Posts filed under Lamy

Lamy LX Fountain Pen Review

Lamy has made some interesting design decisions this year. The highly anticipated Lamy 2000 50th Anniversary pen fell flat in my eyes, and the announcement of the Lamy Lx - aka the iPhone pen - looked to be a marginal Al-Star upgrade at a non-marginal price.

I wanted to check out the Lx myself to see if the over 50% price increase from the Al-Star is worth it. Are you getting enough value to justify the price?

I don’t think so.

The selling points of the Lx (pronounced “Luxe” if you are wondering how Lamy sees this pen) are upgraded anodizing - barrel, clip, and finial - plus coated black steel nibs. The packaging is upgraded too, featuring a tube to match the color of your pen. Don't forget: You pay for packaging.

While the visual differences between the Al-Star and Lx are minimal, there is zero difference in the feel of the pen. Blindfolded, I would assume this is an Al-Star. It writes like one, which is to say wonderfully, and has the same molded plastic grip, weight, and balance.

If you are interested in the Gold or Rose Gold models, I can see the justification for purchasing the Lx. Those colors don’t appear in the rest of the product lineup, and the clip anodizing is more of a standout feature compared to the Palladium and Ruthenium models. If the latter two interest you, I would consider the Al-Star in Black or Graphite Grey and save some money. If you just want to experience the nib, like the EF in my review, you can drop down to the Safari and not miss a beat.

On it’s own merits, the Lamy Lx is a good pen. If the Al-Star didn’t exist, I would dare to say it is fairly priced. But the Al-Star does exist, so you will need to weigh the pros and cons between the two when making your buying decision.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on December 5, 2016 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Lamy, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Lamy Pico Laser Orange Pocket Ballpoint Pen Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

Pocket pens are always a fun category to get into. The unique designs and limitations in this genre produce interesting and delightful pens that can sometimes out-perform their full size cousins.

In the case of the Lamy Pico, the pen has been around for quite a while already. But, the Laser Orange color option is brand new, and it's fantastic. In person, the orange color is florescent and impossible to miss. If you happen to own a Nock case that features the Mandarin/Blue Jay color-way, imagine the bright orange factor being ticked up a few notches. It's loud, and it's great. It means you'll also be able to find it if you drop it into a large bag with dark interior colors. It's just bright, and I happen to like that about it.

The main selling point of this pen is the fact that it's small when closed, but extends to a normal length when the refill is extended. At just over 3.6 inches closed, it opens up to 5 inches to offer a comfortable writing experience. For comparison, the Kaweco Liliput is about 4.8 inches when open with the cap posted. Another bonus of the Pico is that the barrel diameter is larger than the Liliput (12.7mm vs 8.3 to 9.3mm on the Liliput). For some, the Liliput is a bit too thin to hold comfortably. I don't mind it, but I definitely feel that the Pico is more comfortable in hand.

It's a round body with no clip, so be prepared to catch it when it rolls away on a flat surface. There's a very small "Lamy" logo on the side of the pen, but it's not raised enough from the body to prevent it from rolling if the slope is great enough. It does help prevent rolling, though. Still, pocket pens aren't really known for always having clips, and many of them feature a totally round design that makes rolling extremely probable.

The click mechanism on the Pico can be a bit unpredictable at times, and this is my only complaint about the pen. The click mechanism could use some work to avoid the number of failed attempts you make when trying to open or close it. For example, if you don't press down far enough, it won't open or close. You can feel some tactile indications that you've done something, but if you don't go the full 100%, the mechanism doesn't engage/disengage properly. This can be annoying, but once you've gotten used to the pen and learn that you must press firmly, it's not an issue. Even still, I wish the click mechanism had a more hefty, sure feel.

The body of the pen is metal (and bright orange), but the insides are all plastic. When the pen is extended, you can see part of the plastic in the middle of the pen which provides the extra length to improve the grip feel when writing. I would love to see this bit of plastic replaced by metal of the same color as the rest of the body. I'm not sure why they chose to use plastic here. It breaks up the aesthetic, feels cheap compared to the rest of the pen, and takes the overall experience down a couple of notches. Another complaint about the design and quality is that the spring inside of the pen is a bit noisy. The click mechanism sounds normal and has a healthy "clunk" when opening and closing the pen, but the spring can make some annoying noises at times that make the pen feel cheaper. Again, not a deal-breaker, but seems like something Lamy could fix really easily with some higher-quality springs.

Now, the refill in this pen is also surprising. When I hear "ballpoint," I automatically recoil in disgust because of the many, many bad experiences I've had with regular (non-hybrid) ballpoints. I'm not sure if the Lamy ballpoint refill is a hybrid ink formula, but it's fantastic. Compared to others like the Schmidt EasyFlow 9000 and the Uni Jetstreams, it's not as dark and bold, but it's every bit as smooth and reliable. I'm actually really impressed with the refill.

The pen ships with a 0.7mm "medium" point, but you can also order a "fine" 0.5mm or "broad" 1.0mm point separately. Additionally, you can choose black or blue for any of these refill sizes.

Given the price of this pocket pen, I'd like to see some of the components upgraded with higher quality options, but it's still a great pen at a great value. It easily fits in your pocket or bag, and the metal body gives it a great feel and weight when writing or hanging out in your pocket.

You can pick up a Lamy Pico in Laser Orange at JetPens, and you can also check out the other colors and refill options as well.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on June 29, 2016 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Lamy, Pico, Ballpoint, Pen Reviews.

Lamy Dark Lilac Fountain Pen Ink: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Lamy Dark Lilac ink is a special edition formulation designed to complement the new Lamy Dark Lilac Safari fountain pen (which I do not own). It looks spectacular in my TWSBI 580 AL purple, however.

The ink is a true purple, meaning that it is neither too red nor too blue in tone. Some purples, such as Pelikan Edelstein Amethyst and Diamine Imperial Purple, have a red tone whereas others, such as Diamine Damson shift more towards the blue/grey spectrum.

Dark Lilac is a deep, rich purple but not so dark that it appears black. It is a wet ink and flows well from my TWSBI 580 with a medium nib. It writes without feathering on both Rhodia and Tomoe paper and dries fairly quickly, though it is definitely not waterproof.

In large nibs, the ink offers nice shading.

There is also a hint of gold sheen, but it is difficult to see unless you view it in direct sunlight or bright light.

The Lamy bottle is unique in that it has a plastic bottom that holds blotting paper you can use after filling your pen. Word to the wise: put the cap back on the ink bottle before attempting to tear off some blotting paper lest you spill dark purple ink all over your counter and hands. A friend told me so.

The bottom of the bottle also sports a deep well so you can dip your pen into the deepest part of the bottle to collect as much ink as possible.

The bottle is quite large and holds 50ml of ink. It isn't the prettiest ink bottle design, but it suits the utilitarian aesthetic of Lamy.

The ink is quite popular and is currently sold out at Goulet Pens, JetPens, and other retailers. Goulet indicates they will restock Dark Lilac by late May for $10.50.

UPDATE: Goldspot has about 30 bottles in stock right now. Be quick!