Lamy Safari Neon Coral Se

January 16, 2015

This is now my second review, this time of a more famous pen, the Lamy Safari, bought along with an exciting neon matching ink!

First experience: 5/10

Well, to be fair, I could of given the nice pen more than five, after all, it is only 18€ and probably fairly worth what you pay. But still, it wasn’t a good experience. I’m not saying it was bad, it was just, well, …..’’meh’’.

I bought the pen at a local store so I didn’t get it in a box. It’s comfortable to hold, I’ll give it a thumb up there. The plastic it’s made of is nice and smooth, the barrel is nicely turned, the cap firs firmly, it’s fairly aesthetic…well…at least in my eyes. With the Safari, this is the case: LOVE IT OR HATE IT.

The first writing experience was rather bad, tho. I pushed in a cartridge and it started to flow pretty soon, but the flow was rather bad and there was some skipping – the first letter of each word would not get put down because of the flow problem. The nib is a medium which puts down a rather fine line which did please me. However, the flow gets better when you write some more with it, that’s why I could of given the pen more than five points.

Nib: 7,5/10

Yes, I’m not going to say it’s not a good nib. At first I was going to give it 7/10 but it deserves more than that. It’s a tiny bit springy, it’s a very smooth writer, but is very, very dry and thus only gets 7/10.

Design: 7/10

I am pessimistic, aren’t I?

Well, as I said before; love it or hate it. I couldn’t call myself either, so I gave it a 7.

The color it comes in, neon pink, is very nice, very unique and radiant enough to get noticed by friends who will then compliment it. The pen is made of plastic which is not very scratch and ding proof, but is very durable from what I’ve heard. The pen’s design is well thought out – the cap posts firmly and seals the pen with a secure click and this pen will not do the table-roll because the barrel is flattened out on the top and bottom side of the barrel, plus there’s a super-large not-very-springy clip.

I couldn’t exactly call this pen a beauty, so 7 is as far as it goes.

Value: 9/10

Well, yes. The pen is worth every penny except for the nib. I know there are ways you can improve the flow, but still, a pen is expected to write out of the box. But, as this is a 18€ pen, I’ve given it a 9 anyway.

Total: 28,5/40

Edited January 16, 2015 by SLJVC

January 16, 2015

Again, sorry for the bad photos, it's night here already

January 17, 2015

Thanks for the review.

Yes the writing above appears fine for a Lamy medium nib, which should not be springy. If it is, likely it's not on the feed properly, Or, you're pressing too hard.

Did you flush the feed/nib before using the first time?

I rarely do, but there are times that oils from manufacturing interfere with initial ink flow.

Repetitive, but Safari feed holds quite a bit of ink, and this is capillary action, so first ink must draw through a new feed to the paper. Once ink draws through an oil-free feed, it should flow smoothly.

After a flush, leave the nib tip down on a bit of lint free towel to wick water, then refill.

Afterwards it should work well for you. If not, then you may want to inquire, possibly exchange, at the point of purchase.

I've not yet used the neon ink, but the blue flows quite nicely... don't know if ink or possibly your paper could be part of your issue.

January 17, 2015

Thank you for the advice. I have flushed out while changing ink from blue to neon and after I flushed it out, it seemed to work nicely.

Thanks again for the kind advice and for reading

Edited January 17, 2015 by SLJVC

January 17, 2015

I love Lamy's Neon Coral ink, shame they didn't bring it out in a bottle.

January 17, 2015

I think they did...

Edited January 18, 2015 by SLJVC

January 17, 2015

They did indeed make the coral ink in a bottle because I bought one. I just saw it is listed on Goulet's website. I would probably purchase "sooner rather than later" as Brian says because who knows if they will continue producing it since it was a "special" edition.

January 18, 2015

have an bottle of neon coral sitting in its box as I type.. very busy couple of weeks, so experimentation must wait

You're most welcome - helping others successfully enjoy their writing instruments is one of the cheerful foundations of FPN

Safari is simple. Basic fountain pen design that works. Very few things that can go wrong. Either the grip works for you or it doesn't.

January 18, 2015

Sadly the Neon coral bottle didn't get released here in Europe, I think it was a Goulet exclusive ?

January 19, 2015

I saw a bottle. Here, in Europe.

January 20, 2015

I don't think the Neon Coral was an exclusive to Goulets as Vanness Pens also has it on their web site.

January 28, 2015

Yeah the Coral ink in bottled form is incredibly hard to find (much less for a reasonable shipping fee)... Pen Boutique's is the most reasonable. JetPens is ok too. No affil.