(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
Trying new and unique fountain pens is always fun, especially when they come in at the lower end of the price spectrum. The Kaco Retro fountain pen is a sleek design from a Chinese company that offers a sense of nostalgia and modern colors.
I've definitely done my share of eBay perusing when trying to find some fun and inexpensive fountain pens to try from top Chinese sellers. But, you do run some additional risk when you purchase these pens because quality control isn't the best and your options for correcting any problems are convoluted. In the case of the Kaco Retro, you can purchase your pick from Cult Pens and be sure that your experience will be top notch. This takes all of the guess-work out of this particular pen!
Purchasing options aside, the Retro is actually a good pen. Like the name implies, it borrows heavily from the Parker 51 aesthetic, but manages to add some modern flair in the way of colors and the clip accent. Possibly the coolest feature of the pen is the use of a hooded nib, which means the grip section covers most of the nib and only allows the very tip to show through. The orange one I have is an eye-catcher, and it's also fun to pass around and let people try since it's an inexpensive fountain pen.
To me, the aspect of this pen that grabs my eye first every time is the little pin head at the end of the clip. The bright blue-green always catches my attention and I can't help but pick it up for a quick writing session. Each pen color has a coordinated clip accent, which just adds to the fun of these pens. The functionality of the clip is also excellent! It's strong and does a great job of holding the pen in place during transport.
Moving on the cap, it features a smooth friction-fit design to secure it to the pen when not in use. You can also post the cap easily while writing. The amount of force necessary to uncap or cap the pen feels almost perfect to my preference. It's a bit tight when trying to uncap, but you quickly get used to it after using the pen a few times. One thing I noticed quickly is that you should avoid twisting the pen in a counter-clockwise motion when uncapping it because this unscrews the grip section from the pen body! I never realized how much I rotate pens when removing the cap, but I have certainly noticed during my time with the Kaco Retro. This hasn't resulted in any ink accidents, but it is slightly annoying to be made to tighten the grip section after uncapping the pen.
Aside from the clip, the only other feature on the cap of the pen is a small embossed KG, which stands for the company name. It's very low-profile and is difficult to notice in most light.
The pen body and grip section are the same width and match up perfectly against a small clear ink window. The ink window is handy to show you how much ink is left in your converter or ink cartridge, but it's also really easy to just unscrew the section and take a closer look. Either way, it's definitely a nice visual point to break up all the orange.
The grip section is somewhat uncomfortable for my fingers due to the material and smooth, sloped nature of the grip. I always struggle with glossy plastic grips, and this one is no exception. It is comfortable in my hand at first, but quickly becomes slick and difficult to hold after I use it for a minute or two. Your experience will vary, but you should have a pretty good idea of whether this grip will work for you just based on the shape and materials used.
Now, how about that nib? It's a good nib! The manufacturer says it's an extra fine, but the one I have writes like a European fine. The Cult Pens website even notes that some of the pens write like a European medium, so keep that in mind when ordering. This isn't a good choice if you're trying to dial in your nib preferences or are only interested in certain nib sizes!
The nib is smooth, the feed provides plenty of ink while writing, and I've been really impressed with how well the pen works in general. My only complaint is due to the design of the grip and nib. The hooded nib looks great, but it's always difficult for me to make sure I'm holding the pen at the right orientation while writing. Fountain pen nibs work best when the nib is parallel to the page. In most cases, the nib ceases to function when you roll the nib too far to one side or the other. Not a big deal in most cases, but this pen lacks the visual cue of the actual nib, and it also has a featureless grip section to let you know when your grip is rolling a bit too far. The hooded nib is so hooded that I have a difficult time knowing where the sweet spot of the nib is located!
Minor quirks aside, this really is such a fun pen. It includes a couple of ink cartridges as well as a cartridge converter so that you can use your own bottled ink. As a writing instrument, it functions beautifully and manages to be really dependable and robust. The materials used are mostly plastic, but the pen body and cap feel solid instead of like thin plastic that will break easily. For a pen that costs about ten dollars, it's a fun experiment!
Aside from the awesome orange color featured in this review, you can also purchase the Kaco Retro in a variety of other fun colors, like Red, Blue, White, Turquoise, and Black.
(Cult Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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