multipen recommendations?

[supenguin]

I really like my Lamy Studio FP and have been thinking about getting a good multipen (mechanical pencil/ballpoint or rollerball) you know - for those few and far between times you need to write but a fountain pen just won't do it. Hard to erase FP ink and sometimes you need something waterproof..

 

Originally I found a Lamy Studio that is a pen and pencil, but it's $90. A little steep for how often I plan on using it. Under $30 is more like it. I saw a Parker Vector 3-in-1 at the Franklin Covey store the other day for $24.95. It looks pretty nice but I'm not sure if it's a good pen or not. Any opinions? Oh yeah, the 3-in-1 was a pencil, ballpoint, and PDA stylus. I think I'd prefer a highlighter or different colored pen, but I'm not sure what's available.

 

Any other suggestions?

[jmkeuning]

rOtring 600.

 

Nice.

[BillTheEditor]

+1 on the Rotring 600, but it's not in your price range.

 

If you have an Office Depot or a Staples near you, take a stroll down the pen aisle and you should find a nice multi-pen for less than $30: PhD Multipen for under $12. Rotring Quattro Multipen for about $20.

 

Jetpens (www.jetpens.com) has the Platinum Double 3 Action 2 Color Ballpoint Multi Pen + Pencil - Gun Metal Grey Body for $22.50

 

 

 

[Pink Ink]

I have the Pilot Coleto and that’s great if you like thin lines in multiple colors. If I were a one-ink-color girl, I’d get a Zebra Sharbo. The pen refills are 0.4mm and the pencil leads are 0.3mm. You can find this one online for less than $25.

 

And I second the PhD multi. I’ve had two (one pen/pencil/stylus and the other 2 pens/pencil) for almost a decade and they are the toughest writing instruments I own.

[Federalist Pens]

The Cross Tech III is a nice choice.

You get a black and red BP, and a MP in one!

It looks like a century, but is a little wider.

 

They are usually in the $35-40 range,

and I believe they use standard cross refills.

 

[supenguin]

Two questions about the Rotring 600: what's so great about it and what can I expect to pay for one? I did some looking online and the big attraction seemed to be the unique way you select which writing instrument to use. As for the price, I saw everything from the $120 range all the way up to almost $200. Then I found out that was $49.95 for a "lava" finish trio. Out of stock unfortunately. I'm thinking that price is a mistake after all the other sites I saw listed it for $120+.

[supenguin]

Here is the $49.95 Rotring 600: http://www.montgomerypens.com/product_deta...product_id=1358

[supenguin]

No replies from the Rotring fans?

[Titivillus]

I have to say that all of the multipens that I have used ( sample size 2) have been nice for the convience but not so great in the performance. It seems that the more things you try to get one item to do the worst quality of each individual thing is.

 

I would suggest getting a nice pen/ pencil set and use that.

 

 

Kurt

[supenguin]

I have to say that all of the multipens that I have used ( sample size 2) have been nice for the convience but not so great in the performance. It seems that the more things you try to get one item to do the worst quality of each individual thing is.

 

I would suggest getting a nice pen/ pencil set and use that.

 

 

Kurt

 

The big reason I wanted a good multipen was so I could have a fountain pen, ballpoint pen, and mechanical pencil all in my planner with only 2 pen loops. I guess the alternative is to get a good pencil & ballpoint pen and then just carry the fountain pen with me. I'll just have to make sure all my shirts have pockets from now on

[Titivillus]

I have to say that all of the multipens that I have used ( sample size 2) have been nice for the convience but not so great in the performance. It seems that the more things you try to get one item to do the worst quality of each individual thing is.

 

I would suggest getting a nice pen/ pencil set and use that.

 

 

Kurt

 

The big reason I wanted a good multipen was so I could have a fountain pen, ballpoint pen, and mechanical pencil all in my planner with only 2 pen loops. I guess the alternative is to get a good pencil & ballpoint pen and then just carry the fountain pen with me. I'll just have to make sure all my shirts have pockets from now on

 

If you are doing that Conway Stewart has made some FP/ BPs modern that may fit the bill as well!

 

[tm3]

does anyone know if a gel or rollerball refill is an option in any of the available multipens?

 

i have a rotring multipen that takes ballpoint refills and i find the quality of the BP pretty poor.

 

thanks

[Jersey Diabolo]

The big reason I wanted a good multipen was so I could have a fountain pen, ballpoint pen, and mechanical pencil all in my planner with only 2 pen loops.

 

Faber Castell Multifunction. The metal versions rattle a bit, not so the wood barreled ones. Otherwise, great F-C quality. I've used mine for years - as a supplement to my FP too. I LOVE my Faber Castell Twin. The Trio is a tad more fiddly and only comes in the above metal finish. The only trouble might be the rubber grip on the Twin, it could catch on your pen loop.

 

I have a Parker Executive in matte black. It has four modes. The Executive is a copy the now discontinued Rotring Quattro - and an improvement over it, I'm told. This is a nice pen, it functions well, looks cool, and has a solid feel. No rubberized grip, but the barrel does flare out a tad toward the business end of the pen.

 

The F- C Twin/Trio & Parker Executive will take the Parker, Faber Castell, LAMY, and generic Schmidt mini pen refills (BP, MP, highlighter, and stylus). So, if you don’t like the line up your pen comes with, you can pop out, say, the stylus and replace it with a different color BP or whatever you like.

 

A link to both is below. No affiliation, yada-yada:

http://www.dalyspenshop.com/store2005/product.asp

 

The Papermate PhD a good inexpensive pen, available all over in the U.S. I have one of these too. It has an ergonomic-sized barrel and rubberized grip – and decidedly will NOT fit in your pen loop.

 

The LAMY is a nice pen, but not at your price point.

 

HTH

 

Edit: Oh, I forgot - my wife has an Acme 4FP in chrome. It is a four-function pen, hence the 4 -F - P. It has a very slim, smooth barrel; if your pen loop won't take this, it won't take anything. The missus loves hers and uses it all the time, changing inks during meetings or while taking notes to highlight items. Swisher Pens (no affilli ...ah, you know) has these pens. These are priced comparably to the Parker and F-C.

Edited December 13, 2008 by Jersey Diabolo

[adair]

Rotring 600 again---a solid, indestructable multi-pen. The only shortcoming is its weight.

 

Others: The Waldmann Epoque is a red and blue twin pen of astonishing elegance; the Pilot Multy brings black, red and pencil points in an art-deco style aluminum barrel; the aluminum metal Norma-style multi pen with blue, red and black (no pencil, alas)---still made in Europe and cheap.

[Cormerin]

I've got a 600 trio, the fisher universal refill works nicely

 

 

does anyone know if a gel or rollerball refill is an option in any of the available multipens?

 

i have a rotring multipen that takes ballpoint refills and i find the quality of the BP pretty poor.

 

thanks

 

[mstone]

I really like my Lamy Studio FP and have been thinking about getting a good multipen (mechanical pencil/ballpoint or rollerball) you know - for those few and far between times you need to write but a fountain pen just won't do it. Hard to erase FP ink and sometimes you need something waterproof..

...

Any other suggestions?

Use a waterproof FP ink and carry a mechanical pencil.

[bobif]

Cross do a pen that has a stubby fountain pen in one end and a highlighter or rollerball in the other end with the closed tip acting as a PDA pen. It is quite bulky and I doubt that it would fit in most pen holders.

Cross also do a very fine multi purpose pen with red black and pencil, Rotring do a quad and Parker makes the one that you already mentioned. I have used the ones mentioned above and all of them are as good as each other for writing but the Rotring and Cross is a slimmer pen which may be more suitable for your needs. Although they may cost a liitle more than the Parker.

 

It all comes down to personal preference and taste