Aurora Ipsilon With Factory Italic 1.2

[visvamitra]

At first glance, Aurora Ipsilon looks rather interesting. I believe this pen would stand out in a pile of other popular models. The lines are nice and smooth and the cap is quite unique. I don't necessarily like the design but it's rather characteristic. As most Aurora pens, Ipsilon is made in Italy. I bought this particular pen because I was interested in trying Aurora italic nib and it was the cheapest way to do so.

 

The pen comes in an elegant box.

 

 

 

I'm not crazy about Ipsilon design. It's nice interpretation of the classic torpedo shape but for me something fells a bit off. Maybe it's the fact that barrel finish is flat and cap end is rounded? I still haven't figured it out.

 

 

 

 

The pen is made of blue plastic. The cap is oblong and supported by steel ring stamped with ITALY name. The cap works very well and posts with audible and satisfying snap. It can be posted if that's your preference, although it shows tendency to slip off, especially if you move the pen a lot. The clip is Y shaped and functions well. On the other hand as you can see on the photo the finish isn't perfect. A bit of lacquer was placed on the clip.

 

The band around the middle reads "AURORA" and "ITALY." That's about the only branding on this pen so the design can be described as clean.

 

Nib

 

 

(Monteverde Charoite on Discovery 70 mgsm copy paper)

 

 

Aurora nibs are made in-house by Aurora. The ones I tried so far were more than decent. The italic is about a 1.2mm and it's crisp. It's toothier than Bock or JoWo italics most of us are used to. I like this nib but if you look for smoothest italic ever, look elsewhere. You have to find good angle in order to fully enjoy writing.

 

Filling system

 

 

The pen comes with Aurora Blue cartridge and converter. Nothing fancy. Everything works just fine and is easy to clean and functional.

 

Dimensions

Capped – 134mm
Uncapped – 116mm

 

The pen is rather light. Too light for me to be honest. I prefer heavier pens and lack of more significant weight in Ipsilon irritates me. It's almost as if I didn't have anything in the hand. I'm not a poster though. Posting the cap would definitely add some heft to the pen.

 

The size of this pen is just right, I guess but again - I prefer bigger pens. This one is just too small for me. Chances that you'll experience any hand fatigue with this one are very small and that's a plus.

 

 

Summary

I think Ipsilon is a decent pen. It's not crazily expensive and golden italic nib is a joy to use once you figure out the right angle. Sadly, the pen is just too small and too light for me. If you prefer bigger and heavier pens chances are you won't enjoy this one. If however you look for a stylish and light fountain pen this one is worth considering.

[usk15]

Good review, sounds about fair.

 

Note about the clip: your model is called "De Luxe" with the painted portion of the clip. I have a BP in matte blue with the whole clip being silver, a standard model.

 

[fjoly79]

this is a great, honest review. I like what you mentioned in your last paragraph:

"If you prefer bigger and heavier pens chances are you won't enjoy this one. If however you look for a stylish and light fountain pen this one is worth considering.".

​You guide the reader to factual, clear conclusions!

​Personally I like heavier pens so thanks to you, I will not go for this one!

[Ghost Plane]

Love the nibs, dislike the pen designs. We are as one.

[fabri00]

As most Aurora pens, Ipsilon is made in Italy.

All the Aurora I've seen till today are made in Italy.

Nice review, and I also do not like completely this pen.

[visvamitra]

I wonder if this model has die-hard fans who collect all versions? They offer it in wide variety of finishes so I guess it has to get some love somewhere

[Barkingpig]

Thank you for your review. I had no idea the Ipsilon was available with a 14kt nib; I had usually seen them with stainless steel nibs @ about $100.00. A quick look @ my bookmarked US sites showed them available around $200, which indeed seems reasonable for the "Deluxe" edition & gold nib. At only $20.00 more than the most expensive DuoCart, I can see why these could be popular choices.

 

I have no desire to enter the discussion about the "size" of the Aurora's, another thread has covered it well! I do know my only Aurora, the Africa has a nice weight & an equally nice Italic nib. The price of the other Auroras has just seemed more than I wanted to pay for other models. I can see how this pen could be a nice introduction to the Aurora Brand.

 

As always you give a very balanced & fair assessment of the pen.

[visvamitra]

Thanks. Yes, it's a bit more expensive than DuoCart. I think it would be cool to have this kind of nib in their Talentum model which is quite heavy and feels solid in the hand.

[Ichiro]

Happened to coincidentally solve the weight issue when my Ipsilon broke. I swapped nib unit into a Monteverde Invincia

[GutSchrift]

Love the nibs, dislike the pen designs. We are as one.

The ipsilon or all of the Aurora models?

[Gracie]

Jumping in late here, but I'm wondering if anyone has compared the Ipsilon italic nib with the Optima italic nib, or are they the same?

[Ghost Plane]

The ipsilon or all of the Aurora models?

 

All but the bigger silver anniversary model are too short for my taste.

[gerigo]

Jumping in late here, but I'm wondering if anyone has compared the Ipsilon italic nib with the Optima italic nib, or are they the same?

Nope completely 2 different nibs. Aurora uses 2 nibs, the bigger no. 6 nibs that are on their Optima, 88 and Talentum. They are either 18k or 14 k depending on the limited nature of the production. The smaller pens such as the Ipsilon uses their smaller no 5(?) nib.

[Ichiro]

Nope completely 2 different nibs. Aurora uses 2 nibs, the bigger no. 6 nibs that are on their Optima, 88 and Talentum. They are either 18k or 14 k depending on the limited nature of the production. The smaller pens such as the Ipsilon uses their smaller no 5(?) nib.

Its even smaller than a Jowo 5. Proprietary sized I guess. My goal is to find a cheap piston demonstrator to fit the Ipsilon italic in. Tried it in a WS 698 which fits a Jowo #5 but the nib was too small. Might have to carve down a rubber feed

[Gracie]

I have an Ipsilon gold italic but there is no marking on the back of the nib to identify it. It is a nice nib to use, and can write nicely delineated italic writing when held on the right angle, and bold italic printing straight on.