Review of the Parker Frontier and the Parker Reflex

Appearance and Construction

The Parker Reflex is a slender, plastic fountain pen (FP) with a textured rubber grip and a metal spring-loaded clip. It's 5.5" long capped, and about 6" posted. The barrel is 7/16" wide at its widest point. The cap, which is 1/2" wide at its widest point, snaps onto the barrel. The Reflex is available in several colors; mine is black. It looks and feels like a cheap pen --- unfortunately my photo below makes it look better than in real life.





The Parker Frontier is a slender FP with a smooth rubber grip and a metal clip. The cap is stainless steel, and the barrel is available in plastic or stainless steel. It's almost 5.25" long capped and about 5.75" posted. The barrel and cap are about 7/16" wide at their widest points. The cap securely snaps onto the barrel. It was difficult to remove the cap at first, but with use it's gotten a little easier/looser. The threads in the gripping section and barrel are plastic (even for the all-stainless model).

One of my Frontiers is new-old-stock (NOS), with a marbled red and black plastic barrel. Naturally it's more colorful than the all-stainless Frontier, though up-close the "marbling" effect looks a little cheaply done.






All three pens post securely, though the plastic barrel of the NOS Frontier has developed light scuff marks from posting.

My stainless steel Frontier came with a hard dark-grey plastic case (see photo below). It can house two Frontier pens, and there's a little exposed compartment on the bottom that can accommodate two ink cartridges. It's a little tricky to close the case shut --- I have to press on the entire upper half of the case to close it. I'm not sure, but I think only Frontiers sold in Europe include this useful plastic case. Those sold in the US are in a black and white gift case.



For Parker enthusiasts, the date code on my NOS Frontier is IIIP, and on the all-stainless is IE. Both Frontiers were made in the US. The Reflex was made in the UK.

Filling System

The Reflex and Frontier FPs use a cartridge/converter system. My Reflex and stainless Frontier did not include a converter, only an ink cartridge, while my NOS Frontier gift set included Parker's standard converter and several ink cartridges.







Nib Design and Performance

All of the pens have stiff nibs which aren't very expressive. I guess that's pretty standard in this price range.

The Reflex has a slightly hooded stainless steel nib. The nib and the visible part of the feed appear to be of the same design as the more expensive Parker 88 and Rialto. The nib is quite modest, so if you prefer flashy nibs, this pen isn't for you.

My Reflex has a medium nib. It's a very wet writer when filled with the included Parker ink cartridge. The nib is quite smooth, with some feedback from the paper.




The Frontier has an attractive, fully exposed stainless steel nib. My Frontiers are gold-plated; other Frontier models are not plated. Although both are labeled as medium width nibs, my NOS Frontier writes a smooth, fairly wet, fine line with just a hint of scratchiness at certain angles. On the other hand, my stainless Frontier has an ultra smooth, super wet nib --- it's like writing on butter. It's so smooth that people, who like a little bit of feedback from the paper, probably won't like it. But if you rate a FP on smoothness alone, you'd love my all-stainless Frontier.




Since both the Reflex and Frontier are mass-produced, there's probably some variability in the characteristics of each nib. So your mileage may vary. Some postings on FPN hypothesize the nibs on the all-stainless steel models get some extra attention. My very small sample size appears to support that hypothesis.

Both Frontiers were tested with Sheaffer Skrip black ink, using Parker converters.

All 3 pens are well balanced, both posted and unposted. Naturally the all-stainless Frontier is the heaviest of the three, but it's still quite light. The Reflex is so light that it feels cheap. The rubber gripping sections make it easy to hold all 3 pens securely while writing.


Cost and Value

I bought the Reflex at a local supermarket for about US$7. I obtained both Frontiers on eBay; the NOS gift set for $9.99 plus USPS shipping, and the stainless steel for 2.21 GBP (about US$4.43) plus shipping from the UK to the US.


Conclusion

I think the Frontier easily outperforms the Reflex; the Frontier looks better, writes better, and has a classier feel to it, for about the same price as a Reflex. Unfortunately it seems most of the Frontiers are sold in Europe (at least that's my impression), so those in the US will have to pay extra for shipping.

The Frontier has a conservative look that'll fit right-in at the office. If you want something flashier, the Waterman Phileas is a nice alternative that writes as nicely as a Frontier, for a bit more money.

All-Stainless Steel Frontier: excellent
Plastic Barrel Frontier: very good
Reflex: poor

I think the Frontier is quite a good pen, especially at that price range. If you think the marble effect looks a bit cheap, maybe you should look for the chromaflair type finish. It's one of those plastic finishes with subtle sparkling metallic paint and changes colours depending on angles.

The nib does write pretty smooth, my girlfriend uses 2 frontiers in her rotation.

Your photos are great! Nice review too The only that turns me off the cheaper Parkers are the huge lines even the F nibs produce.

Thanks for the review. I came to the same conclusion when comparing my Frontiers to a Parker Jotter.
My plastic frontiers look better in pictures. (And IRL too, but that might just be taste) But maybe that's because my pictures are poorer.







the charcoal colored nib is also butterly smooth.

If I had a decent camera I could also show the Chromaflair Purple and Teal ones. They look very nive too. The grip of these too are Chomaflair too, not black.

Thanks for the review. The Reflex used to be sold at Staples and Office Max before it was discontinued. I have yet to see the Frontier at any B&M store. Any idea as to where to purchase the Frontier?

I purchased my Frontier from France....on Ebay. It was a smooth transaction, and I agree the only complaint is that the F nib is a bit wide.

Thanks for the reveiw. Very nice pictures.
I like the Parker cheapos a lot - in fact Vector was the reason I took up "fountainpenning". I think Parker is doing an excellent job here. Really reliable entry level pens are hard to find. They might not be collectibles because of the looks, but they often works for years without any truoble My Vector has served my well for about 9 years of daily writing and is still going strong.
Glad to hear that Reflex and Frontier is good aswell. Haven't tried them yet, but now I surely will.

regards
Henrik

Thanks all for your nice comments!

Maybe "cheap" was too negative... I just wish the red swirls on my Frontier blended more smoothly with the black base color.

I'll look into purchasing a model with the Chromaflair finish that you and Lisa mentioned; sounds interesting.

Anyone have a recently manufactured Parker 45? How does it compare to a Frontier?

OP says:



No, it doesn't. If anything, that photo makes the pen look even cheaper than it is. Not to criticise your photography skills; I couldn't get shots like that...but don't worry. Your skills with the flashy-box do not make a bad pen look better.

Despite your assertion that you aren't commenting on my photos, do you have anything to say besides criticizing my photography skills? Perhaps it's not your intention, but your comment came across quite abrasively. How will you feel if the only comment I leave on your MB review (once you post photos, if ever) is that your photos don't do justice to the pen?

Good review and nice pictures too. The all SS 1 seems the way to go.

Well written review Mike.Thanks.

JD

I'm rather fond of my Frontier. I use it constantly so it's had some abuse but it writes first time, every time. Plus I got mine for £0.86 due to a stock error at Staples.

I have actually seen the Frontier occasionally at eBay seller Temecula53 (not affiliated) and possibly Pens n more (not affil). Temecula53 actually has stainless Frontiers right now.

Donnie
edit to correct name of second vendor and note availability at first vendor.

Nice, comprehensive review - rather a serious undertaking to do the three pens at once.

I have the very same model red/black Frontier right here on my desk! (That rarely happens when I'm reading reviews...

I agree that it's a great daily writer, and I don't know that the two-tone marbling is really so poorly done. Actually, I think it does a very good job of being what it is!

While both these pens write well both have faults with the caps which really put me off for day to day use. With the Frontier the snap on cap becomes very loose with time and eventually will not hold on at all. In the case of the Reflex the plastic cap cracks all to easily with repeated pushing on and off as this relies on a friction fit and the plastic is not up to it. These faults make the Parker 45 (even recent ones) a much better buy - these will stand up to daily use for years with no problems and much easier to replace the parts anyway should this be needed.

Were calligraphy pen versions of these pens produced--as with the Vectors?

Regards,
Ashland

Wow, that was a great deal!



Thanks, I thought comparing all 3 Parkers at once would help people thinking of buying one.

Yes, in retrospect I may have been a bit harsh about the marbling effect. It's possible the marbling pattern is unique to each pen, so your pen may be more attractive than mine. Anyone know for sure whether the marbling is the same on all pens or not?



Thanks for letting us know about the long-term outlook of these pens I remember reading other FPN posts about the Reflex's cap splitting, but don't recall anyone else reporting issues with the Frontier's cap.

Regarding the Parker 45, there are some FPN posts complaining about scratchy nibs on the newer 45s. What's your experience been with the 45's nib?



I don't know about calligraphy nibs, but Pendemonium has italic nibs for the Frontier. Sorry, I've never bought from Pendemonium, nor have I tried their italic nibs, so I can't provide any other info. Anyone on FPN have an italic nib for the Frontier?

-Mike

People have noted that the Frontier cap is very stiff clipping on to begin with and this becomes easier with time. Trouble is it carried on getting easier and easier until it won't clip on any more. I have had this problem with every one I have had - with me it has taken 3-4 years before this has happened. I've had 45's which are as old as 35 years that have never suffered from this problem with more intensive use so I have to regard this as bad design.

I forgot to mention 45 nibs. Mostly they are fine on the newer pens but you do get one odd one which is scratchy and needs a bit of work. These nibs really ought to be returned to Parker - quality control should have picked them up.

I wonder if Parker would replace your Frontiers under the lifetime warranty? Though it seems new Parker pens now come with just a 2 year warranty, with a 2 year extension if one registers with them

I just ordered a flighter ST Frontier...Medium nib...just to see how these compare to the Vector, of which I'm a big fan. Might be a good new everyday pen.

I'm interested to see how Parker quality control is currently running...I've been pretty pleased with the Sonnets in my collection.

Mr. Smith, I love my Frontier "Flighter." It really is everything you need in a fountain pen, in my opinion. Compared to its ballpen counterpart, the fountain pen is very "traditional" looking. I remember one poster who commented that the pen rather resembles the old Parker VP, a bit like the "51" but with an exposed nib. The nib on my Frontier is stiff, but I find this suits my hand well and makes writing much "easier" for me. And it is quite smooth indeed, with just the right ink flow -- wet enough not to skip, but not so wet that you have to wait several minutes for the ink to dry, which is true of some of my wetter writers.

I have not used my Frontier long enough to experience the cap-loosening problem that Mr. Wood describes, so I cannot speak to this, but there must be something to this or he wouldn't report it. (I like Mr. Wood!) Since I rotate my pens so often, I'm not sure if I will ever experience this problem myself.

Just my two cents.

With the Frontier, the wear seems to be mostly on the the plastic section "snap ring" rather than the cap. The Vector certainly shows the same problem with time but I will be interested to see if the Profile (IM) suffers in the same way as the section is metal rather than plastic. Other "snap on cap" pens such as the Sheaffer Javelin also become very loose with time so its not just Parker. I like the Frontier really apart from this problem - its not something I expected to happen so quickly even in a cheap pen.

I have a Reflex M nib and it is very smooth. I have nothing to compalin about with a $7 pen with a very smooth nib. This was the pen that got me into collecting and using fps in the first place. Huh, that Frontier writing set looks odly similar to my Waterman Phileas "Fountain Pen writing set." Same fonts on the bottom and same box it appears. The only difference is the arrangement of the insert. It appears they actually spelled the name of the pen correctly in this one though. On my Phileas set, it says, "Philas" instead of Phileas. Is this a case of copying, or are Parker and Waterman owned by the same company?

Yup, Sanford is the parent company of both Parker and Waterman.

On a related note, Pendemonium is reporting that Parker will discontinue the Flighter version of the Frontier this month --- though I bet there's plenty of NOS floating around, at this time.

-Mike

Doesn't at least the Frontier writing set and I'm guessing the Phileas one as well originate when both companies were owned by Gillette (before Sanford bought them)?

I just got a steel ST Frontier, it's a very nice entry level pen. Much nicer than the plastic barreled Profile, which I also got from England. Nicer nib, even with the regular Medium. My only complaint is that it does not post very well. It is quite smooth and I would expect that the Flighter models get a little extra care.

Has anyone tried one of the 1.4 or 1.8 italic nibs that is available for the Frontier? I was thinking of ordering one from Pendemonium...

A really great knockaround pen. I wasn't sure if I'd like the soft-touch section but I do, it's comfortable. It probably won't wear as well as the smooth Sonnet section, tho.