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Pelikan ilo Füllhalter (Ilo P475) school pen or pen for the masses?


peroride

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https://mam.pelikan.com/mam/en/pelikan/products/817820

 

I guess is popping out this month; any takers?

 

😋I like the flat top cigar design lines, ink window and formed grip helper. 

 

€19 which is a close to a couple of Pilot Kakunos or a Platinum Plaisir and a Preppie.

 

Given my fondness for M200/205 steel, this may be a good buy for a young or old Pelikan fan alike.

 

 

 

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School pen. A Pelikano.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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On 1/19/2021 at 3:39 AM, peroride said:

https://mam.pelikan.com/mam/en/pelikan/products/817820

 

I guess is popping out this month; any takers?

 

😋I like the flat top cigar design lines, ink window and formed grip helper. 

 

€19 which is a close to a couple of Pilot Kakunos or a Platinum Plaisir and a Preppie.

 

Given my fondness for M200/205 steel, this may be a good buy for a young or old Pelikan fan alike.

 

 

 

 

12 hours ago, Bo Bo Olson said:

School pen. A Pelikano.

 

My anecdotal evidence (talking to friends with school-aged kids, and observing in office/school supply shops) is that the Lamy Safari seems significantly more popular in the school pen space. I wonder if this is an effort by Pelikan to try to be a little more competitive. I notice the price is also pegged to the level of the Safari.

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The Ilo looks good, great find! Apparently available for sale from next month, though some places seem to have it already.

 

If I understand the marketing material correctly, it has a rubber grip, is slightly ergonomic and aimed at secondary pupils/sixth form/high school.

 

A school pen, but a more grown up version than the Pelikano is.

 

I still lament the change in the Pelikano, I am steadfast of the belief if they hadn't changed it any further in looks than what it was in the 1990s it would still be a great classic and more "appropriate" for use by grown-ups in offices and be more popular amongst pupils than the abomination it turnt into.

Turnt into a very childish pen and that's when the Safari completely took over in classrooms (after 2000).

 

I think part of the Safari's success is that the design never changed and parents who used it happily buy it for their kids, whilst the Pelikano totally lost its identity, esp with the design changes post 2000.

 

Imo the Ilo will fill a bit of a gap, though Pelikan still needs to offer nicer looking pens in the school segment.

 

I am looking forward to the release, I intend to buy one, maybe two.

I like the ink window, very reminiscent of the first ink windows in c/c pens (same as in pistons) and much nicer looking and handier than the usual ink windows in c/c pens nowadays!

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

I have bought the black one, and have been using it every day for a couple of weeks. I really like it. It writes very smoothly, with  what seems like a firm medium nib. It looks a lot nicer than the modern Pelikano and is a more comfortable pen to hold. It actually writes writes as well as my Pelikano 5 (still going strong) and better than any modern Souveran model I've tried. For the record, I've owned three Mxx pens (400, 600 and 805) and none of them had a correctly aligned nib out of the box. The Twist and the Ilo are the only modern Pelikan pens I own, as I do not rate the brand's QC with regard to the Souveran line.

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When you buy on line...........the postal workers and the robots punt packages 70 yards....and pen 'display' cases are to display, not survive the postal services.

 

Goulet(sp) packs his packages so they can be dropped from 30,000 feet and just bounce.

 

Stores often get small pallets of pens, so the packages are not muscled .........so the nib is still aligned in the shop.

 

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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I just received my Ilo in white-turquois.

The pen is very light. The grip is comfortable, although I don't like the facetted shape of it.

There is sort of a clip, which is merely dysfunctional. In order to slide it over a fabric you'll need to grab it with you fingernails und lift it.

There is a neat feature in the barrel threads: when you unscrew the barrel it opens and closes with a click to prevent an unintentioned unscrewing.

The nib is a standard modern Pelikano-nib. It sits deeper in the section, so it looks shorter and you cannot read the "M". As far as I know it is only available with M nibs, but you can replace it with any other Pelikano nib (A, F, M, B)

The pen comes in a small white cardboard box with a long blue ink cartridge.

Pelikan_P475M.jpg

Pelikan_P475M_detail.jpg

Pelikan_P475M_detail_2.jpg

"On the internet nobody knows you're a cat." =^.^=

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It kinda feels like Pelikan keep fluffing their Safari equivalent and bring out a new one every other year.

 

Having said that, I'll probably pick one of these up; I like the dimples! Just wish Pelikan made the full range of Pelikano type nibs as readily available as Lamy does with the Z50.

 

On the subject of Pelikan C&C pens, do they use a slightly smaller 'nipple' than the international standard? I've got a Waterman cartridge on my Twist and it feels kinda loose.

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My understanding is Pelikan is International standard, how ever I'm into piston, and have Pelikan and Pelikan Edelstein cartridges for my 3-4 Pelikan CC pens.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/20/2021 at 2:35 PM, Olya said:

I think part of the Safari's success is that the design never changed and parents who used it happily buy it for their kids, whilst the Pelikano totally lost its identity, esp with the design changes post 2000.


That is what I feel, too! 

It is not only that the Pelikano of today looks completely different than the one from 20, 30, 40 years ago, it also does not shine design-wise, if compared to e.g. Lamys offerings. And the Pelikano Junior is even worse. 

And while every Pelikano I have ever used (and that is a lot) before 2000 or so worked flawlessly for me, the one of the newest but one series has been leaking (from the transparent section) a bit. Not good.

I think that basically the Lamy abc and the Safari have been eating Pelikan's lunch since 1990 or so.
Going back to the past with the Pelikano would be one option, but hiring a really really good designer (like Lamy does) might be Pelikans best bet. And even then this can be a failure (as one can see at the Lamy Aion: Good looking design by great designer, but weird wobbly cap).

Edited by ausserirdischesindgesund
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I had a 1980s era Pelikano which I really liked, but which broke along the seam between the barrel and the ink window.  I was really bummed because while the nib was a nail, it was an amazingly smooth nail.  Paid five bucks for it at a pen show (I think the vendors were marketing them to the next generation of FP users).  I don't know it it's repairable, or if the nib and feed can be harvested for use in a different pen.  While I prefer piston fillers over c/c pens, it was useful to have at least ONE c/c pen that took international standard long cartridges, of which I have a few (the 5 pack of Edelstein Amethyst carts -- which were swag from my first Pelikan Hub).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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I think the Safari is aimed at older kids so will sell longer over the era than the Pelican or a number of models; for younger kids.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, ausserirdischesindgesund said:


That is what I feel, too! 

It is not only that the Pelikano of today looks completely different than the one from 20, 30, 40 years ago, it also does not shine design-wise, if compared to e.g. Lamys offerings. And the Pelikano Junior is even worse. 

And while every Pelikano I have ever used (and that is a lot) before 2000 or so worked flawlessly for me, the one of the newest but one series has been leaking (from the transparent section) a bit. Not good.

I think that basically the Lamy abc and the Safari have been eating Pelikan's lunch since 1990 or so.
Going back to the past with the Pelikano would be one option, but hiring a really really good designer (like Lamy does) might be Pelikans best bet. And even then this can be a failure (as one can see at the Lamy Aion: Good looking design by great designer, but weird wobbly cap).

 

I think Lamy's success is their distribution. They're everywhere in a way that few others are, every pen or stationary shop worldwide that I see has a Lamy stand. I've been watching Inky.rocks excellent YouTube videos lately, and even in Japan, they have Lamy stands.

I don't see Pelikan stands with the Twist*, Pelikano or ilo for example.

 

*Despite the more extreme than Lamy section, I still quite like the Twist. It's a really nice tactile object and writes well for not much money.

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On 5/1/2021 at 4:01 AM, inkstainedruth said:

I don't know it it's repairable, or if the nib and feed can be harvested for use in a different pen.  

 

I'm a keen collector of Pelikano pens and I've had similar issues with the polycarbonate insert.  It can be fixed, but it's not pretty.  If it's just a crack, you can solvent weld it with MEK (which will likely craze the polycarbonate).  If it's completely broken, you should be able to carefully fix it with epoxy.  

 

My interest in Pelikano pens stops with the Model 7.  After that, I think that Pelikan lost its way.  The Lamy Safari is, in my opinion, a much better design.

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On 5/1/2021 at 4:47 AM, Ste_S said:

 

I think Lamy's success is their distribution. They're everywhere in a way that few others are, every pen or stationary shop worldwide that I see has a Lamy stand. I've been watching Inky.rocks excellent YouTube videos lately, and even in Japan, they have Lamy stands.

I don't see Pelikan stands with the Twist*, Pelikano or ilo for example.

 

*Despite the more extreme than Lamy section, I still quite like the Twist. It's a really nice tactile object and writes well for not much money.

+1.The distribution of Lamy is very efficient. You can easy buy them for you or as a gift. 

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In Heidelberg, some 15 minute drive from the Lamy Factory, they have a Lamy only pen store on the main and now pedestrian street.

It has to be losing money; but does keep Lamy in public eye.

 

I really like the 2X very bendy nib on the Imporium, but the @ E360 puts it out of my reach.

I do have the 1990's Persona, a 18K nail.

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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On 4/12/2021 at 9:51 AM, Chandon said:

one of them had a correctly aligned nib out of the box.

Did you buy it a a B&M?

Mail workers and robots have a contest to who can kick the package through the goal posts from the greatest distance.

 

A display box is made to store and display. It was not designed as a mail container. Or wrapped in so much bubble wrap like Goulet (sp) that you can drop it from a bomber. Therefore  with pens that arrived by mail; misaligned nibs seems to be normal.

 

I was at the Lamy factory and they ship by various sized pallets, which are much harder to kick around.

It is not the factory that is at fault, but the distributor you buy from online. 

Goulet takes the proper time and expense to wrap his orders so it can and does easily withstand mail disservice. 

 

How many here got a pen from Goulet with misaligned tines?

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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No, all bought online some years ago - an M805 was bought from Cult Pens in the UK, an M600 from Pure Pens and an M405 from Cult Pens. None of the nibs were correctly aligned. Yet,  I bought a Twist for about €8.00 from Muller at Schweitzerplatz in Frankfurt Sud in 2019 and it worked perfectly.

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On 5/3/2021 at 10:25 PM, Bo Bo Olson said:

In Heidelberg, some 15 minute drive from the Lamy Factory, they have a Lamy only pen store on the main and now pedestrian street.

It has to be losing money; but does keep Lamy in public eye.

 

The Lamy "Flagship-Store" is smack in the middle of the Tourst Trap[TM] section of town, so I suspect in normal times, they get TONS of foot traffic and do OK. Don't forget, too, that Heidelberg (especially OLD Heidelberg[TM]) is a small place; a lot of people know each other, etc. (there are deep political connections), so although one might think the rent on the storefront would be high, depending on who owns the building, it is probably hard to figure out exactly how much Lamy pays for rent. But yea, under current conditions, it is probably reasonable to assume they are operating the place at a loss (on the other hand, depending on how the store entity is legally structured, there is also government aid at present for certain small businesses, a topic I suggest not broaching in polite company amongst small retailers in Germany).

 

Lamy also has a dozen or so "Concept Stores" scattered around the world in places where their products are particularly popular (including a new one in SoHo in NYC, I think because the marketing people like to spend time there), but mostly in Asia, where "affordable" European/Western products are popular). I have seen four of the Concept Stores, and it is amazing how much foot traffic they get and how much they sell out of surprisingly small spaces. For example the Lamy store in a mid-price mall in Bangkok is perpetually overrun with young teenies looking for an affordable and visible fashion statement, which spreads knowledge of the brand in SE Asia pretty far (Thailand is a very popular shopping destination) among a key customer segment for their "school pen" products. There is also a stand in the airport in Vienna, which is not a huge airport, but it has a very high percentage of long-haul international traffic, so for a small and (relatively) inexpensive space, it makes a great super-spreader location for the brand, especially in the directions of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. The store just outside Taipei is also in a popular mid-priced shopping area. I suspect such locations are the general formula for Lamy, especially in Asia, where their corporate B&M stores seem to be most plentiful, and people/school kids still tend to write with pen and paper. When selling at the low-price or low-margin end of the market, brand awareness, ubiquitous product placement are both important.  I think Lamy does a nice job of both with their products, and their market share shows that.

 

Pelikan on the other hand, as far as I can tell, seems to have an international distribution strategy of "offer a local distributor an exclusive territory in exchange for as much product as can be pushed onto them," which might partially explain why Pelikan low-end products are not nearly as popular. It was probably a great strategy back in the day when Augustus II was King of Saxony, but these days I suspect it is holding them back. 

 

It would be interesting to me to try and figure out how much business one would have to promise Pelikan for them to tell Chartpak to go screw themselves and break up their exclusive arrangement in N. America.

 

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You'd become the the most popular poster on the com.

 

I've heard Pelikan no longer does free repair after the warrentee is up. That leaves Lamy and Cross...

..and Twsbi.;)

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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