Lamy Safari: Bargain Brilliance Or Ugly Utility

[StyloBug33]

I really enjoy the Lamy Safari and All-Star pens.

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/k526/stylobug33/Pens%20Etc%20Feb%202012/350E3527-A833-4A44-BFEA-4E39548FCBF5-1737-000000F0929200EA_zps65fb523f.jpg

[saskia_madding]

Me too, looking forward to getting my first TWSBI...neet to star saving for that too, how do you people afford this hobby?

 

No spouse. No kids. Reclassify foreclosure letters as "junk mail".

 

 

Hahahahaha! I totally agree with this.

 

 

I'm glad the OP got a Vista. I've had one for years, one of my first starter pens. I recently decided it was too grungy and old, and stuff was starting to clog in the feed (I wasn't too careful with my pens when I was 12!!). It was the moment I had to decide whether it was even worth replacing, considering the other, fancier pens I now own.

 

After a few weeks of thought, I decided I missed the nibs (one F and one 1.1) - so smooth and totally reliable. So I ended up buying a replacement and putting the old nibs on the new pen. It's been inked ever since.

[requiescat]

I find the Safari uncomfortable, sadly, but I adore looking at photos of them, especially in colorful unicorn herds.

[gmrza]

I've only used a Safari for a couple of weeks, and I must say, it's a great pen for the price. The design isn't for everybody, but when it comes to a focus on utility and durability, Lamy has got it down. I vote for Bargain Brilliance

 

For those who like the way the Safari writes, but don't like its aesthetics, there is also always the Studio - although the weight and balance of the Studio are rather different, it uses the same nibs and I suspect the feed is the same if not similar.

 

 

 

[nastyandy]

Personally, I find the Lamy Safari to be among the fugliest of pens. I've seen people on here make comments like "if you don't understand/like Bauhaus design, blah blah blah. . ." However, I very much like and appreciate Bauhaus design, lines, and use of shape and form. One of my watches was designed by Hannes Wettstein.

I do like the Lamy 2000, in fact. I hate the loud LAMY lettering on the barrel. The pen, to me, looks like something designed by Oakley.

 

All that said, I've only tested the Safari out once on a store. It wrote well, although i have no idea in the world what the hype is all about. it did appear more robust in person than what I expected from seeing it online. I can't say it's a ripoff for $25, but for me, there are a hundred other pens I'd rather spend that money on. I think anyone would be better off with a Parker Vector (just my opinion. . .last time I posted my opinion on Lamy, I was accused of 'denigrating' other forum members.)

[Craig Forsyth]

. . .last time I posted my opinion on Lamy, I was accused of 'denigrating' other forum members.)

 

You'll get no such accusations from me. In my view, everyone's entitled to their opinion. When I first saw the Safari, I couldn't stand that clip but since I noticed the Vista, it's really grown on me.

[picautomaton]

Good quality pen with a reasonable price. Brilliant Utility

[NedC]

Good quality pen with a reasonable price. Brilliant Utility

 

And colourfully fun or soberly stealthy

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

As much as I have never owned a Lamy Safari, Vista, or Al-star (although I have seen many), I have to say that they are well made pens. One of the things I really like is that replacement nibs are always readily available and easy to change. While they shouldn't be swapped out all the time, they are certainly easy to change. At least a few people I know think they are nice looking. I'm neutral on that subject, but I don't think they are ugly.

 

Dillon

[Harlequin]

The angular section, I can see how that is something a lot of people may overlook if they don't like it. But the clip reminds me too much of a giant paper clip. That and as another person posted, the LAMY on the side is very obnoxious.

[Craig Forsyth]

Have now received my new Vista which is inked (with Diamine Havasu Turquoise) and in use. Some quick pics, though I’m sure you all know what one looks like.

[Shutterbug57]

Lamy Safari pens are: 1) butt ugly, 2) stone reliable & 3) dirt cheap - I have 5 Safari fountain pens (blue, red, yellow, aluminum & 2012 LE Apple Green), 3 ballpoints (red, blue & yellow) and 1 pencil (aluminum). I have nibs from medium to broad to 1.5 stub. All the pens except for the 2012 have black clips, accents and nibs.

 

They are great for those times you just don't want to take a $3,000 pen and risk banging it up. The nibs are a bit stiff for my liking, but they write every time and never complain. I have converters in all my Safari FPs and have never had an issue with them writing. I have never tried a cart in the pens as I have tons of bottled ink. My only complaint is that they did not make a pencil in the 2012 LE Apple Green. I am not sure why I bought the ballpoints as I have never used them.

Edited March 6, 2013 by Shutterbug57

[Ecriveur]

I have a red Safari and a few charcoal color. What I like about them is that they write well and they're sturdy.

 

As for esthetics, they look like a pen you can carry around in the pocket of your jeans. That's not necessarily good or bad, just that it's appropriate for certain situations. It's fine if you're a freshman hanging out at the campus library. It's not the pen you're going to use when you're the CEO signing a contract.

[lurker]

I use my Safari when I want to use a fountain pen but don't want to come off as pretentious.

[dogpoet]

I think anyone would be better off with a Parker Vector...

I was with you until this bit.

My own suspicion is that a lot of the fuss over the Safari is down to it looking vastly better than a mediocre but fairly solid school pen when compared to the similarly priced and badly designed Vector, as it doesn't look half as good when compared to the Frontier, or other pens at that price point like the Kaweco sport and Scheider Base.

[madzaxmax]

I got my first Safari recently for less than INR 1200. That is a bargain.

 

I am not floored by its looks or performance. Its OK. Good writer, good design.

[Craig Forsyth]

I've now had my Vista for a month and can say with honesty that it's a fantastic little pen. Starts every time, never skips and is as smooth as butter. So glad I took the leap (not that it's much of a leap at around £10) and I'm going out today to buy my wife a Safari as a present from her little boy for Mothers' Day.

[olivier78860]

In France, this pen costs 20€. Waterman school pens, either the plastic Kultur (which can easily be converted to eye dropper and costs 7-10€) or the (I'll never know the name) metallic pen (10-12€) give a better price/cost of use ratio.

 

So I don't really get the fuss about the Safari, especially since the line's thickness is far more important than on the above-quoted pens, which means far more ink-consuming.

I have two of them, a black one and a transparent one, both in M nib, and those are real ink eaters. The nibs are ok but not more than this, and the hole in the middle of the barrel makes it impossible to convert to an eye-dropper. For these reasons, I prefer my Waterman Kultur a lot.

 

It would be a very good pen for 5-10€ (because it's not worth more: if Waterman can sell their made in France Kultur for 7-10€, I guess Lamy should be able to do it too), but at 20€, plus a 7,5€ converter (because proprietary cartridges are very expensive), I don't see where the good deal is.

 

This said, it writes ok, it has one-of-a-kind shape, and it's a fountain pen (at least those who buy it don't use ball points or gel pens), so I'm all for it.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I became a collector and fan. Will be blogging about this later today, motivated by the arrival of my new LE AlStar in Pearl. Which is really Champagne.

[chris.hale]

I recently bought a Lamy Vista and I'm very pleased with it. I'm not a big fan of the looks of the Safari, but I do really like the Vista and Al-Star. It was a very dry writer at first, but a bit of nib tweaking sorted that and now it writes beautifully. It's comfortable and very smooth, and is on my desk as we speak loaded with Herbin Eclat de Saphir. I'm voting for bargain brilliance.

 

My other favourite pens are the Lamy 2000 and the Rotring 600, I'm a fan of stark Germanic designs.