish on the metal feels very satisfying to hold, with a nice texture that helps you grip the pen.

The CR01 has a snap cap that is very sturdy and closes with a satisfying thunk. It won't open by accident in your bag or pocket. It has a firm clip with some flex to it. Both the bottom end and finial have a rounded shape. Under the cap, the pen has a rubberized section to help with grip when writing. The section unscrews from the body so that you can access the refill. It comes with an OHTO rollerball refill that has a special 0.5 mm ceramic ball point that will stand up to more wear and tear than a metal ball tip. Though, the rollerball ink flows quite well, so it's likely that the ink will run out long before the longevity of the ceramic is called for. The pen is refillable, however, and fits a variety of refills. You can choose another ceramic point refill (which also comes in other tip sizes and colors), or go with another brand you like, like Pilot, Uni, Pentel, or Zebra.

The Rollerball ink in the OHTO refill has a nice, dark saturation to it, but it does have some bleeding issues. It bled slightly through both Hobonichi and Midori paper, in addition to standard copier paper. But it writes very nicely, and the 0.5 mm ceramic tip has just the right amount of feedback--not too smooth, not too scratchy. It's a good writing experience, just don't plan on using the back of the page.

The OHTO CR01 is available at JetPens for $20, which is less than I would have guessed after writing with it. There are a number of comparable pens that cost considerably more. This price and quality falls very nicely into the gift category, and it's perfect for the person whose jeans pockets are stained with the ink from the broken Bic that got snapped in the workshop. The aesthetic should appeal, too. As gifting season approaches, the CR01 might make a good option that won't break and won’t break the budget.

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

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Posted on September 4, 2025 by Sarah Read and filed under Ohto, Rollerball, Pen Reviews.

OHTO Minimo 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.)

For those times when you need to carry a pen, but are extremely limited on space, the OHTO Minimo might be the right tool for the job. But being small and easy to stow comes with plenty of trade-offs. What exactly is this pen meant for?

There's a fairly robust market for pocketable pens to choose from, and they can be surprisingly comfortable to use once they're uncapped and posted. The Fisher Bullet is a prime example of this. It's small enough to be stowed in a small pocket, but the posted length makes it comfortable for writing notes. I wouldn't want to write a novel with the Bullet pen, but I could if I really needed to (and had plenty of extra refills). Is the Bullet still too large for your needs? Maybe you want to stow a pen in a wallet or pocketbook. Maybe you want to store a pen inside a notebook without worrying about damaging the pen or the notebook spine. If your ultimate concern is size, then the OHTO Minimo is an interesting choice.

The Minimo is among a class of pens that I don't lump in with the pocket pen class. The Minimo is even smaller — so much so that it's uncomfortable and difficult to use. But the main point of this pen is to stow in places other, more comfortable, pens just can't. I've tried a few of these pens and mechanical pencils in the past. They're generally billed as something you can slip into a small notebook, a wallet, pocketbook, or other small space for those "just in case" moments where you don't have another pen available. Ever seen the pen on a Victorinox knife? That's the level of minimal design we're talking about.

The Minimo is only 9 cm/3.56 inches, which is small enough to easily fit into a wallet or pocketbook. It's also only 3.6 mm in diameter, which is quite an accomplishment. This is barely large enough to allow space for the D1 refill and spring to fit inside the barrel. And, it even packs in a retractable mechanism and a nose cone that threads onto the tiny barrel. From an engineering standpoint, it's impressive that they were able to get the tolerances this tight. This pen feels solid and reliable. The retractable mechanism is similar to other larger pens that feature a switch on the upper side of the barrel (like the Tactile Turn Side Click). Depress the top to extend the refill, and press the tab to quickly retract. Operating the retracting mechanism is flawless, which I'm still impressed since it's all so small.

Replacing the refill is a bit fiddly just due to the small size of all the components. The spring is the same length as the refill, and there's a small metal cap that slips over the back of the refill to provide a place for the spring to stop. And, since this is a standard D1 refill, your options for replacement are abundant.

The bright green barrel color I chose doesn't seem to be available right now, but the black and pink options look good too. There's only a small OHTO Minimo brand logo next to the tiny clip, and it's a bit difficult to notice it since it's so small.

The included refill is a 0.5mm black ballpoint that writes really well. It can require a small scribble to start going, but it writes smoothly and reliably. Since it's a small D1 refill, I wouldn't expect it to last very long, but that's not really the point with this pen.

So far, so good, right? Sure, but I haven't talked about what it's like to write with this pen, and that's where the negatives crop up. To get straight to the point, this pen is a difficult to use, uncomfortable, and generally awful as a writing instrument, and this entirely due to the small physical size. There's just nothing to hold onto when trying to write. It's only marginally better than writing with a naked refill. Writing out a whole A5 page (double-spaced) left my hand cramping. I don't want to use this pen. But, I guess it's better than nothing.

What's the point of this pen? At $8.50, the cost is low enough to justify storing it in something that you generally always carry with you in the event you need an emergency pen. Other than that, the other legitimate use case I can see (and my personal favorite) is just the novelty of the tiny form factor.

Speaking for myself, I can always find room for a small pen that is also comfortable to use and that doesn't leave my hand cramping after a few sentences. But that doesn't mean the OHTO Minimo will be forgotten in the back of a drawer — it's an excellent fidget toy and conversation starter. And maybe this could be your standard loaner pen when someone asks if they can borrow a pen? They'll definitely give it back to you.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on November 6, 2024 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Ohto.

OHTO Minimo Ballpoint Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

The wee OHTO Minimo Ballpoint Pen takes the cake as the miniest of minimal travel. The 3.7 mm diameter and 3.5 inch length makes this pen about the size of a Q-tip, minus the fluff. It slides into a clear plastic sleeve that is attached to a plastic card that fits easily in a wallet pocket.

Typically, even when I'm traveling light, I have a decent pen on me. At the very least, my Spoke Roady is always in my wallet, and then there's usually at least one other pen within arm's reach. So why do I need the world's tiniest pen? Because it's cute, that's why.

I figured this would be a last-resort pen--the emergency, better-than-nothing pen, but it's actually a decent writer. Not terribly comfortable, but a perfectly decent choice for making quick notes.

The pen's body is plastic, and while it's sturdy, there's just not enough of it to be really strong. It does feel delicate in the hand, and I wouldn't want to be too rough with it. It has a thin, flexible metal clip, silver metal accents, and the teeniest click mechanism ever. The click deploys the ballpoint tip, and you're ready to write very small notes. To retract the tip, press on the little bump of wire exposed on the side of the pen.

You probably won't want to write for a long time with this pen, but if you should manage to write out the ink supply, this pen is actually refillable. It takes a standard D1 refill, which are available from many brands in a bunch of fun colors. The pen itself is available in several colors. I picked black, but there's also orange, green, and pink.

There's not a whole lot to this pen. Its whole deal is just being the most simple version of a simple tool that you might need while on the go. And while it will totally fit in your wallet, it won't drain it. This wee treasure is only $7.50 at JetPens, which is fair, I think. It could be less--there are bigger pens for a third of that cost--but the specialty parts that have to exist just for this one pen likely explain that difference. Pretty much every millimeter (few as there are) of this beauty is proprietary, I'd imagine.

What am I going to do with this strange wee thing? It's going in my work badge. It will be the perfect tool for when I need to make a quick note when I'm running around my library, four floors away from my desk and pen cup. And I think it's perfect for the hardcore minimalist travelers who want to lighten the load at all costs and may only need a pen for customs forms and singing up for adventures. Hooray for tiny pens!

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

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