The Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio 4 Color Multi Pen
One of my favorite mult-pens is the Pilot Coleto, which is basically the multi-pen version of Pilot’s Hi-Tec-C line. It has many color and size options, and even with up to 5 refills in it, it manages to not be bulky and awkward looking. Naturally when I saw the sleek-looking Lumio body style of the Coleto I couldn’t resist grabbing it from JetPens to try out.
Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio Multi Pen and Refills
The Lumio is a 4 color multi-pen, which I thought worked well for me since I already have the Coleto in a 3 and 5 color option. If you aren’t already familiar with this line from Pilot, they take refills that come in a ton of different colors and various tip sizes. Pictured above it my Lumio along with a blue, red, green, and orange .4mm refill before being loaded into the body. Keep in mind that if you buy the Lumio, the body and refills are sold separately, which I really like so you can totally customize your pen.
Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio 4 Color Multi Pen Flip Top Opened
Loading your choice of colors into the Lumio is simple, simply flip open the cap on the top, and the ink cartridges which have plungers built-in, slide right in and drop down inside the body. The flip cap can sometimes be a little tight to flip open, but don’t worry, you wont break it.
Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio 4 Color Multi Pen Flip Top
Once you have your arsenal of colors and sizes loaded in, just flip the cap shut again and you will be ready to write with your new Lumio.
The Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto Lumio 4 Color Multi Pen Filled Side View
Now with the pen ready to go, I had a few concerns, and was beginning to think that for the first time I *might* not like my new Pilot Hi-Tec-C. The first thing that really grabbed my attention when I was done filling it was the finish on the body of the pen. The body has a matte finish that although is fairly easy to grip, still has a very chalky feel to it which just makes the pen seem a bit loose between my fingers no-matter how tightly I grip it. Another thing that I noticed was that the bottom half of the Lumio (where you see the silver ring) opens up by unscrewing it. Now that might seem harmless enough, but I have two issues with this. First, why bother making it open? You cant refill it that way, so I’m not sure what purpose, if any it serves. Second, the threading once you unscrew this appears to be metal, while the rest of the pen is a lightweight plastic, which gives the pen a very bottom heavy feel. Now if the ability to unscrew the bottom half served some great functional purpose, I might be willing to look the other way, but since it doesn’t, this seems like a fairly major design flaw to me.
I’m sure that having it unscrew must add to its overall cost, and if I could redesign it, I’d make the body one piece and spend the extra time and money on putting on a nice thin rubber grip like the other Coleto’s have. This would eliminate the bottom heavy aspect, while also compensating for the bottom heavy feel by removing the center threaded piece that does nothing useful other than add weight and unbalance the pen.
Visually this pen looks fantastic, and is a bit more professional looking than the rest of the Coleto line, but in practice, I think Pilot really killed a great looking design with some fundamental flaws in the materials and physical make up of the pen. If you don’t think those things will bother you, the Pilot Hi-Tec-C refills are always a pleasure to write with and offer you a ton of flexibility in size and colors, so the Lumio body style of the Coleto might be a good option for you.
I love this! So much nicer looking than the BIC 4-color pen I had as a kid AND I can pick which colors go in – I can’t wait to get it!
What do you feel about the thickness of the pens? I am always weary of how much larger multi-pens are compared to standard ones.
Very good concept by my only issue with these pens is the price. $15 for the body only and then $2 for each refill… that’s over $20, compared to, say, a Pentel Rolly C4 which is only about $5, including the refills. And, to me, the Pentel even looks better.
@Melissa – Agreed, MUCH nicer looking than the old school Bic multi pens…and this one has a purple refill too. 😉
@sygyzy – I like this one, I feel like all of the Coleto multi pens are very thin considering how many refills they hold.
@Peninkcillin – You can get the standard 4 color Coleto body for $3. The Coleto also has a ton more color options than the Rolly’s limited red, blue, green, black. Also, since the Rolly is a ballpoint, it will always have slightly cheaper refills than the gel ink refills for the Coleto or anything similar…not to mention my personal preference for gel ink over a ball point. Sorry, hope that doesn’t come off as trashing the Rolly, I just think that they are two totally different pens and if you compare the standard Coleto to the Rolly, I think it is the hands down winner for a multi pen option between those two choices.
I’m with Peninkcillin. This seems quite pricey. On the other hand, it does look quite professional; it is one of few 4-color multipens you could pull out in a meeting with a client that wouldn’t make the client think that in your rush out the door that morning you grabbed a pen from your 14-year-old daughter’s desk. Similarly “professional”-looking multipens are likewise expensive, so maybe this isn’t so out of line.
You’re right, my bad. I was looking at the black model which, for some reason, is $15. The transparent ones are much cheaper. I don’t understand why the opaque models cost so much.
@Note Booker, Esq. – Yeah, I think you are paying for that “professional” look, and it is a good point about the fact that multi-pens do tend to look a bit kid-like more often than not.
@Peninkcillin – I guess the quality is a little nicer than the transparent ones, I just had some minor issue because I dont particularly like the feel of the finish though.
i think you can unscrew it because you can add a pencil and it refills from the front.
I can Definitely unscrew the front half of my four colour Coleto transparent pink body. I can’t speak to the three and five colour barrels though, maybe they are a different design that doesn’t have the screw….
I can Definitely unscrew the front half of my four colour Coleto transparent pink body. I can’t speak to the three and five colour barrels though, maybe they are a different design that doesn’t have the screw….