Opus 88 Mini Fountain Pen in Baby Beluga

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

The Opus 88 Mini Pocket Pen has been in my daily rotation for several months now, and it has really impressed me with how many of my favorite pen features it fits on its tiny lil body.

For one, it's pocket-sized. I love a pocket pen. Pocket pens are so practical for carrying around, and I'm constantly on the go. I also have small hands, so they tend to be comfortable for me, too, though that won't be the case for everyone. This one does post, though. I love the full-sized Opus 88 also, but I do feel like I'm wielding a baseball bat while I'm writing with it. The main downside to most pocket pens is their ink capacity. Tiny body means tiny ink reservoir. But not here! This thing is a mini ink tank. Nearly the whole body fills with ink, thanks to the handy included eyedropper. I've had a lot of eyedropper-filling pocket pens, and quite a few of them have leaked. Not this one! It has a plunger seal that blocks the ink from even reaching the feed unless the end-cap is unscrewed to release the vacuum. That makes it safe for pocket carry and travel.

Its other practical features include a sturdy clip and spare o-ring. It also writes very well, even after being neglected for a few days. It does take a while for the ink to saturate the feed when it is first filled. It's an eyedropper-fill pen, so the ink is deposited directly into the pen body with the included eyedropper. For this pen, the grip section unscrews to open the ink reservoir. Since the ink isn't drawn up through the nib, it needs to take the long route there. I let the pen sit nib-down for a while with the plunger open to let the ink flow to the nib.

Okay, that's enough practicality. The reason it first caught my eye is because it's cute! I particularly like this Baby Beluga design, but Opus are not stingy in creating an abundance of fun and interesting designs for this model. From florals to stripes to animal prints, you're bound to find one you like. On this model, the main body of the pen is an aqua-tinted semi-translucent acrylic, so you can see your ink sloshing around inside like the water it's meant to resemble. The ocean waves and whale illustrations, along with schools of wee fish, add to the oceanic effect.

The Opus 88 Mini Pocket Fountain Pen sells for $89 at Goldspot Pens, which is a very fair price for the quality of this pen. It's refreshing to see a pen this nice for under $100. I missed some special Halloween designs they did in this model a few years ago, and now that I know how nice the pen is, I doubly regret that. So if you see an edition of this one that speaks to you, I highly recommend grabbing it while you can. This one is coming with me on a trip to Lake Superior next week. There aren't any whales in Lake Superior as far as we know, but when it comes to that epic inland sea, we don't know very far at all. I'll settle for some whale-sized freshwater cryptids.

(Goldspot provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

---

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Opus 88 Mini Pocket Stripes Fountain Pen Review

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

No matter how many fountain pens I accumulate, I'll have a soft spot for pocket fountain pens. They're under-represented in the grand scheme, and they're just so cute and utilitarian by nature. Normally, a pocket pen means you also have a smaller ink capacity, but that's not the case at all with the Opus 88 Mini.

The colorway I have is called Stripes, and I love the mixture of blues, greens, purples, and pinks that they incorporate into the materials. The pen is just 4.5 inches (11.8 cm) long when closed, and just 0.6 inches (15.4 mm) in diameter. Despite being so short, the diameter is actually a bit larger compared to other pocket pens I've used in the past. It's the same diameter and shape as a standard-size pen, which means it's really comfortable to hold.

Uncapped, the pen is 4.25 inches (10.8 cm) long, and 5.5 inches (14 cm) when the cap is posted. The posted length is pretty much the same as a closed standard-size pen.

The best part about these dimensions (particularly the diameter) is how they translate to ink capacity. Like other Opus 88 pens, this one is also an eyedropper design, meaning it holds an astonishing amount of ink for its size. Holding between 2-3 ml of ink, this puts cartridge-converters to shame. Filling and cleaning is a simple task, and you also get the added security of the ink reservoir being shut off from the feed when the pen is closed.

The Mini uses a #5 Jowo steel nib, which fits the small nature of the pen quite well. Plus, the small nib allows the cap to be just a bit smaller as well. The fine nib in my unit works perfectly out of the box, and I've been really happen with how it writes. The nib is stiff and produces crisp line edges while still feeling smooth and consistent while writing. The feed does a great job of supplying the ink to the end of the nib. There's not much flex to this nib, but you can tease out a little line variation if you practice putting pressure on the nib while making downstroke marks.

Going back to the materials and colors of the pen body and cap, I'm still so happy with my choice of the Stripes colorway. The body of the pen is fair simple — the blind cap and grip section are both polished black acrylic, but the body is made of a translucent blue/turquoise acrylic material that allows you to see the ink and inner workings of the pen along with the threads for the blind cap fitting. I love translucent colored materials, and this one is no exception. It's pure joy seeing ink slosh around in the body.

The cap also has a polished black finial, but the rest of the cap is made up of stripes of colors that go around the diameter of the pen. The sections aren't all the same size, which adds some visual interest and diversity. All of the colors they used in the cap are complimentary to the lovely aqua color of the body material.

To top off all the acrylic colors, the pen features silver trim that brings everything together. The clip is easy to use, but still stiff and strong enough to keep it secured to anything that fits in the opening.

I've really enjoyed writing with this pen and carrying it around with me. It's not the smallest pocket pen, but it's still really cute and fun to handle. The grip section is a little on the small side for my fingers, but I get used to the size quickly once I write a couple of words. Overall, this pen is just another fantastic example of Opus 88 craftsmanship and aesthetics.

The Opus 88 Mini Stripes Pocket fountain pen is $79 and comes with your choice of EF, F, M, B, or 1.4mm italic steel nib. If the colors of the Stripes model aren't your jam, there are plenty of other options as well.

If you love the size of the Kaweco Sport but want a larger ink capacity, I think the Opus 88 Mini is a great option to think about. The pen is a solid performer with a massive ink reservoir, and the color options are super fun.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

---

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Opus 88 Demo 2024 Edition Fountain Pen Review

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

Just a few months ago, I reviewed the 2022 special edition of the Opus 88 Demo, which was a wonderful mix of purple and maroon that I really enjoyed. Before then, I wasn't aware that Opus 88 did annual color editions, so I was curious about whether a 2024 edition was announced yet. Not only was it announced already in January, but it was also available for sale. I immediately bought one after see it on the computer screen because the greens and blues spoke to me so strongly.

Fast forward a few days when I got the pen in hand, and I couldn't be any happier with the purchase. In person, the greens and blues are more vibrant and you can see more of the semi-translucent qualities of the acrylic material. It's not often for me that I know that I'll love something like this before I've even received it, but for some reason I just knew that the colors would be spectacular in person. I'm glad I was right.

2022 vs 2024

The Opus 88 Demo model has been around for years, and it's one of my personal favorites. I like the uniform barrel shape and mix of colors that I would think might clash but somehow work together. The grip section fits my hand well, and the pen diameter is really comfortable for how I write and hold the pen. On top of all that, the ink capacity is stellar. I don't normally fill these pens up all the way with ink because I normally want to change out the ink before I use it all. But, just having the option of loading this pen up with ink and not having to refill for quite a while is definitely comforting.

The color scheme for the 2024 special edition is a dark turquoise body paired with green-yellow accents on the cap and grip, and a lighter blue blind piece that you use to open and close the ink reservoir. The colors go so well together, and I love the visual interest that the semi-transparent material adds to the already eye-catching colors. The nib and clip are both a dark off-black color, which go great with the dark hues of the pen body. I think bright metal would distract the eye from the acrylic materials, so I like the dark metal choice.

For this model of the Demo, I opted for a Medium nib. This is a favorite size for me when doing general writing or long-form writing, so the Demo is a perfect workhorse choice for that nib duty. The nib is glassy smooth out of the box, and the flow is perfect. I paired the pen with Road Trip from Standard Bindery, which is a fun ink on its own merit, but it pairs beautifully with this pen.

It's refreshing to see pen companies release fun and new colors for their existing products. Lots of companies do it, but Opus 88 does an exceptional job. Their pens are great quality, affordable for what they offer, and work well. Since I know the pen model is a great baseline, it's easy to make a quick decision on a colorful and attractive model without having used the actual pen before.

If this 2024 Edition of the Opus 88 Demo speaks to you like it did me, you'd better hurry and snag one ($140 as of this review). These are limited stock, and when they're gone, they're gone. If the greens and blues aren't for you, then there's always next year or even the solid selection of standard colorways as well. The Demo is one of my favorite pen models, and this color combination just makes me happy.

(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

---

Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!