First Impressions
Well what would you expect in a pen whose converter costs more than the pen itself? I wasn’t expecting much but the pen looked good with good clean plastic and a solid feel. I wouldn’t mistake it for a $100 pen, but it looks more expensive than the $3.75 that I paid for it. Just slightly more expensive than a Pilot Varsity.
(5/10)
Appearance
The nib looks just like the one on the varsity and the clear section shows the feed is just like the feeds of many other disposable roller balls that I’ve seen. Uni-balls come to mind. But don’t get me wrong, it does look slightly different and looks pretty well made. The clear cap revealing the spring attached inner cap gives me confidence that it won’t be a dry starter or risk losing ink solvent due to evaporation.
(5/10)
Design
It’s simply designed and it does look pretty professional. Not the school kid style of the Lamy safari or Pelikano. A pen you won’t be embarrassed about carrying. Maybe I’m being too sensitive.
(8/10)
Nib
The nib is very similar to the Pilot Varsity. It’s uber smooth, smoother than some of my more expensive pens, Pelikans, Parkers, etc. But it doesn’t have a good feel. Zero flexibility. But it’s a good writer. No looking at the nib flex a little and enjoying the free flow of ink. There is great free flow of ink though.
(7/10)
Filling System
The filling system, well it’s designed for use with carts. but I bought a Platinum converter and used that with the pen. On filling it up, the problem is that the converter fills up the feed and so you’ll see ink going all over the place due to the clear section. Also, ink will form a little ring around the nib since there is some separation between the nib and the section. The nib/feed is slightly smaller in diameter than the section plastic and so I had to pump some ink out so as not to have ink falling out due to slight taps. But it’s still not too bad. Just return three drops of ink back into the bottle and flip the nib up before pulling the piston completely down. Just like you would do with piston fillers anyway.
(6/10)
Cost and Value
This was a great deal and looks like a fountain pen you should give to non-fp folks. Nothing precious to damage and the overall pen costs just a few bucks. It’s a better deal than getting a Hero pen.
(10/10)
Conclusion
Overall and excellent pen. I would rate it high just because they’re so darn cheap! Does it have soul? Not really, but it’s a great writer and if your writing doesn’t need to be soulful, I’d go with this one. Plus it’s cheap!
(8/10)
