Fountain Pen Review: Monteverde Invincia - Stealth Black (M Nib)

[nmcnick]

Monteverde Invincia - Stealth Black (M Nib) Review

 

 

To start this review off, keep in mind it is my first review; and as all reviews, is at least somewhat subjective.

 

Also, for perspective, I have used this and 4 other fountain pens, which are:

Pilot Varsity

Lamy Al-Star

Lamy Safari

Conklin Duragraph

 

and I have been using this pen for around 1 month.

 

Overall Appearance:

 

 

Measurements:

5.35" / 136mm long capped
5.30" / 134.7mm long uncapped
6.10" / 154mm long posted
1.10" / 28mm long nib

0.55" / 14mm body diameter

0.35" / 8.9mm grip diameter

1.40 oz/ 39g weight overall

 

Monteverde makes some amazing looking pens and this is no exception.

 

This pen is downright edgy. From it's shiny, reflective all black metal surface to the rounded style which makes it look sharp and artsy; this is a beautiful pen. Well.. chances are that it wouldn't be taken as a compliment it by saying it's "beautiful", so.. let's instead just say this.. it's a good looking pen.

 

I love the little details on this pen such as the Monteverde mountain etched into the nib, the rounded body which is dynamic and changes in girth frequently throughout the pen. Also, the logo on the top of the cap is a nice touch.

 

 

Pen Parts, Build & General Details

 

 

The pen cap screws on securely and takes about 2 rotations to pop off. In posting the pen, the cap just slides on securely and really feels sturdy and macho even in the way it does this. There are many things about this pen that just feel so edgy and make me feel as if I am the coolest person on the planet.

 

 

The grip of the pen is probably the biggest turn off for me. I have very large hands, but with the grip being skinny and having a pretty quick cut off to the body, combined with it being metal makes it a tough pen to hold for a long time at least for me. I prefer to hold my pens further back then most anyway, so maybe this is what causes the issue.

 

Adding to this, the clip is EXTREMELY tight, its hard to even slide onto a pocket. This isn't a huge deal for me since I never clip my pens, but it may be for you.

 

It has a standard international converter and cartridge filling mechanism. It comes with your standard run of the mill piston converter (standard international) and as such isn't remarkable but works as it should. I haven't encountered any problems with filling the Invincia. You are going to be getting 1.07ml of ink out of cartridges and 1.12 out of your converter. It should be noted that I used monteverde black ink which, once again, was a fairly standard black ink; very similar to noodler's black.

 

 

The nib is a #5 steel nib, which writes well. It surprised me to find this out as most outlets say it has a #6 nib. Whether it's a change in production or something else I'm not aware of, the important thing is it fits! I'll be getting more on the writing later, however. I chose the medium nib model and it fit fantastically for me. I cannot say how it compares to other mediums very well as this is my first medium nib, however, it seems to be a broad medium with some stub properties (some, very small but more on that later) which was a surprise to me. Not a lot more to say about it's structure! I think the black look was absolutely essential and having an all black pen just looks really sleek.

 

 

Writing

 

 

As mentioned above, the pen feels a little strenuous on my hands and eventually causes them to cramp up. However, aside from that, this pen is an excellent writer. It's incredibly balanced unposted, and when posted is ever-so-slightly back heavy. This is the first pen I can use either posted or unposted simply because I have such large hands and most pens aren't very large until you post them. This pen isn't huge, but the length mostly subsides in the body as opposed to the cap. It's got some weight to it and feels durable. I love the metal finish in looks.. but sometimes it can be a tad slippery in writing.

 

Putting the pen to the pad, this thing writes extremely smoothly. Its a really interesting writer and feels unlike anything else I've written with. It's smooth, with very very little feedback, but not at all glidy. It feels as if you are effortlessly carving into paper, like a butterknife into soft butter. That being said, It has a bit of a sweet spot. When you use it any way else other than right down the middle, it makes a very thin line and can feel a little scratchy. Using horizontal or diagonal lines result in a skinnier line because of this and therefore can produce really interesting results, resembling a tiny bit of a stub look, or so I've seen. Very interesting and fun nib to write with.

 

 

Overall, this is a pretty great pen. It has some issues, but I like the overall look and feel of this pen.

 

The all metal body with a black nib and nice writing comes to a pretty good conclusion for me.

 

Final Verdict: (7.8/10)

Edited January 28, 2016 by nmcnick

[Aysedasi]

I've just bought a yellow 'Le Mans' (obviously.... ) Invincia from Goldspot. I'd thought about buying one for some time as I'm a total Le Mans nut, but a special offer came through for a limited edition pen (run of 88) at a special price, so I took the plunge. It wasn't cheap once I'd factored in the shipping across the pond and then I got stung for UK import duty. Not a good start.

 

The 'limited edition' nature of the pen seems to be just a different outer box (the actual box is standard Monteverde) plus a limited edition legend and no 20/88 in small script at the top of the cap. That was the first disappointment. I asked (obviously) for #24. I guess that was too popular.

 

I'm hugely disappointed with the pen. It has all the feel of a cheap brass bodied Chinese pen. The coating over the carbon fibre effect on the barrel is poorly finished and is almost lifting at the end of the barrel. But the biggest disappointment is the horrible nib. I ordered broad (which I assume I got as that's what it says on the box) but it's barely a medium to me. And it writes like a scratchy nail. I'm fine with nail nibs as I hate flex, but this nib is one of the worst new nibs I've ever experienced. Within 20 minutes I'd replaced it with one of my Knox dual colour OBs, so at least it writes properly now.

 

All in all, a massive disappointment.

[nmcnick]

I've just bought a yellow 'Le Mans' (obviously.... ) Invincia from Goldspot. I'd thought about buying one for some time as I'm a total Le Mans nut, but a special offer came through for a limited edition pen (run of 88) at a special price, so I took the plunge. It wasn't cheap once I'd factored in the shipping across the pond and then I got stung for UK import duty. Not a good start.

 

The 'limited edition' nature of the pen seems to be just a different outer box (the actual box is standard Monteverde) plus a limited edition legend and no 20/88 in small script at the top of the cap. That was the first disappointment. I asked (obviously) for #24. I guess that was too popular.

 

I'm hugely disappointed with the pen. It has all the feel of a cheap brass bodied Chinese pen. The coating over the carbon fibre effect on the barrel is poorly finished and is almost lifting at the end of the barrel. But the biggest disappointment is the horrible nib. I ordered broad (which I assume I got as that's what it says on the box) but it's barely a medium to me. And it writes like a scratchy nail. I'm fine with nail nibs as I hate flex, but this nib is one of the worst new nibs I've ever experienced. Within 20 minutes I'd replaced it with one of my Knox dual colour OBs, so at least it writes properly now.

 

All in all, a massive disappointment.

 

Yup, I don't blame you! Having now used tons more nibs, in particular steel nibs, I can say the nib I received performed fairly poorly. I sent it to Pendleton Brown because I hated it so much and turned it into a BLS stub. I then realized my hand fatigued when using the skinny little section on this pen. I transferred the nib into my Laban Mento and have no complaints since. If I were to re-review this pen, I'd give it a 4/10 or so. It's honestly of fairly poor construction and with only miniscule use, mine started to flake and chip within a couple months and I am not hard on my pens in the slightest.

[rockydoggy]

A belated add to this thread. A friend gifted me a Monteverde Impressa with a black stealth finish--the nib looks identical to the one on this Invincia. It's not a pen I would've purchased for myself given the reports of problems with Monteverde quality control, but it's the thought that counts. Unfortunately, I was barely halfway through its first fill (MB Racing Green) when I noticed that the coating was flaking off the nib. I had low expectations for the pen, but I can't believe that this problem arose so fast. Thankfully, my generous friend saved the receipt--I hope I can get store-credit when I return the pen.

[Honeybadgers]

I really liked my brass one. For like 15 minutes. Then the black started flaking off of every single black coated surface.

 

Then I got a replacement. It did too.

 

Then the replacement for that one did. Thank god Yafa's customer service is good (really exceptional, Clara at Yafa is very, very easy to work with)

 

They replaced it with an invincia deluxe (a more expensive pen) with chrome furniture and I've had no problem. The only things I dislike about the deluxe are the slippery section for my greasy fingers, and the regular invincia posts, the deluxe does not.

Edited March 26, 2019 by Honeybadgers

[1nkulus]

I really liked my brass one. For like 15 minutes. Then the black started flaking off of every single black coated surface.

 

I had noticed that on the tester pen when I had gone looking for a reasonably priced pen a while back.

Haven't bothered with the brand although I do remember gifting the Allura from the Regatta series.

 

The ink cartridges have been handy in a few sticky situations. Nice colour range.

Edited March 29, 2019 by 1nkulus

[Honeybadgers]

I recommend staying away from any monteverde with black coated metal, there seems to be a 99% chance of it flaking. Also avoid the monza, it's a cheap, hateful, 2000% marked up jinhao 992.

 

Other than that, however, I'm not really a downer on the brand. I adore their inks and their customer service is outstanding.

[1nkulus]

Also avoid the monza, it's a cheap, hateful, 2000% marked up jinhao 992.

 

No need to be awfully honest.

 

I considered the flaking aspect and hence decided to go with the Allura on that occasion. The pen AFAIK is still in use without any issue.

If I had overlooked the flaking on the tester, I probably would have bought it for the looks. Style over substance.

 

My only interaction with the brand now are the cartridges, used as a backup.

[Honeybadgers]

Their bottled ink is definitely one of the best deals out there. Fireopal is my favorite orange (it sheens silver somehow) and horizon blue gets a ton of use.

[1nkulus]

Their bottled ink is definitely one of the best deals out there. Fireopal is my favorite orange (it sheens silver somehow) and horizon blue gets a ton of use.

 

I shall give them a try, but there seems to be an issue with Fire Opal.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/345017-monteverde-fire-opal-nib-crud-again/

 

OTOH, the Mulberry and Rose from the Noir series didn't turn out to be special when I tried them.

[RoSpectre]

I got a bottle of black ash ink (their basic black I think) as a freebie with a pen and it has been great. Their ITF technology may just be in part some marketing voodoo but the ink did give really good cap-off time as advertised... it was in a #6 nib with no breather hole, but even after sitting for 15 minutes with the cap off the pen only missed half a letter before writing normally again.

[ENewton]

My Monteverde Invincia Deluxe is, of all my pens, the only one I regret buying.

 

The black paint on the nib has not flaked off, but the rose gold paint on the grip started pitting within a few weeks of light use.

 

The nib is a 1.1 stub and notably dry. It has the distinction of being the hardest nib of any pen in my collection. It reminds me strongly of a garden trowel.

[DaveBj]

I have had one for several years. I haven't noticed a flaking problem with the finish, except on the cap threads, where one should be surprised if the black actually stayed on. The nib is a nail; I've made it my go-to pen for writing checks with carbonless copies.

 

My big problem with this pen is that it is maybe the hardest starting pen that I own. If I let it sit for more than a few hours (nip up or down, doesn't matter), I have to do a water prime, or actually force ink down into the feed to get it to start writing. Also, solids from the ink collect on the nib while it is sitting unused. Once it gets going, it writes okay, not the smoothest pen in my collection, but it is okay.