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http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5486/11212311914_7359238036_n.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7388/11212359506_7ce0bc2ca8_n.jpg I’ve been used multipens for many years when I was in school, but after schools finished I’ve abandon them. Recently I found one of my old multipen made by rOtring and then I’ve bought couple of vintages multipens from EBay to play around with them. Despite the fact this is a fountain pen forum, there are still many guys n’ girls who still using different writing instruments, witch lead me to do a review of multipens using D1 standard refills. This rOtring multipen is a discontinued model, possibly from the 90’s. It’s using an advanced click mechanism based on gravity to choose the selected colour. There are vintages multipens using levers to select colour you want to use. Most of multipens are made from metal make them a bit heavy, also metals creating a rattle sound by internal mechanism using spring, tubes and levers. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5541/11212468863_f6d35048c0_n.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2855/11212342954_563f89e8df_n.jpg The appearance of this rOtring in neat and slim looking like a regular ballpoint pen, but the smart design is hiding 4 different colour refills inside the barrel. The actually difference between a normal ballpoint pen and this one is the plunger bit longer. Another difference is the little colour icon correspond to each colour of the refill, located near the clip and plunger. I think this pen is a premium version because of the stripes along the barrel. A bit heavy, is well balanced, but is too slim for my liking (1cm diameter) and 14 cm long. It is well built and looks like will last many years, even if is a subject of heavy abuses, drops, falls or scratches. In terms of maintenance just clean the barrel from time to time, also try to avoid leaking of refills. This will be very difficult to clean after. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3796/11212356606_5cd249c68e_n.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3680/11212352926_e21fc4071c_n.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7360/11212322996_857cde0586_n.jpg The versatility of multipens makes them able to use a lot of different type of refills: ballpoint, gel, mechanical pencil, PDA stylus and highlighter. Now the tricky part is to determinate what your need and preferences are, then replace the refill accordingly. There’s coloured ballpoint from rOtring, gels from Pilot, pencil from Lamy, stylus from Faber-Castel or highlighter from Parker. Also ballpoints refills can be pressurized to use in very difficult conditions, made by Fisher, Schmidt or Tombow. D1 refills will last less then regular ballpoints refills like Parker standard G2 or Sheaffer K mainly because of their size, 67mm long and 2.3mm diameter. Another factor is the tip of the refill, fine or medium or even broad will make them last longer or shorter; usually the medium can write 4-5 A4 pages. The D1 refills have a particularity by using a coloured mark on the tip of refill, again showing what colour is selected. Only black refills don’t use any marking…don’t know why. These refills came in a variety of colours: Black Blue Red Green Brown Orange Purple Pink Turquoise or Blue-Black. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7328/11212430363_df21a276a0_n.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5513/11212437213_075f1a2081_n.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3691/11212317244_d493eafa48_n.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7452/11212438253_c2188dc590_n.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2884/11212431743_b322a8b903_n.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2835/11212415063_f2f6d9bc77_n.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5550/11212273954_27d62bc534_n.jpg http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5524/11212309654_2303147e1e_n.jpg Before explaining how to change the refill I think is better if I describe the internal mechanism. All of these D1 multipens is using small tubes connected with springs to a plunger or lever to action/retract the refills. The back of the refill is inserted by force into small tube. To change a refill just action the plunger or lever, hold it like that when the refill is out, grab with your fingers and pull it out of the pen. Now the replacement have to be inserted back into the small tube until is secure. To do that again keep pushed the plunger or lever. When ready just release the plunger, if not falling free is mean you done a good job, securing the refill into the tube. This rOtring is using a complex system of gravity to action/retract the refill. To select the colour you want to use is recommended to hold the pen horizontally, facing the colour icon and press the plunger. To change the colour you need again to hold the pen horizontally with the icon facing to you. The levers on vintage multipens are even more easy to use. Just action the lever with the colour you want. Cost of these types of pens could be higher; also the refills are not on the cheap side. On the market there are a lot of other multipens; some of them using proprietary refills. I just made a review for D1 standard refills type. http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7320/11212265365_d99c72e51d_n.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3712/11212275304_c7347e685b_n.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3695/11212272654_4f32185c72_n.jpg http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3827/11212294554_b8ef968dab_n.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2809/11212282355_86257d7a9a_n.jpg http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7292/11212313464_f0ebf1d3ee_n.jpg In conclusion these pens are very versatile, a bit expensive but very good if you meet your expectation. Maybe these pens are more suitable for active guys or girls who take a lot of notes during daily activity, or just want to doodle around. You can find many brands selling these multipens, refills, all depending on your preferences: vintage vs. new, expensive vs. cheap, metal vs. plastic. I will try to picture every aspect of this review. If you have more info’s about D1 refills feel free to add it here. This is a list with compatible refills: Cross 8518-4 Faber-Castell Multifunction Ballpen Refill Faber-Castell Multifunction Pen Stylus Refill Lamy M21 Ballpen Refill Lamy M55 Tripen Marker Refill Lamy M70 IT Refill Lamy Z60 Multipen Lead Mechanism - PENCIL Monteverde Soft Roll Mini Ballpoint Refill Extra-Broad D15 Monteverde Soft Roll Mini Ballpoint Refill Medium D13 OHTO Needlepoint Multipen Refill Fine R-4C7NP Parker Multipen Highlighter Refill Parker Multipen Stylus Refill Parker multipen ballpoint refill Pelikan 38 Ballpoint Pen Refill Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.4mm D1 Gel Refill Platinum SBSP-120S Hybrid Ink Ballpoint Refill rOtring Multipen Refill Schmidt 620M Megaline Pressurised Compact Ballpoint Pen Refill Schmidt S 635 Mini Ballpoint Pen Refill Schneider Express 56 Pen Refill Tombow BR-VS Ballpoint Pen Refill Tombow Outdoor Pen Refill BR-VMP Tombow BR-VBH Highlighter Refill for Multipens Zebra 4C Ballpoint Pen Refill Zebra JSB Gel Refill 0.5mm Zebra Sharbo Refill Set http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3765/11212355513_b6a5285c1d_n.jpg http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2839/11212247265_c37526dc0d_n.jpg