Hero 368 Review

[beizhia]

Looking around ebay for Chinese pens one day, and I saw this really interesting looking Safari-ish pen. Its kinda a Safari clone, but also a little different in some ways. I really liked the looks of it, so I had to get one. I can't find any information on it at all, and when I posted in the Chinese pens subforum, someone said it was released pretty recently. Because of that, I thought I'd do a review here.

 

The Package

Comes in the nicest package I've ever gotten a Hero from (although, I haven't got every Hero). Includes 6 blue ink cartridges and a cartridge converter. The box is that kind of thick cardboard box that a lot of electronics come in these days. It has a little info card with no English on it that I assume has the usual instructions on how to not break the pen.

 

The Pen

The body of the pen has a smooth finish that feels like the same type of plastic that the Safari is made out of. It tapers off towards the back of the pen, and has a rounded square shape rather than the flattened circle of the Lamy pens. It's available in 6 colors: Pink, Yellow, Green (this one), Black, White, and Gray.

 

The clear grip section and feed are visible between the cap and body when capped. The grip section contour follows the Safari's pattern, but is completely clear like the Vista. I haven't had the feed out, but from what I can see it looks just like the Lamy.

 

The cap is metal with a bit of plastic trim on it. It's smooth, but has some kind of finish on it that makes it look matte. The only markings are "Hero" on the trim, and "368" below it. The clip is ridiculously tight, and *very* stiff. Because of the way it's designed, it doesn't really seem useful as a clip, even if it wasn't so stiff. Also, the cap doesn't post. At all. Don't bother trying.

 

The converter seems as well built as the Lamy ones. It rattles a bit inside the pen, but the one on my Safari does too, so no points deducted.

 

The Nib

Looks almost exactly like the Lamy nib. Just steel, no finish. Mine is in a F, but I also see some EF for sale. It's a bit scratchy. Actually it sounds scratchier than it feels. A little on the dry side, but its as wide as I would expect for a fine. It almost looks like you could just put a Lamy nib right on there...

 

And you can! I tried the fine nib from my Al-Star (since they had the same ink) and it works! That opens up a lot of possibilities, since Lamy nibs come in many shapes and sizes.

 

Conclusion

For $10, its a pretty decent Safari clone that gives its own take on the styling. I really like the look of this pen. I've never been the biggest fan of the Safari's style, so I'm always up for experimentation. With the Lamy nib its even better. I'd recommend this if you like the way it looks.

 

The pros:

Inexpensive

Looks good

Built well

Other nibs available

 

The cons:

Included nib isn't great

If you want a better nib, its $20-ish for the whole package

Clip doesn't work

Cap doesn't post

 

I've got a lot more pictures that I've taken, and some writing samples too with both nibs. You can see them here: http://imgur.com/a/EINvJ

[basterma]

I have one and it writes better than a Safari for me. I have never gotten Lamys to write well for me; they always dry up at the same point in my writing. However, the 368 I have burps ink towards the end of a fill of the converter. I haven't tried writing with cartridges though.

[Seele]

beizhia,

 

Thank you for your review of this interesting pen. I am not sure about the rationale for introducing the details and the curves to what is fundamentally a purely industrial and rectilinear design that is the Safari: the straight line parts and the curvy parts are meant to divide the pen to "don't hold this" and "hold this" areas.

 

As it has a clear section, you might be able to answer a small question that I have. I believe the tail section of the feed is cut into a fishtail shape for the purpose of piercing the cartridge socket; I look into the section from the end and it appears so, but as I do not have a clear section I cannot see it from the side; I'd be interested if you can verify this. Some Safari-like pens do not have that: it's just a blunt-ended cylinder which may or may not be able to pierce a cartridge.

[beizhia]

basterma-

 

I'm using the converter in mine right now. Haven't used it enough to see any problems. I only filled it partway for the purpose of testing though.

 

Seele-

 

It does have a small raised part on one side of where the cartridge fits in to puncture the cartridge. It's not nearly as pronounced as in some other pens, but its there, and it looks like it would do the job just fine. I'm only using the converter right now, and I don't know if I'll end up using cartridges on it (I mostly just do bottled ink in all my pens).

[antichresis]

Thanks for the review. Not a fan of the styling but points to Hero for trying I guess. 👍

[Seele]

Seele-

 

It does have a small raised part on one side of where the cartridge fits in to puncture the cartridge. It's not nearly as pronounced as in some other pens, but its there, and it looks like it would do the job just fine. I'm only using the converter right now, and I don't know if I'll end up using cartridges on it (I mostly just do bottled ink in all my pens).

 

Thanks for the confirmation; I tend to use bottled ink with converter as well, but as the pen came with some cartridges I might just chance upon occasions to use them nonetheless.