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This review covers the Elite 95S(FES-1MM-DR-M). On the 95th anniversary of Pilot, they have reintroduced the long discontinued Elite long-short model. The USP of this model is the short capped size of the pen which can easily fit in a small shirt pocket, the cap when posted makes the pen as long as a regular fountain pen thus the functionality and ergonomics is not compromised. The 95S is available in two finishes, all black and one with deep red resin and a pearly steel cap. I went for the latter and this review will document this model. Troglokev in his excellent review has already covered the all black 95S. The pen came in the standard Pilot box, sealed in the usual polyethene sleeve and tags etc. Pilot has wisely not attached any nib width stickers which can be difficult sometimes to remove cleanly. http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8707.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8709.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8710.jpg Freed from captivity: http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8711.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8712.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8713.jpg I purchased the pen from a different source this time, and this is the first time i have got this card, I believe this is a guarantee card? Any help on this will be appreciated: http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8714.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8715.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8716.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8718.jpg The pen arrived this Monday. I quickly took some pictures. On Tuesday early morning, I had to fly to another city to attend a review meeting, I decided to take the new arrival along as the sole writing implement, the pen saw some intensive use on Tuesday and Wednesday, I have taken rest of the pics today: http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8724.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8725.jpg Loaded with a Pilot black cartridge http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8726.jpg The 95S features the really superb inset nib. Pilot is one of the few companies that have the expertise to offer such nibs and the 95S has been given this nib. The original pens had the thumbnail nibs and some had the inset nibs also as can be seen in this excellent blog post. Comparing this pen to a 70's Silvern Crane: http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8731.jpg Not a very small pen, The nibs: http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8733.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8735.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8737.jpg The Silvern's inset nib is quite large as compared to the 95S. The feeders(the feeder is totally enclosed inside the shell on the silvern pens): http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8738.jpg The clip is spring loaded, a very good job: http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8739.jpg Vintage type PILOT marking on the clip http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8740.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8741.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8743.jpg I fortunately can write comfortably with any size of pen and have a collection of pens in all sizes. The Elite compared to some well known small pens: http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8728.jpg L-R:Elite, Pelikan M320 Ruby, MB Mozart, English Parker Lady, Omas Extra: The small pens posted, can be revealing: http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8730.jpg Comparing with the Pilot custom 74: http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8744.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8745.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8747.jpg http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn307/hari-b/PilotElite95S/IMG_8749.jpg The girth at the gripping point is very similar, I like the long smooth tapered section on the 95S, the threads are somewhat sharp on the 74 and come where I grip the pen, the 742 has a slightly longer section that helps me a lot. That is the reason I have many more 742s than the 74. Writing: The pen is a flawless writer, the moment I popped in the cartridge, I knew I could trust it to take it along as the single pen for the trip. Very smooth, even flow. The nib is soft, a very nice nib. The pen is very comfortable to be used when posted as you can see the pen is nearly full sized when posted. Cost: This is the best part. even though this is a 95th anniversary reissue, Pilot has priced this pen with a 14K solid gold nib at just 10,500JPY MSRP. I think this is unmatchable by any other company outside of Japan, this is what full in-house manufacturing and continued conservation of expertise can achieve. After 30% discount and including EMS shipping to India, I paid just around 83USD. Tremendous value. I bought this from a new pen vendor in Tokyo and I think they are going to get some good custom from me in the coming days. I highly recommended this pen, very happy with it. I think the 5000 pens production(read it somewhere that the 95S will be 5000 pieces) will be sold out very soon. I hope you find this review and comparisons useful. Cheers! Hari