multi-pen

Pilot Frixion Ball 4 Wood Multi-Pen 0.5mm Review

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Pilot Frixion Ball 4 Wood Multi-Pen 0.5mm

The Pilot Frixion Ball 4 Wood is one of the many pens I picked up on my trip to Japan that I have yet to review.

Pilot Frixion Ball 4 Wood Multi-Pen 0.5mm

Pilot Frixion Ball 4 Wood Multi-Pen 0.5mm

The Frixion Ball 4 Wood is a multi-pen that features four erasable gel ball points, a wood grip and an attractive brown and black body.

Pilot Frixion Ball 4 Wood Multi-Pen 0.5mm

This is one of the best looking multi-pens I have used and it has a very high quality feel, weighing in at 26.7 grams.  It is a well built pen with a satin brown plastic body that is completely free of seams.  The section is made of wood and metal and is what gives the pen its nice weight.

Pilot Frixion Ball 4 Wood Multi-Pen 0.5mm

It is fair to say I love everything about this pen except for the way it writes.  The erasable Frixion ink looks nasty.  The colors are washed out and the lines aren’t particularly clean.  It is a smooth writer especially for a 0.5mm pen but it’s not a winner for me.

Pilot Frixion Ball 4 Wood Multi-Pen 0.5mm

The price is also prohibitive at 3,000 YEN (just under $30USD); that is three time the price of the Uni Pure Malt which while not as nicely made offers a better writing experience with Uni Jetstream ink.

Frixion Ball 4 Wood with Unit Pure Malt
Frixion Ball 4 Wood with Unit Pure Malt

I am quite smitten with the body so I am going to try and see what other refills will work in the Frixion Ball 4 Wood.

Uni Pure Malt Multi Pen + Pencil Review

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Uni Pure Malt

The Uni Pure Malt is a multi-pen with two 0.7mm Uni Jetstream hybrid ballpoints (black + red) and a 0.7mm mechanical pencil.  If you are wondering what “Pure Malt” refers to, it’s the wooden grip which supposedly comes from the wood used in Japanese whiskey barrels.  The Pure Malt comes in a couple whiskey related colors (browns). I chose one with a champagne colored body and a dark wood grip that I think looks great together.  The barrel unfortunately has two seams and they go right down the middle of the plastic part of the body which is poor placement if you ask me.  The words “PURE” and “MALT” are split by the seam.

The bottom half of the pen appears to be made of metal and gives the pen its nice weight.
The bottom half of the pen appears to be made of metal and gives the pen its nice weight.

The Pure Malt weighs 22.6 grams and feels of good quality. It measures just under 6″ long and is about 0.6″ at the widest part of the barrel.  The Jetstream refills perform very well and are my favorite ballpoint style refills.  The lines are quite clean and dark by comparison to a standard ballpoint.  The point glides across with minimal resistance.

Uni Pure Malt

The mechanical pencil is deployed by pressing the clip down and to advance the lead you just click the clip in the down position.  The 0.7mm mechanical pencil works very well.  I picked up this pen in Japan for at the retail price of 1,000 Yen which is just under $10 USD and for that price I am really happy with the Pure Malt, in fact it is my favorite multi-pen I have come across in a long time.

Uni Pure Malt