The WRITECH Clictek is a fountain pen built around one feature that sets it apart from most of the category: a retractable nib. Instead of a cap, the Clictek uses a click mechanism to extend and retract the writing point, similar in concept to a click ballpoint. The set ships with a transparent barrel, blue ink, a medium nib, and five ink cartridges, which makes it a fairly self-contained starter package for someone curious about fountain pens but put off by the capping and uncapping ritual.
The appeal is easy to understand in practice. A fountain pen with a cap is a two-handed tool in many situations: you uncap it, you hold the cap or post it, and you recap it when you pause. The Clictek collapses that into a single thumb press. For quick notes during a phone call, jotting items on a shopping list, or marking up a document in short bursts, that convenience is real and not just a novelty. The transparent barrel also lets you see the ink supply and the internal mechanism, which is useful for knowing when a cartridge is running low rather than discovering it mid-sentence.
The medium steel nib is the conventional choice here, and it behaves about as you would expect from a mass-market medium fountain nib. It lays down a line roughly comparable to a 0.7mm gel pen, with some line variation from writing pressure and a bit of feedback on cheaper paper. Blue ink from the included cartridges is a standard washable blue, not especially saturated. On decent paper it dries in a few seconds; on glossy or coated stock it smears if you run a finger across it too soon. Buyers should expect a pleasant but not luxurious writing feel. This is a pen for daily use, not a nib you would choose for long calligraphy sessions.
What works well:
- The click mechanism is the headline feature, and it functions as intended: nib out, nib in, no cap to lose or misplace.
- The transparent barrel shows ink level and mechanism, which is genuinely handy.
- The included five cartridges give a reasonable runway before you need to buy refills.
- Standard international cartridges fit, so refills are cheap and widely available rather than proprietary.
- The medium nib is smooth enough for general note-taking and works on ordinary copy paper without excessive feathering.
Where it falls short:
- Retractable fountain pens trade some ink capacity and sealing for convenience. The Clictek is no exception, and the nib can dry out if left extended for long periods.
- The click mechanism adds moving parts, and moving parts are the first thing to wear or jam. Treat it as a durable everyday pen, not an heirloom.
- The medium nib is on the wet side. Left-handers and anyone writing on thin paper may see show-through or smudging.
- The transparent plastic body looks functional rather than refined, and it will show scratches and ink staining over time.
- No converter is included, so if you want to use bottled ink you will need to source one separately.
Compared with a conventional capped fountain pen such as a Lamy Safari or a Pilot Metropolitan, the Clictek gives up some build solidity and nib refinement in exchange for the click convenience. Compared with a retractable ballpoint, it offers a more expressive line and the tactile pleasure of a fountain nib, but it demands more care: fountain ink is water-based, so it is less permanent and more prone to smearing than ballpoint or gel ink. Anyone who needs waterproof, archival, or pressure-copy writing should look at a gel or rollerball instead. The Clictek is a writing instrument for people who enjoy the feel of a fountain pen but want the handling of a click pen.
In real-world use, this set fits neatly into a bag or desk drawer as a single grab-and-go pen. Students taking fast lecture notes, office workers signing forms and annotating printouts, and journalers who write in short sessions will get the most out of it. It is also a sensible low-risk introduction for someone who has never used a fountain pen, since the cartridge system avoids the mess of bottled ink and the click mechanism avoids the learning curve of capping. It is not the right choice for serious calligraphers, for left-handed writers who need a fast-drying ink, or for anyone who expects a fountain pen to feel substantial and metal-bodied. It is also not a good fit for someone who wants to use bottled ink out of the box.
Overall, the WRITECH Clictek is a practical, slightly compromised fountain pen that solves a real annoyance. The retractable design is a convenience rather than a gimmick, the included cartridges make it usable immediately, and the price bracket keeps expectations reasonable. It will not convert anyone who dislikes fountain pens, and the mechanism is the part most likely to disappoint over years of use, but as a daily note-taking pen with a bit of character, it does its job without fuss.