17 Jul 2013

review: three-barrelled pilot coleto

If there was such a thing as a school for pens, the Pilot Hi-Tec C Coleto would be the popular kid who is loved by all of the teachers (and maybe a little envied by other pupils). As pens go, I'd wager that the Pilot Coleto is one that is owned and loved by the majority of its users.

I had originally planned to jump onto the Coleto bandwagon in September of this year but then I won My Filo World's competition and that plan went out of the window.

When the prize arrived, I opted to put the inserts into the clear barrel and this is how it looked: 


Aesthetically, it has a very minimalistic design and is almost like the Muji multipen. The rubber bits at the bottom bit of the pen make gripping the pen easier and more comfortable than if they weren't there.

I do love a multi-pen due to how practical they are - carrying several ink colours in one, single pen is never a bad feature to have as pens go.

To slot in the refills, you just pop the top open:


And slip them in. Simple.


I know that some people complain that the Coleto refills are scratchy and I have to say, on this occasion, I agree. I received three 0.4mm refills and here is how they look on paper:


The ink flow is good and I think the refills are identical to the Pilot Hi-Tec C gel pen as the Coleto writes the same as my Pilot Hi-Tec C gel pens. I'm not a fan of how scratchy the nib is so maybe the 0.5mm is the one for me (I guess I will have to test out this hypothesis in the near future!) and the mechanism of popping open the top doesn't seem as sturdy as I would like on a feature that will inevitably see a lot of use. However, the barrels are quite cheap to replace so it's not like you'll be paying a lot for a new one if your current one were to break.

Overall, I like this pen but I don't love it. Will 0.5mm refills change my opinion? I hope so!

Have you tried this pen and if so, what do you think about it?

11 comments

  1. This looks like a really handy pen and I love how you have multiple colours in one pen!

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    1. I love that too but I didn't like the scratchy nibs :( x

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  2. I loved having all the colors in one, but found that the refills just ran out far too quickly for my liking!

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    1. I've heard that complaint before but haven't used mine enough to see how long they really last x

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    2. My refills wear out too quickly also, some lasting only 3 or 4 weeks with less than average use

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  3. I love my Coletos! I have 3 of them, but mine are the four-barreled ones. The scratchiness of the pen did drive me crazy at first, but the color payoff and the actual way my writing looks helps me get over it. :D

    I'm really just a sucker for multipens period. I just got a Frixion multipen and I love that one too.

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    1. Oh, sounds like the scratchiness is something I will get used to then? :) I've always been a one-colour pen kind of girl and the Coleto hasn't changed that yet - but then again, I've not used my Coleto enough to fall enough with it... x

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  4. I stared at Coletos online for months before ordering one. I think if I'd had the opportunity to see one up close and personal beforehand, I wouldn't have bought it - the colours are incredible, but it's just too scratchy for me.

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    1. I'm going to try the 0.5mm refills before completely losing faith in this pen. I like how it is a multi-pen and I love how the colours are ones that I would definitely use so I'm going to try everything to make it work hehe x

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  5. I *love* the Coleto - just bought another 4-color barrel for it. I agree the 0.4mm refills might be a little scratchy, but I find the 0.5mm ones are smooth and write easily (at least to me).

    That being said, I do keep a combination of both 0.4mm and 0.5mm refills because I prefer some colors thinner and I can live with the "scratchiness". Just me, I suppose!

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    1. It sounds like I definitely need to give the 0.5mm refills a try then :) Just waiting for my student loan before getting them ;) x

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