TWSBI Vac700 Review

You will find wildly varying opinions of the TWSBI Vac700 across the internet. For some, it fits their needs perfectly. For others, there are too many design quirks to overlook. Without first hand experience myself, I fell into the second camp. The Vac700 didn't speak to me from the get go, and reading reviews of the pen only solidified those thoughts.

A kind reader named Becky fell into that second camp too, although she only found that out after making the purchase. She didn't care for the Vac700 (for reasons we will get into) so she offered to send it to me. Not loan it to me. Not sell it to me. She knew I'd be interested in checking it out and had no love for it, so she just flat out gave it to me. That says a lot about the pen, but also how awesome Becky is. Thank you!

She sent me the Smoke model with a bold nib and my first impressions on the feel and appearance were positive. It's no secret I am a TWSBI fan, so I knew I would like a lot about what the Vac700 had to offer. But there are several things that keep this from being a pen I can recommend blindly like the TWSBI 580.

First off, the size of the Vac700 is a barrier to entry. That's fine, because that is part of what this pen is. It has a vacuum filling system so the pen requires a larger ink tank to accommodate the plunger and bigger than normal ink capacity. It's a feature, but the size and weight may be uncomfortable for those with smaller hands.

Secondly, there are some interesting design elements in play here. The big one for me is the extra large step down from the barrel to the grip section. Again, it's almost a requirement due to the mechanics of the filling system, but it does get in the way when I am writing. Not horribly, but noticeably.

The brushed clip is another oddity. It doesn't affect the performance of the pen but it is a strange choice when the rest of the chrome is polished and shiny and the clip is dull. Each chrome element on its own is fine, but mixing finish styles on the same pen does not work visually.

It's not all bad though. The filling system is the primary feature of the Vac700 and it works well. A few pumps of the plunger and you have more ink capacity than you know what to do with, keeping even the most prolific writers happy for days. The nib is great too, which I fully expected. I hadn't use a TWSBI bold nib before this pen and it is fantastic. It is really smooth and a joy to write with.

In the end, poor comfort outweighs good performance for me. Your mileage may vary, so make sure to read up on the TWSBI Vac700 if you are interested in making a purchase. It may be the perfect pen for you. If not, it makes for a beautiful paperweight.

More TWSBI Vac700 reviews:

Pentorium

FP Geeks

Ed Jelley

That One Pen

FP Quest

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Pilot Letter Pad for Fountain Pens Review

I was smitten with the Pilot Letter Pad for Fountain Pens from the moment I took it out of my banged up package from JetPens (thanks USPS!). The blue cover with the white and gold writing gives off a classic, sophisticated look, and that logo - wow. I don't know what it is about that logo that gets to me, but it is funky and I love it. The real story here is the paper though, so let's get to it.

In the grand scheme of things, the paper quality is elite. It is as smooth as any paper I have used with no bleed and no feathering at all. It is incredible to write on. It gives the same nib-to-paper feel as something like Tomoe River or Rhodia R but with the added durability of a thicker page. In my written review I used a Pilot Custom Heritage 912 Stub nib loaded with Akkerman #8 Diep-Duinwaterblauw and it performed wonderfully.

Where the rub lies with the Pilot Letter Pad is the value. If you consider that this is a special occasion pad used for written correspondance (it has envelopes to match even) then I'm somewhat ok with the 30 cents per sheet cost. Even then, you are going to need to mind the exceptionally wide line ruling (front side only) to not end up with a 10 page letter. I think this pad would be better suited with blank pages personally, or else try to fit two or three written lines between the ruling, which is easily doable.

To sum it up, this is a high quality pad that performs exceptionally well and is a pleasure to use. Is it worth the high price of admission? It depends on how much you like your friends. I wouldn't use this as a desk pad but rather to impress a pen pal halfway around the world. Maybe I should write Myke a letter.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)