Retro 51 Tornado Touch Review

I have been a fan and follower of Retro 51 ever since I discovered their Tornado a couple of years ago. They asked me recently if I wanted to try out their latest release - the Tornado Touch - and of course I said yes. Thank you Retro 51 for sending me this pen!

I first heard about this pen through my Twitter feed with several readers pointing me to its release. I was excited! And then I clicked the link. I became confused quickly. What is this, a mustache? Is that a derby hat? Did I eat something that is causing me to hallucinate? I'm not going to lie, my initial reaction was not positive.

That's where getting the pen in hand and seeing it in person really helped. This is a really great pen. To address the mustache and derby right away - you don't even notice them when the pen is in your hand. They blend in seamlessly, and when one or both catch the corner of your eye you can't help but grin. At least I do. The Tornado Touch will put a smile on your face.

But lets get to the real shocker of it all: The refill. The Tornado Touch uses the Schmidt-Mine 635 which turns out to be an ultra-smooth, clean writing ballpoint refill. The line it laid down impressed both me and Myke but I discovered something even cooler after the podcast.

When you pull off the end cap to replace the refill you are met with phillips head threading, meaning you need a screwdriver to remove the refill. Ok, that sucks, but I got over it quickly once I saw Retro 51's video on how to change the refill. I didn't notice it until then, but the threaded part of the refill is just a sleeve that fits any standard D1 refill. That's right, your favorite D1 refill - Zebra Sharbo X, Uni-ball Jetstream, etc. - are all usable in the Tornado Touch. That is what I call winning.

This is an excellent job by Retro 51 in building a completely new product off an existing model that many of us know and love. It's portable, looks great, works flawlessly, and you can use a wide array of refills in it. I'm glad I got to use the Tornado Touch before making a judgement on looks alone.

Thanks again to Retro 51 for sending this pen my way!

Ink Links

-- Wolff's Royal Sovereign pencil samples in a tin (Palimpsest)

-- Sailor Jentle Sky High (Inkdependence!)

-- Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen – Medium Nib – Black Crocodile Body (No Pen Intended)

-- A Tale of Two Pencils: The Blackwing 602 (The Writing Arsenal)

-- The Journal Diaries- The Hobonichi and Midori Planner collection (Seaweed Kisses)

-- It’s all about the money boys #4: Pens between £75-£150 (A fool with a pen)

-- Video: The Top 5 Pens of Year 1 (The Pen Habit)

-- Review: Kuretake_ZIG Wink of Stella 0.8mm Glitter Marker - Orange & Pink (Gourmet Pens)

-- Nakaya Neo Standard Fountain Pen Review (Ed Jelley)

-- Exchanging Nibs on a Rotring Newton 600 (Taking note)

-- The Way I Journal: Chris Bowler (Day One)

-- Rhodia pencil review (Pens! Paper! Pencils!)

-- Tombow Zoom 707 Mechanical Pencil (Write to Me Often)

-- Review: Pelikan M101N Lizard Special Edition (Fountain Pen Quest)

-- Chasing the Winter Blues: Lamy Nexx Opal with Lamy Turquoise Ink (From the Pen Cup)

-- Review: Lamy Studio Fountain Pen, Imperial Blue, Extra Fine nib (Four Words, Four Worlds)

-- What’s The Big Deal About Vintage Pencils? (The Well-Appointed Desk)

-- The Greatest and Bestest Pen In The Whole World (Edmund Mitchell)

-- 10 hints for index cards (John August)

-- Pilot Hi-Tec-C Maica: Bling-Bling Pen! (The Daily Acquisition)

-- rOtring Rapidograph Technical Pen - 0.50mm (The Clicky Post)

-- Kaweco Special 2mm leadholder (The Pencilcase Blog)

-- Kaweco AC Sport Fountain Pen Review (THE UNROYAL WARRANT)

-- Pilot Feed GP4 Multi 0.7mm Ballpoint Pen (A Penchant for Paper)

Pelikan M215 Rings Fountain Pen Review

So you broke down and bought a Pelikan M205 and you love it, right? It is an amazing pen that writes wonderfully, looks beautiful, and will last for decades. Your Pelikan fountain pen needs have been met! Or so you think.

Businesses love consumers like me and you. We obsess over the small details, latch on to the things we love, think we have found perfection, and slam our wallets shut.

Squirrel!

What is that bright and shiny thing over there? You made a product I already think is perfection even better? Just take my money now!

Thanks a lot Pelikan.

The M205 is a near-flawless pen in my mind. The only teeny tiny thing that could be improved on is the overall weight. The M215 Rings model takes care of that by using the same M205 design and adding five metal rings to the barrel. This gives the pen some added heft that many writers may prefer over the base model M205. It's not a huge amount - 20 grams for the M215, 14 for the M205 - but you absolutely notice it when writing. It feels great.

My buddy Thomas loaned me this pen over a year ago, and the written portion of this review was done around then as well. At that time, I didn't own a Pelikan of my own, but a few short weeks later I bought an M405 at the Atlanta Pen Show. That was followed later in the year by my M205. To say I've been bitten by the Pelikan beak is accurate.

Thomas has since sent me the now discontinued M215 Blue Stripe model, which is a beauty, and the 2014 Atlanta Pen Show is only a few weeks away. I don't really have a shopping list for the show this year but the odds are good that I add another bird to the flock.

For more, check out Brian's review from way back in 2009. I wonder if he still uses his?