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Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-08-21:/2408908] "James Dobson, Influential Leader of the Religious Right, Dies at 89"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-08-20:/2408610] "FDA warns public to throw out potentially radioactive shrimp"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-08-15:/2407469] "HTTP/1.1 must die: the desync endgame"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-08-15:/2407392] "Open hardware desktop 3D printing is dead – you just don’t know it yet"
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Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-08-14:/2407170] ""Privacy preserving age verification" is bullshit"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-08-12:/2406472] "Firefox’ new “AI” features cause CPU spikes and battery drain"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-08-11:/2406239] "Reddit will block the Internet Archive"
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Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-07-15:/2399026] "Marc Andreessen Is a Traitor"
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Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-07-04:/2396489] "Nvidia won, we all lost"
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Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-07-03:/2396128] "AI note takers are flooding Zoom calls as workers opt to skip meetings"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-07-03:/2396110] "Surveillance Used by a Drug Cartel"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-07-02:/2395852] "Why The Latest Linux Kernel Won’t Run On Your 486 And 586 Anymore"
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Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-27:/2394461] "Apple Just Patented an Image Sensor with 20 Stops of Dynamic Range"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-26:/2394371] "Microsoft is moving antivirus providers out of the Windows kernel"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-26:/2394230] "Snow - Classic Macintosh emulator"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-25:/2394054] "Games run faster on SteamOS than Windows 11, Ars testing finds"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-24:/2393676] "Microsoft extends free Windows 10 security updates into 2026"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-24:/2393476] "Magic Lantern Software for Canon Cameras Is Back"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-18:/2392274] "Senate passes GENIUS Act—criticized as gifting Trump ample opportunity to grift"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-18:/2392074] "Scientists once hoarded pre-nuclear steel; now we’re hoarding pre-AI content"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-18:/2392100] "Keeping Snap and Crackle under Control with Prunt Printer Firmware"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-17:/2391828] "KiCad and Wayland Support"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-16:/2391596] "Retrobootstrapping Rust for some reason"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-16:/2391591] "Reddit user surprised when 1960s computer panel emerged from collapsed family garage"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-12:/2390501] "CP/M 2.2, CP/M 3.0, CP/M-86, Concurrent CP/M-86 listings by Digital Research"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-08:/2389388] "Windows 7: a 2025 perspective (rose-tinted or not)"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-07:/2389179] "Bill Atkinson has died"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-06:/2388900] "Dystopian tales of that time when I sold out to Google"
Diag| Considering item [tag:pappp.net,2025-06-05:/2388731] "New book uncovers radical networks that existed before the internet"
{"id":34294,"date":"2021-02-03T14:15:13","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T19:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pappp.net\/?p=34294"},"modified":"2021-02-03T14:15:14","modified_gmt":"2021-02-03T19:15:14","slug":"41-multi-pens-a-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pappp.net\/?p=34294","title":{"rendered":"4+1 Multi-pens: A Survey"},"content":{"rendered":"\nMy increasingly absurd 4+1 multi-pen collection, left to right: Dr.Grip 4+1, Uni Style Fit Meister 5, Zebra Clip-On Multi, Zebra Sarasa, Hi-Tec-C Coleto 5, Uniball Jetstream 4&1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
I’m a little obsessive about my everyday objects, in that stereotypical engineer “determine an optimal solution and stick to it” sort of way. For about a decade I carried a little (handmade, periodically replaced) sleeve with a Bic MatiC grip 0.7 pencil and Black, Blue, and Red Uniball Vision Elite pens in 0.5mm (plus a chapstick and flash drive).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trusty old Pocket Organizer<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
That utensil set is for a note-taking system where my own work and other temporary or uncertain things are in pencil, notes and other reference material are in black, provided examples and commentary are in blue, and corrections and attention points are in red. Diagrams are multi-colored for clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have a ritualized paper-handling (I carry a clipfolio and periodically file into binders), page-labeling (Top right,Topic\/Date\/Sequence Number), bullet hierarchy (A little drift over the years, but mostly \u2295 > \u2022 > \u2043) , and archiving (Rarely-used topics get twist-ties through the binding holes and stored in boxes) system that I’ve been using for decades at this point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2019 I’m primarily teaching labs, so in addition to my own note-taking I do a lot of drawing examples and correcting solutions where a variety of colors is useful, and I kept wanting more than the 3+1. Carrying around a whole stack of writing utensils seemed unreasonable\u2026 until I found a 4+1 multi pen I got as conference swag, and it set me off on an expedition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I tried my conference-swag Zebra Clip-On Multi for a few weeks, liked it for the most part but missed the writing quality of my Vision Elites, got slightly<\/em> obsessed, and bought examples of most of the 4+1 pen bodies on the market to compare. Then I used each for a week during the Fall ’19 semester to get a feel for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TL;DR My current favorite 4+1 multi-pen body is the Pilot Dr. Grip 4+1, loaded with Uniball Signo D1 refills and Pentel Ain Stein HB lead. It’s only major weakness is the covered tiny eraser. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Best: Pilot Dr. Grip 4+1<\/strong> (~$14) It has a nice, weighty (metal) front section which offers a good feel in the hand. It is neither bothersomely pointy (like the Uni Style+Fit) nor blunt (like the Zebra Sarasa). The tabs are clearly labeled, but not obtrusive. The only weakness is the included refills are not quite<\/em> a good as the Uni offerings — but it takes the same D1 refills as the Uni Style Fit line, so I just replaced with Uni Style Fit Gel refills as they ran out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Runner Up: Uni Style Fit Meister 5 <\/strong>(~$18 : body $8.25 + inserts 1x$3 + 4x$1.65) Strengths: + Absolutely excellent writing feel and ink saturation + Extremely configurable with standard D1 refills, including the pencil slot Weaknesses: – Tabs are clear, so you have to remember or look closely at the clear ring for color selection – Tip of pen tapers uncomfortably sharply<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tested competition in decreasing order of preference: Zebra Clip-On Multi<\/strong> (~$7) Strengths: + Surprisingly comfortable body + Writes well.. for a traditional ballpoint Weaknesses: – It is a traditional ballpoint, and drags like it<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zebra Sarasa Multi<\/strong> (~$7) Strengths: + It’s\u2026 fine in every way. Weaknesses: – A little plasticy\/rattly – scratchy and slow-to-start cartridges – Unpleasantly short\/blunt tip<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hi-Tec-C Coleto 5<\/strong> (~$15 : body $4.20 + pens 4x$1.80 + pencil $3) Strengths: + Most flexible design, even the pencil is an interchangeable module + Available eraser module fits in a utensil slot + Smooth saturated lines from the pens Weaknesses: – Bulkier than the competition, and the pencil tab protrudes quite a bit – Eraser, if added, takes up one of the 5 utensil slots – Very plasticy and rattly – Ink is a little clotty and smudge-prone<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uniball Jetstream 4&1<\/strong> (~$11) Strengths: + The body itself is fairly comfortable +It has pleasing subtle color labels on the tabs and generally looks appealing Weaknesses: – The ink cartridges it comes with are disappointingly scratchy and light\/uneven – The cartridges flex in the body, which feels pretty unpleasant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I also tried a Bic 4-color + a separate pencil, but the Bics are deeply not in the same class of pen as most of the other options, and I really wanted the all-in-one solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not tried<\/strong>: Sakura Ballsign \/ Ballsign Premium ($14\/$24), Zebra Clip-on Multi 2000 ($20), Uni Multi 5 ($6.50) I’m sure eventually my curiosity will get the better of me and I’ll buy more to try, but it’s been over a year since I got another body because the remaining offerings all had something<\/em> I didn’t like about them, and I’m quite satisfied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since I switched my pocket utensils, I also made a new pocket organizer to hold them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New Pocket Organizer<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
This one holds my Pilot Dr. Grip 4+1 as the reigning winner of the 4+1 Multi-Pen selection, a Staedtler Stick Eraser because none of the multi-pens have decent erasers, a chap-stick, and a small flash drive. It’s not perfect (I especially don’t love how the open edge between the stacked items came out), but quite serviceable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Draw on Kraft Paper, Cut, Fold, Test, Swear, Repeat. This one worked.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Like last time I put one together, it was an exercise in being bad at pattern drafting (I went through like 6 drawn out 1:1 on kraft paper before I got something acceptable), and also like last time, I got to the end of making an upholstery fabric muslin to try out, and decided I didn’t want to fuck around with re-making it in leather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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