Pen Review — Zebra Sarasa Multi 4 Color + Pencil

Zebra Sarasa Multi Pen is Zebra’s take on the multi-pen. The pen comprises four 0.5 mm gel inks in black, blue, green, and red, and a 0.5 mm mechanical pencil and capped eraser. It struck me that this pen sounded like a pencil case’s worth of Zebra products combined into one pen. I was excited by that idea and keen to give it a try it out to see whether it wrote well and felt comfortable to write with. 

I haven’t used a multi-pen since primary school when I would like to borrow one from a friend whose parents owned a newsagency. So there is a bit of a school kid thrill about trying out the Zebra Sarasa.

My feelings of childhood nostalgia are amplified by the way that this pen subtly reminds me of a toy rocket. I think it’s the barrel widening towards the top and the transparent ‘window’ at the tip that creates that feeling.

But this pen writes nothing like the multi pens of my childhood — it’s much better.
First of all, it’s nowhere near as chunky and cumbersome to hold as an old-school multi-pen.  With a diameter of 13.5 mm around the grip section, the barrel isn’t substantially thicker than standard pens. The body, measuring 15.5 centimetres, is a bit longer than most standard pens, but only by about a centimetre. And weighing 17 grams, which is about 50 per cent heavier than standard  Sarasa pens, the Multi is fairly light too. 

The Multi feels comfortable to write with. I think this is partly thanks to the relative slimness of the design but also due to its rubberised grip. I didn’t experience any of the writing discomforts that I might have expected from a multi-pen.  

The ink flows smoothly, as it always seems to with the Sarasa pens. The ink colours are excellent. I’m always impressed by the intensity and depth of colour of the inks in the Sarasa range, and the Multi doesn’t disappoint. 

One more exciting thing about this pen is that it has a hidden ‘surprise’: a 0.5 mm lead mechanical pencil which I only discovered when I pushed down the pocket clip. It is an excellent addition to the pen and one that I haven’t yet seen in a multi-pen.

A pocket clip designed for a multi-pen needs to be quite sturdy to accommodate the extra weight. So the hallmark Sarasa clip works very well for the Multi — it’s chunky and sturdy enough to work for a pen of substantial heft.

I found the Zebra Sarasa Multi to be very successful take on the multi-pen. It’s comfortable to write with and produces the smooth vivid lines that I expect from a Sarasa pen.