Overlooked Pilot- Lucina Vs. Ecrino

November 17, 2010

Hello all I will first start out by saying this is my first time doing this on a pen, so bear with me.

First we have the Pilot Lucina in black with gold trim and fine nib, then we have the Pilot Ecrino in black with gold trim and fine nib. Visually they look pretty close and could pass for twins at first second and third glance. Placed below the Pilot 91 they are only about 5mm shorter and 3 grams lighter.

http://home.ptd.net/~farseer/3pens.jpg

When you take the caps off, once again you can notice a surprising closeness to each other. in both length and appearance. while slightly smaller than the 91 or 74 it is a barely noticeable difference. The Lucina and the Ecrino share the same threading on the cap and the caps are interchangeable as well as the grip sections.

http://home.ptd.net/~farseer/3pens2.jpg

The nib size is the same as the 91 (and 74), although they are gold plated. The only difference I can see in them is the engraving. other than that they are the same. As you may notice even the banding is the same. The ecrino was filled prior to this review with noodlers HOD.

http://home.ptd.net/~farseer/3pens3.jpg

The cap, they are both the same length and girth and weight. They are interchangeable on either body. There are two noticeable differences. the Cigar wrapper on the Lucina is more dome like and slightly thicker than the one on the Ecrino, and clip on the Lucina has the pilot name imprinted on it. Only now looking at the phot the clip on the Lucina seems to be longer, but I only notice it when it blown up larger than life....

http://home.ptd.net/~farseer/3pens4.jpg

When loaded with the same in, on Rhodia paper, they both laid down a very nice and controlled fine line. There was no flex and little line variation in the fine line and both produced, I would say exactly the same line, and felt exactly the same way when writing. I wrote with a pilot medium Italic below it to illustrate the difference. Pardon my handwriting it was to illustrate everyday writing and speed, not a controlled hand, speed and stroke. This is how I take notes quick and no pauses while writing.

http://home.ptd.net/~farseer/3penswriting.jpg

Over all the Lucina runs around $70 imported, so no warranty. The Ecrino I picked up for about $35 (I actually have 4 of them) and comes with a 3 year US warranty (and I have used it when the cap broke on one of them). The Pilot 91 runs about $115 and has the bells and whistles.

I think the Ecrino is one of the most underrated pens on the market today, and if you can find them is a $35 savings over the Lucina for basically the same pen.

November 17, 2010

I think the Ecrino is one of the most underrated pens on the market today, and if you can find them is a $35 savings over the Lucina for basically the same pen.

That is very good information to have, thanks for the comparison.