Lamy Vista For Taking Notes In High School?

[John12]

so i'm thinking about getting a fountain pen for high school. i really like the pilot g2 (rollerball), and i thought that if fp's are smoother why not give them a try

 

i've settled on getting the lamy safari vista fine point:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Vista-Fountain-Demonstrator-L12F/dp/B0002T405A/ref=lh_ni_t

 

i will be using just regular college-ruled lined filler paper....the stuff that costs like a dollar for 100 sheets

 

the thing is, whenever i read about these fp's, people seem to always be using some really high quality paper like rhodia and clairevosalskdfjasdf...??

theres no way i will buy that type of stuff, as i take LOTS of notes and stapled books of 48 sheets for $5 is just waay overpriced for simply high school notetaking

 

 

so my two main questions are, is the lamy vista a good pen for a first fountain pen? and would it be a satisfactory experience to use it with regular cheap lined paper (b/c i've heard of feathering and that stuff and i'd rather that not happen)?

 

 

thanks in advance

 

 

 

ps. are there inks that you guys suggest? i'm looking for dark blue or black inks. i will be using a converter so bottled inks are preferred (they're cheaper if i'm correct)

[Alohamora]

is the lamy vista a good pen for a first fountain pen?

 

YES, I often use a fine point Vista or Safari for note-taking at work, I think it's great.

 

and would it be a satisfactory experience to use it with regular cheap lined paper (b/c i've heard of feathering and that stuff and i'd rather that not happen)?

 

Feathering and bleed through depend very much on the ink. The fine nib on a Vista will get along well with a wide variety of inks.

[coleam]

I've found that cheap lined paper is actually decent with fountain pen ink. Very little feathering or bleeding.

[cnjackson]

so i'm thinking about getting a fountain pen for high school. i really like the pilot g2 (rollerball), and i thought that if fp's are smoother why not give them a try

 

i've settled on getting the lamy safari vista fine point:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Lamy-Vista-Fountain-Demonstrator-L12F/dp/B0002T405A/ref=lh_ni_t

 

i will be using just regular college-ruled lined filler paper....the stuff that costs like a dollar for 100 sheets

 

the thing is, whenever i read about these fp's, people seem to always be using some really high quality paper like rhodia and clairevosalskdfjasdf...??

theres no way i will buy that type of stuff, as i take LOTS of notes and stapled books of 48 sheets for $5 is just waay overpriced for simply high school notetaking

 

 

so my two main questions are, is the lamy vista a good pen for a first fountain pen? and would it be a satisfactory experience to use it with regular cheap lined paper (b/c i've heard of feathering and that stuff and i'd rather that not happen)?

 

 

thanks in advance

 

 

 

ps. are there inks that you guys suggest? i'm looking for dark blue or black inks. i will be using a converter so bottled inks are preferred (they're cheaper if i'm correct)

 

 

Welcome to fpn!

 

I think a vista would be a great pen for note taking. As for the paper, I actually like the way the vista (or safari) writes on more absorbent loose leaf paper. And, to be honest, I wouldn't worry too much about feathering. Even if it happens, for your notes it might not be a big deal.

 

One more thing about paper: different loose leaf papers will respond differently to your pen, ink, and nib, so you might experiment a bit, even without going up to more expensive papers like clairefontaine, etc.

 

Let us know what you decide to do!

 

Chris

[John12]

awesome thanks for the quick replies

 

any inks you guys suggest (dark blue or black)? i was thinking of going with diamine but i have no idea. diamine registrar's seemed pretty cool b/c it changes colors (lul) but apparently noodlers bp black and r&k salix blue is also good? i've heard the iron gall type inks are best for permanent writing that doesn't smudge very well and that doesn't feather much....

 

but yea, im 99% sure im getting the vista as its only $18

[wallylynn]

I use my Lamy Vista (F) to do newspaper crosswords. All you need is a light touch. Avoid really fancy ink for now. Something simple like Noodler's bulletproof black, or Lamy ink should work well.

[Gojira]

You might want to consider a decent ink that doesn't feather or bleedthrough easily. Noodler's Bulletproof black seems like a good choice although I don't have much experience with it. Pelikan Black is very good as well and is quite water-resistant. Goulet Pens now have their own exclusive Noodler's Liberty's Elysium, which looks like a nice brilliant blue with bulletproof qualities. I'm assuming you'd prefer an ink that can withstand the rigours of high school life.

 

The Lamy Vista or Safari with a fine nib is a great choice for school. I must point out that it has a great clip that seems to be able to clip onto anything, perfect for the busy, on-the-go student.

[jasonditz]

I use virtually nothing but cheap paper and I've never had a problem.

[vacation]

A less saturated ink will probably feather and bleed less on cheap paper.

Lamy Blue will probably work well.

You could also try Waterman Mysterious Blue, Serinity Blue, Black

Montblanc Royal Blue is looks good on cheap paper.

[tonybelding]

I think you are on the right track. The fine point Safari and a bottle of Noodler's Black ink should be a great combination for your needs.

 

You will need to buy a converter, as the Safari does not come with one.

 

Also.... I am not sure I would buy from Amazon. It's always possible to get a defective pen, and I'd rather buy from a seller who I know will take care of any problems -- even if the price is a little higher. (Goulet and ISellPens.com are a couple that I trust.) I especially will never buy bottled ink from Amazon. They have no concept of packaging it to prevent leaking and breakage.

[arkgray]

I have had pretty good luck with the eco paper from Staples. Some of my pads feather less than others, but you can find them pretty cheap on sale. I used them all this year at seminary to take notes.

[cnjackson]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet--but make sure you order a converter, too: as I recall, Lamy does NOT include these with their pens. Without it, you won't be able to use bottled ink. (I seem to recall that isellpens.com includes a free converter--though the pen itself will be a bit more expensive.)

 

As for inks: I really like Diamine: their inks are wet and come out of my Vista beautifully.

[jeff77789]

if you buy them from isellpens.com they come with a free converter!

 

http://isellpens.com/lamy.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....then again if you get them from amazon they might be cheaper

Edited May 25, 2012 by jeff77789

[lovementos]

I used to take down notes with an F nibbed Lamy Vista and used the blue cartridge that came with it. I wrote on cheap lined paper, and it was fine. No feathering or anything terrible. I've purchased more fountain pens since then, but it's still one of my favourites

 

As for inks, I didn't ink it with any black or blue-black ink, only with Pilot Iroshizuku Murasaki Shikibu, but I've been using Parker Quink for a while now, and it's been great so far (and cheap).

 

That reminds me, I had to buy my own converter, but you can always refill cartridges with a syringe.

[airborne18th]

I use my lamy with lamy blue ink with the cheap composition books and the eco-notes composition books ( I like the eco better, but they are overpriced ). Generally with few problems as long as you let the fountain pen glide across the paper.. if you stop and rest the nib on the paper, it will bleed, and if you carve the letters into the paper like it was a ballpoint pen you will see bleeding..

 

You might want to go with an extra-fine nib. I have both EF and Fine, and either would be fine with lamy ink, the EF will do better with other inks which might run very wet in the lamy pen.

[P.A.R.]

Diamine and Noodler's are both excellent brands in general - Noodler's Bulletproof Black is an awesome all purpose ink that performs well and reliably in all of the pens I've used it in. They are about the same price, and are two of the least expensive per volume inks if I'm not mistaken - always look at volume when you are buying ink; a bottle will last you a long time with an EF or F nib. Don't be put off by the larger cost per bottle, because they *are* larger bottles.

 

You might try Staples Sustainable Earth filler paper: http://www.staples.com/Sustainable-Earth-by-Staples-Filler-Paper/product_344113

 

Excellent bleedthrough and showthrough resistance, smooth, fast drying with many inks, nice looking off white color and brown ruling, and almost the same price as the filler paper you mentioned you're using now ($5 for 200 sheets.)

 

AND LOOK! It's on sale online for $3/200 sheets and ships free to a nearby store! I'm going to have to order some.

[keepitfresh]

I'm in high school and I use my Vista for notes all the time. It's such a low profile fountain pen, that it isn't too obvious you're using a fp. Plus, since it's a demonstrator, you know how much ink you have at all times!

I use Noodler's Black and it has yet to bleed through my regular looseleaf and such. Plus, the fact that it's waterproof is an awesome add-on!

[professionaldilettante]

I would go with the finest nib you could find and use comfortably because you never know what paper you may come across. Either that, or bring a pencil/rollerball for those unfortunate incidences.

[MaikeruS]

The Lamy Safari/Vista line is excellent for school use IMHO because of the low price, their (general) nib quality and how resilient the pens themselves are.

 

$25-35 or so per pen with a converter is great value, especially with their nibs, which for me have been of impeccable quality apart from the extra-fine being slightly broader than expected. Being made of ABS plastic, they're pretty much bomb-proof and mine have survived everything three months of university could throw at them.

 

Bleeding or feathering is not a problem with the Safaris with Fine to Extra-fine nibs, particularly so if one uses well behaved inks like Lamy Blue (great bottle as well) or Noodler's Black. Even on the cheapest of copy paper, my finest-nibbed Safari has never feathered when using Lamy Blue or Blue-Black. I'd stay clear of some wetter inks such as most J. Herbin inks though, as these tend to feather more.

[Ailish]

The Vista is a great pen. I use one on a daily basis (I'm in graduate school) and I used a Safari throughout secondary school.

As for the ink suggestions, I use Diamine Twilight in both of my pens; the Vista had a broad nib (forgot that you actually had a nib choice when I bought it, but now I am very attached to it) and my Safari used to have a medium nib, but I recently switched it out to an EF nib.

That is something you might want to keep in mind: the nibs can be changed very, very easily. So if your fine nib doesn't work for you after all, there'sno need to buy an entire new pen. Brian Goulet has an excellent video on his website.

Also: I find that cheap ruled notebooks show more feathering and bleedthrough than cheap loose leaf ruled paper, the kind that you put in a binder and it comes with holes punched, but not in an actual notebook. Don't know why.