Parker Esprit, Black, M nib

April 11, 2010

With the very good antecedent of the Parker Urban I went for a more expensive Parker, the Esprit.

First Impressions 3/5

The pen arrived on a plastic enclosure with a triangular based prism. The box screams make-up or perfume. Inside was the pen with two cartridges, smaller than normal.

Appearance & Design 8/10

The pen is quite short but that is solved by the telescopic feature that extends the length by a full 18 mm. The body is black with a semi matte finish. Not as shiny as a Pelikan M215 nor as matte as the Parker Urban. The chromed parts are very well defined with no defects at all. On the barrel, there is a logo and the Parker name on white lettering. The telescopic mechanism is of one element only and is made of plastic with a slightly less shiny finish. In all the appearance is even a bit boring with nothing special at first sight.

The cap clicks on and off.

Construction & Quality 9/10

As the Urban the build quality is quite good and solid.

Weight & Dimensions 9/10

The pen dimensions are as follows:-

Overall Length Capped = 114 mm

Length Uncapped = 117 mm (extended), 99 mm (collapsed)

Length Posted = 155 mm (extended), 137 mm (collapsed)

Maximum Cap Diameter = 12 mm

Maximum Barrel diameter = 10 mm approx.

This pen is about the same weight as the Pelikan M215.

Nib & Performance 9/10

This is the pen strongest point. The nib is steel, M and writes finer than the M nib on the Urban (and a bit thicker than Lamy Al-Star Fine), It is smoother than Pelikan M215 Fine. This was a real surprise. The weight is just right and the length, when extended and capped, is about 5 mm longer than the Pelikan M215. I was afraid that the pen would turn out to be too narrow to grip comfortably or too short but when extended these features are quite similar to normal lenght pens.

Filling system & Maintenance 8/10

The pen uses mini cartridges.

Cost & Value 9/10

I bought it from 'kphil75' on ebay for US$34.00 with free international shipping to Mexico form Greece in March 2010. It took 2 weeks to arrive. I expected a good quality pen and I was no disappointed. In fact, the smoothness of the nib was a very welcome surprise.

Conclusion 9/10

A very portable pen as its short size makes it ideal for carrying it inside a journal or notebook but when extended it is a full size, full weight, standard thickness pen to write.