[Pen/Pencil Review] Uni Jetstream 4 & 1 Color 0.38mm – Navy Body
Not too long ago I got on a seriously fine point kick on Jetpens, and today’s multi-function pen caught my eye. This is the Uni Jetstream 4 & 1 Color 0.38mm Ballpoint Multi-Pen plus 0.5mm Pencil. I got the navy barrel. I was intrigued by the fineness of the points, so I had to get it.
This is rapidly becoming a favorite and a “go to†instrument. Especially with my day job where things can spin up quickly. Having the four color AND pencil option in one case is almost a necessity when you might need to change color or medium for whatever reason on the fly. This one turns out to be totally worthwhile – with a touch of a learning curve. I had to show one of the higher ups how to use it on the fly when it was snatched out of my hand in a meeting.
What astonishes me about this is the vibrancy of the ink colors with such a fine point. I keep forgetting this is a BALLPOINT pen and pencil and not a gel ink. The green is strikingly dark for 1) a ballpoint, and 2) a 0.38mm. All the colors are equally robust. The roller in the super fine conical point (not needle – CONICAL) is smooth. They don’t scratch, skip or glop. The clip is the advancer for the pencil. That’s not immediately intuitive, but brilliant to get all the function possible out of one instrument.
I chose the navy barrel because I like the rich color. The matching cap at the top covers the white, refillable eraser that’s a touch crumbly but otherwise good. The grip is a black rubber for a bit of comfort. There’s a rounded metal band between grip and body that smooths out any ridges. It’s a plastic body with metal accents and push plungers for the activators. It’s just over 5.75†long, which makes it a comfortable length.
The barrel is obviously wider than a normal barrel to house the reservoirs, but not so wide as to be uncomfortable. It’s got to be to handle all the reservoirs. This pen is refillable with the Uni SXR-90-30 refill. If this is too fine a point for you – they also come in a 0.5mm and 0.7mm – but is there really such thing as too fine a point? The instrument is refilled by twisting open the barrel and pulling out the reservoir and replacing either ink or lead.
It’s not cheap at the outset, but being refillable and an instrument that could see lots of use? It’s worth the outlay.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 – It works surprisingly well for a super fine point. The plungers may take a bit of getting used to, especially since the lead mechanism is the clip. You can leave lead advanced while having the point retracted. The lead and ink flow smoothly. The clip is secure.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – For a multi-function, it’s actually comfortable. The diameter is comfortable. There’s very little ridge between grip and barrel to be uncomfortable because of the decorative band. It’s long enough to fit comfortably in the hand. I’m actually surprised by this.
3. Material – 1 – It is plastic and base metal…however with the nice inserts, and sturdy feel, it’s decent. The transparent plastic of the barrel lets you see ink levels. Some might think it’s expensive for plastic and base metal, but it’s environmentally conscious and FIVE good quality writing instruments in one.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – I am going to knock a half point off here just for the pencil refill. It’s not intuitive. I kept looking for the pencil refill to be through the cap, but it’s not. I had to find out how to do it by looking at another review and trying that and figuring it out. And I had to teach someone how to use it.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – It’s not cheap, but it is SUPER useful. I used it a ton last week when I needed a pencil, and this is what I had. It’s refillable. The ink makes it worth the price. But it’s only available online and at JetPens, it’s $11.25 with refills running $1.55. But for something you might use A LOT? It’s probably worth the investment. This one is one I’m keeping handy – like always in my purse or with a notebook.
That’s 4 of 5 bronze pencils.
