We had a great turnout for the giveaway and thanks to everyone for entering!
My friends at JetPens were able to choose and confirm a winner of the Pilot Automac pencil, and the winner is...
Congrats, Stuart! Enjoy your Automac as it is a fantastic writing instrument!
Stay tuned for more giveaways in the future, and thanks so much JetPens for sponsoring and for always being such a great resource for all of our pen addiction needs!
For being the unofficial "rOtring guy" of the pen blog community, I've been letting everyone down! In looking through my post history I haven't done a rOtring review since November, so it was definitely overdue to share some of my recent acquisitions. Over the next few weeks I'll try and fit in 3 or 4 rOtring reviews if that sounds good to everyone?...
The rOtring I'll be reviewing in the post today actually came as a surprise when the opportunity to buy one appeared. I've had my eye on various rOtring multipens from time to time as I wanted to add one to the collection, but the Lava was one I figured might be somewhat out of reasonable reach.
I found this one in an auction on eBay from the original owner that said it really hadn't been used. From the pictures it appeared to be in top shape. I won't be disclosing how much I paid for it, but it was what I felt to be within a "reasonable" price range for these pens. If you do a search for "rOtring Lava Trio" on eBay you'll see the going rate for a buy it now auction (which is ABSOLUTELY INSANE) which I gladly didn't pay anywhere near that price for mine.
This is a very big pen. If you thought the regular 600 and Newton series pens were large, this one is hefty and right in line with the fountain and rollerball pens, but is an incredible piece. When handling it, the first thing you notice is the weight. I enjoy a heavy pen so not a burden for me, but for some people it might be too much.
I do have a few others of the Lava finish that still need review, but one of my first rOtring pens (and pens reviewed on The Clicky Post) was a Lava ballpoint. I'm debating whether I should try to find an independent mechanical pencil to add to the set or if I should just settle for the 0.7mm in the Trio?... (sigh)
Upon receiving the pen both the red and blue refills were dried out as they were the original rOtring branded ones that came with it. This was comforting to me as it made the story add up from buying! The pens are the normal D1 style refills that fit a variety of multipens, so the selection is broad.
I've tried the gel refills that fit the Zebra Sharbo X (on my list) before, but found them to be a bit fine. I'm a fan of the space pen so I loaded the Lava Trio with some blue and red U1F and U2F Fisher refills. These are good writers (as well as people like the Fisher Space Pen I suppose) that work great for me.
There is some slight movement in the tip while writing, but not noticeably distracting. I don't write with it and think to myself that it is a bother.
The feed system for the trio is pretty cool as it works off of gravity. Many multipens require you to press a specific nock/plunger or twist the barrel until you get to the right one, but the rOtring simply requires you to hold the pen in a specific position. Laid out on the barrel are markers: a blue dot, a 0,7, and a red dot. Depending on which one is facing up dictates which tip comes out. See images below:
Very cool. Hopefully not too prone to wear or breakage over time, but we'll see.
The release mechanism for the tip is a twist just below the nock. Push the nock all the way in to extend either the pen or pencil, and then twist the top to retract it. Took a second to figure it out, but I like it.
The nock also acts as the "clicker" to extend the lead in the pencil, as well as a place to hold one of those useless mechanical pencil erasers. Considering this eraser might be 15 years old, I'll probably not give it a go as age will merely add to it's uselessness.
I wouldn't consider the mechanism on this pen to be one that I will play with a lot. It isn't a smooth click-on, click-off type motion with the twist release. And also, I don't want to break the darn thing by wearing it out too fast!
The Lava finish is simply stunning on these pens. It is difficult to describe as it is grippy but not sharp, and sparkly but not shiny. Kind of reminds me of graphite or grip tape on a skateboard.
I'm really loving this pen and I think it'll be one I'll keep around for awhile.
I recently reviewed a pen I purchased from Will Hodges of Tactile Turn (formerly EiMIM) called the Z which took me completely by surprise as to how far it surpassed my expectations. In using it I'm still blown away by how much I enjoy it. Check out the recent review if you haven't already to take a look at it.
I wanted to speak to my previous experience to tee up for something new...
Will was kind enough to reach out to me regarding another project that he has going on at the moment through Kickstarter, some retractable pens called the Mover and Shaker. I received the prototype for the Mover which is the longer of the two that takes refills like the Pilot G2, Pentel Energel, Signo 207 and others. Mine came pre-loaded with a 0.38mm Pilot G2 in black ink which is an excellent ultra fine option for refills.
The first thing that stood out to me about the pen was just how nice the machining was on it. As on his Z, the seam in the middle of the barrel was nearly invisible. On a prototype I can see this being possible as perhaps more time and care goes into making them but since the Z, a production pen, had that level of care provided my hope is that the experience will carry over in the finished product.
Seamless...
The material is a different grade of aluminum than what we normally see in machined pens, and it feels a bit different. The smooth finish makes the pen almost look like steel. I like this choice and the pen looks awesome. I received the "aluminum" colored version (by request), but the pens will be available in several anodized colors also.
One design and functional aspect of the Mover is the grip section of the pen. It contains what has become one of Will's trademark features: tightly machined ridges (a long spiral) that add some texture to the pen's surface. Aesthetically, I like what Will has done with the smooth areas of the pen, but if he'd have made the entire pen with the ridges like on the X, Y, and Z pens I think that would have been alright too. They would all fit even more so into the same family, but just a thought, that's all. Although, I do enjoy the contrast of the textured area as it transitions to the smooth part.
The mechanism is familiar to many of us as it has been used on some other successful Kickstarter campaigns: the Tuff Writer Ultimate Titanium Clicky Pen and the Karas Kustoms Retrakt. If you own either of these pens then you'll know that the mechanism is top notch and a great choice by Will. Smooth and quiet, and looks great with the all metal construction.
Rather than being bolted to the pen (which is an alright solution by any means), the clip of the pen is uniquely seated below the click mechanism. There is a small notch in the barrel just below the nock were the clip seems to pop out of the pen itself.
Upon taking this apart, the clip is one piece of bent steel with a ring on the end that sits snuggly into the top of the pen and is held in place by the mechanism itself. A very neat feature that creates a simple, yet very functional look to the clip.
Go check out Will's Kickstarter campaign as well as the recent review by Ed Jelley for another look at these great pens! Excellent work.
Thanks again Will!