(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!)
I believe I'm on the record somewhere as saying I don't care for multi pens. I've had to eat those words a few times, and here I am snacking on them again. Of course, it's not as bad as when Brad used to say he didn't care for fountain pens. But still--it's just not true anymore. Really, as with all things, it was just a matter of finding the ones that work for me. We can put these ones on that list.
The Writech Dual Color Multi Pens have been a staple for me since they arrived. As the name implies, they have two colors in each pen: Black, and a colorful color. In this set, the Vintage colors, I have Burgundy, Dark Blue, Lilac and Milk Tea. The colors are lovely and subtle, and it's fantastic having two in each pen. Having the two colors is enough to allow for some useful color coding in notes or in my planner. And by limiting the colors to two, you get full-sized cartridges of each, so you don't run out too quickly and the pen doesn't become oversized. As much as I love having a ton of colors on hand, having a pen that is as thick as a broom handle, stuffed with tiny cartridges that run out in a week, is one of the things that turned me off of multi pens. Another multi pen pet peeve of mine is the way the cartridges sometimes rattle around inside when you're writing--and these don't do that, either. Basically, these pens do all the great things that multi pens are useful for, and none for the things that can be annoying.
The ink in these pens is very smooth and well saturated. I've had no issues with skipping or blobing. The 0.5 mm tip lays down a good line, and it's visible even in the fainter colors. The ink doesn't bleed or feather. It's a water-based gel ink that dries quickly and is water-resistant, though there is no indication as to whether or not it is archival.
The pen build is a standard side-click pen, but with a clicky slider on each side. The plastic nub of the clicky slider is the color of the ink that it activates--black plastic for the black ink, and colorful plastic for the colorful ink. The plastic of the pen body is also the color of the colorful ink that it has, so it's easy to see what pen you're reaching for. The pen also has a plastic clip. The clip is a little bulky, but it's functional.
There is really only one glaring disadvantage to these pens, and that is that they are not refillable. In theory, one could put new cartridges in the pens, but refills of the fun colors are not currently available. I hope that changes eventually.
This set of four double-pens costs $8.25 at JetPens and individual pens are available for $2.20. That's a pack of four pens for less than a single multi pen of most brands. I believe that's about the best price one can get for a good quality multi pen. Or even a bad quality one, for that matter. Happily, this one is a good one. I've used enough good ones now that I'm going to have to stop saying I dislike multi pens. Turns out I love them.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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