Guest Review: Pilot M90 LE by Mabeloos

Hello! I'm Mabeloos, and I'm guest-blogging today, all thanks to the Pen Addict's generosity. I blame him (and his cronies) for encouraging a pleasantly evil habit.

To celebrate its 90th year, Pilot reissued the M90 Limited Edition, a revival of their distinctive MYU line of fountain pens. It is, simply, a beauty to behold. When I saw this at JetPens.com (where it retails for US$180.00), all reason fled my brain. It was a complete impulse buy, but one driven by good reasons: Pilot's reputation, my own experiences with Pilot pens, and the M90 LE itself. I'm a shameless sucker for clean, unfettered lines, and the M90 brings back what many fountain pen collectors consider one of the finest standards of design and function. Now, I'm not a fountain pen collector myself, though I own an increasing number of them (most of recent make and significantly more humble price ranges -- denial?), but I've never been disappointed with any Pilot fountain pen I've bought. I expected a far superior performance out of the M90 LE, one that at least matches its beautiful shape.

I was not disappointed.

The performance of this pen is a true pleasure. Even with what I consider a sub-par ink -- I used the Pilot black ink cartridge that comes with it -- it was smooth, and glided across the page with nary a bump or nick. I tested the pen on Doane Paper (as per Pen Addict style), and discovered that there was some feathering, which I would prefer to attribute to the ink. No feathering, however, on Clairefontaine paper, where the thin line of the nib is much more pronounced.

This will be my main writing pen. But I'll be loathe to put it in my pocket -- that steel is ever so pretty, and keys don't like to play so nice.

Click here for the XL review. (Apologies for the crappy quality. My camera isn't in the best of health.)

For more pictures, browse this set.

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Thanks so much to Mabeloos for reviewing this pen for The Pen Addict!  You can find her blog and links to other work at kissy smooth.  If anyone else is interested in doing a guest review or post, please send me an email at the address listed in the sidebar.  I'd love to have you!

Review: Bic A1 Gel 0.7mm Black

I didn't have high hopes when I grabbed a two-pack of the Bic A1 Gel pens off the shelf at my local Publix grocery store, and as I expected, they let me down pretty quickly.  I bought them because, well, I am a pen addict of course, and I was browsing the school supply aisle and said "Hey, I haven't tried those yet", so into the basket they went.  Big mistake.

Bic has come out with a few new models recently that I have liked (the 730R for one), but the A1 is downright terrible.  I could tell right when I opened the package that the construction of the pen was sub-par, and as soon as I started writing it became even clearer how poorly made this pen is.  When the tip hits the page, all I could hear was the click click click of the cartridge bouncing off the opening of the pen barrel.  It was a really loose fit, and a huge annoyance.  The barrel as a whole is not good, with raised ridges where the plastic is formed together, and scratches and smudges on the barrel like the pen was dropped on the floor a few times before packaging.  The grip was really slick as well for a rubber grip.

Even if the pen wrote well - which it didn't - there are too many issues with the construction to get past.  This may be the single worst pen I have ever reviewed.

Click Here for the XL review.

Reader Mailbag

I have had a few questions sitting in my mailbox from readers looking for help.  Maybe you have some ideas?

Rachel has lost her favorite pen:

It was small and looked like a pencil (half the length I'd say of a normal pen) with a hexagonal, red, pencil like wood casing for the pen. It was retractable and the push button on top was silver and metal. I cannot remember the make although it was written down the side of it. The nib was needlepoint and wrote in such a way that it looked as if the writing had been written in pencil (ie, it wasn't a very deep black coloured ink).  Do you have any idea at all of who might make this pen?

Glenn wonders how long some pens last:

I don't know if you've attempted this or if you'd even have time for it (or maybe you know of someone else who's done it), but after recently buying some of your top picks and other favorites (mostly gel, like .4mm Sarasas and thin Uniball Signo - which I think are great), I got curious about how each pen typically lasts. I noticed that some have fairly thick barrels of the ink cartridge itself, which makes me think they won't last that long.  Anyhow, just wondering if you're aware of anybody who has done any kind of "test" to see which pen gives the most bang for the buck (or if you could figure out a way to make it happen?).

Jeremy (and several other commentors) want to know about pen hacks:

I've found a pen that is just perfect save for one thing...it's looks.  I ordered some Uni-ball Signo DX 0.28mm pens from jetpens, and while I absolutely love the way they write and the colors they support, I'm not too keen on the style of the pen itself.  I was wondering if you had some across a Uni-ball pen that tool the DX ink refills.  My other favorite pen is the Pilot G2 Limited and I was able to put the 0.38mm refill in that and it performs beautifully and looks nice to boot.  Something I like having clients see me with.  So ya, I was wondering if you knew of something similar for the Uni-ball.

Unfortunately for Rachel, I haven't come across any pen that meets that description.  For Glenn, that is one failing of this blog.  I use so many different pens now it is rare when I run the ink out of one.  I will say pretty much any Zebra pen is going to run out of ink prior to a comparable pen.  That has been the case for years as far as I'm concerned.  Jeremy's pen hack situation is something I want to explore more, but haven't had the time to yet.  One of the most basic refill swaps that I do enjoy though is the Uni-Ball Signo RT cartridge (lavender black please!) into the Uni-Ball Signo Premier 207 barrel.  It is a perfect fit.

Feel free to leave any thoughts or suggestions you have in the
comments.