This post would not have been possible without the help of JustWrite

Last time I wrote about cheap fountain pens, I was very impressed at the quality for pens that can be bought using spare change. The sub $10 and sub $5 category have really shone lately, both in the quality of the construction, and how they often write better than pens costing upwards of $100.

JustWrite recently sent me a huge batch of pens from their new sub $5 range, and after playing with them the past couple of weeks I have my final review to share with you guys. I’m pleased to say that all of these pens exceeded my expectations.

The Myths Surrounding Cheap Pens

There is a general consensus around the world that anything that is cheap is also low quality. I disagree, especially when it comes to pens. Whilst your cheap ballpoints tend to be pretty terrible (you probably have a few on your desk right now), fountain pens, strangely, tend to skip around this “rule”.

Over the years I’ve used and LOVED many fountain pens that have cost me so little, they’re basically disposable. The strange thing is, however, that not all these pens come from cheapie Chinese brands. American, German, and Japanese brands often put out pens with a seriously low cost in order to cover all budgets, and it seems to be working. The Platinum Preppy is one example of a successful, cheap, high quality pen. In fact, Noodler’s inks sometimes include one in the package!

So I’ll begin this post by saying that all your pre-conceived notions of “cheap equals crap” should be thrown out the window, at least for the pens in this post.

Anyway, back to the PENS! JustWrite sent me six different pens from different brands to review, so I’ll review each one quickly and give an overall conclusion at the end, mmkay?

Oh, and here is the writing test of all the pens

The Hero 616

I own a huge amount of these pens, and whilst I have found them to be lacking in some areas (namely, quality control), they are solid. The entire design is a copy of the discontinued Parker 51. The 51′s iconic design is here, from the hooded nib, to the “aerometric” filling system. I like the 616, however, and the fact that it’s a copy should not deter you from picking one up.

The pen is plastic, but comes with a nice metal cap that slips on comfortably, whether you’re capping or posting. It’s friction fit, but holds on nice and firm. The Parker style arrow clip is here, and it’s flexible, but will hold on to whatever you clip it to easily without slipping.

The nib comes only as an extra-fine/fine; there are no markings to show the nib width. It’s a hooded nib, so it shouldn’t dry out as easily as other pens when left uncapped for long periods, and I’ve found that to be the case when using this one.

The filler is a sac-style push-bar design, with a tube inside that connects to the nib to draw up ink. This is probably the only disappointing part of the pen, as I simply could not get it to fill past 25%, the sac just didn’t draw in enough ink with each push to fill the tube. There’s no way to remove the filler and use a more reliable cartridge either, so you’ll have to use bottled ink.

Luckily the way it writes is fantastic. I love a fine writing pen and the 616 is suits my tastes well. It’s a Japanese fine, Western extra fine equivalent width, and very smooth to use as well. Flow is also very well controlled, medium wetness with little to no skipping in my tests. A solid pen let down by a shoddy filling system.

Verdict: 6/10

Available in Black, Maroon, and Green for just $3.70AUD at JustWrite

The Hero 266 Slimline

The 266 is my favourite pen of the lot. It’s a thin, metal bodied pen with a hooded nib and dashing good looks. I really like the blue colour.

The grip section is plastic and ribbed for grip, and the cap sits firm and posts well. Posting the cap makes the pen significantly longer, but luckily it’s so thin and light that it doesn’t make it bulky or difficult to use. It’s comfortable, even for my large hands, and writes well. The clip is chrome plated and is nice and firm, clipping to a shirt or jacket pocket with ease.

The nib is more of a medium width, and is quite wet flowing. It’s smooth with a little bit of tooth, kind of like using a fineliner pen with a felt tip. Very nice, but not buttery smooth. Flow is also very consistent and it writes easily with zero pressure – a sign of a good quality pen. The hood allows you to leave it uncapped for longer periods without drying out, and it works.

I really enjoyed using the 266, moreso than the 616 above, but unfortunately it also has the rubbish sac filler from the 616 so it’s very difficult to fill beyond a quarter full. If you can somehow get it to fill, you’ll have a great pen that looks the part.

Verdict: 8/10

The 266 is available in Blue, Grey, and Stainless Steel for just $2.80 from JustWrite

Faber Castell 258 Student Pen

Despite Faber Castell being responsible for some seriously expensive, high grade fountain pens, there’s room in their line for this little beauty.

The 258 is a top-to-toe plastic pen, coming in cute colours and a unique design. The nib is the only metal part, but the whole pen doesn’t feel low quality or cheap. In fact it’s a solid pen – on par quality-wise with the Lamy Safari. Speaking of the Safari, this pen also has similar grip cut-outs on the grip section, however they are not nearly as pronounced as they are on the Safari.

This one is a cartridge filler, and comes with a short, standard international black cartridge inside. This means you can use Kombi cartridges, or any other standard international converter or cartridge in this pen. It fits long converters and cartridges too. I believe that cartridge style pens are the best for students, the target demographic for the pens in this review.

The cap is transparent, and a rather odd shape. It’s wider towards the middle, like a bubble, and the massive plastic clip runs the length of it. The clip is solid, though it is plastic and thus not as firm as pens with metal clips. Nonetheless, it easily clipped onto my shirts and jacket pockets and stayed there until removed. Posting the cap makes the whole thing much more balanced, so I recommend doing it whenever you write.

Despite the cutesy colours and plastic-fantastic materials, it’s a surprisingly solid pen to use. It’s comfortable, and the grip cutouts are not pronounced, so even those with different handwriting grips will find it easy to use (I tested a few styles and they all worked). I find it really impressive that the grips are actually placed exactly where your fingers should go in a tripod style, with the pointer finger grip slightly ahead of the thumb grip. Faber Castell know how to hold pens right, people!

The nib is extremely smooth and the flow, although rather wet, is well controlled with zero skipping in my usage. I’m very impressed by this little stainless steel nib, and with a five minute smoothing job, it could be even better! I’d place the width somewhere between a western fine and medium.

Overall I am really impressed by this little Faber Castell, and recommend it to anyone looking for a really solid, cheap pen. It’s look aren’t amazing, but it’s well in line with most cheap ballpoints found in pencil cases these days, so doesn’t look out of place. Unfortunately it is one of the more expensive pens on this list, but we are talking a couple of dollars difference.

Verdict: 9/10

The 258 is available in Black, Blue, and Red (pink) for $4.90 at JustWrite

Beifa A+Plus Fountain Pen

Wait, didn’t I just review this pen? Yeah, it appears this one is an Asian copy of the Faber Castell 258 above, and it comes in at 5c more! What? Yeah I’m just as confused as you are, but let’s see if it’s as good as the 258 before judging.

The main differences between this and the 258 are the transparent body and clip. This allows you to see, at a glance, what ink you have in the pen and how much is left. The cap is not coloured like the 258 either, instead being completely clear. Holding them side-by-side it’s hard to tell them apart in terms of weight and build, almost like they were made in the same factory.

This one is also a cartridge filler, which is a plus, and takes the same standard international cartridges as the 258. It even has the exact same grip cutouts as the 258. For all intents and purposes, it’s the same functionally as the 258, but how about the nib?

Well, the nib is slightly scratchier than the 258, but has the same medium width, and the same terrific flow (probably similar feeds). It also writes with a slightly stub-like character, with horizontal strokes being a hair thinner than the vertical strokes. This could be just manufacturing variation, but I quite like it.

Unfortunately, I believe the 258 is a better pen. Despite the fact that they seem to be the same, there are very minor differences in the construction (the feeds are slightly different, for example) that give the Faber Castell the edge over the A+Plus. If you can pick up the 258, do so over this one, otherwise just grab this solid replica, nobody will notice.

Verdict: 7/10

The Beifa A+Plus is available in Blue and Green (the Red isn’t listed at the mo’) for $4.95 from JustWrite

Sellner Marchtrenk Fountain Pen

This cutesy pen reminds me of the Platinum Preppy with its transparent body and bright colours. Weird name aside, it seems to be a nice, inexpensive pen especially suited for kids, and it’s made in Austria! The name comes from the Austrian province where it is made.

It’s a solid, plastic pen with a steel nib. The plastic used here is notably more flexible than the other pens in this post, which coupled with the cute drawings makes me think it is meant for younger children. It’s also a bit thicker, probably so smaller hands can grip it easily. There are no grip cutouts, however. The cap clips on firmly, and posts very well onto the back, giving the pen a very balanced feel. The clip is also very solid, holding on to pockets firmly.

The transparent body gives a good look at the insides and lets you see how much ink is left in the cartridge. This one also takes standard international cartridges, with longer ones fitting just fine.

The fluoro colour of the yellow one is just begging for some brightly coloured inks, but I went with a safe blue Kombi to test it. The flow is very dry, the driest pen out of all in this post. However, it does not tend to skip and even writes with no pressure applied! This means you’ll use very little ink with each stroke and it is guaranteed to dry much quicker – a boon for students, especially in exam conditions. It’s a little scratchy, but not overly so. It’s a cool little pen in my opinion, and shouldn’t be overlooked.

It’s also very cheap, so pick up a few and chuck them in your pencil case, they look like they can take a good beating. A good knockaround pen!

Verdict: 8/10

The Marchtrenk is available in Yellow, Blue, and Red for just $2.75 from JustWrite

The Hero 358

Holy crap is this pen cute. Upon seeing these cutesy little beauties I immediately took a photo and sent it to my girlfriend. Her response? “Those are mine!”

Adorned with adorable Asian-style animals, these are definitely not aimed at the older crowd, but they are superb pens nonetheless. The plastic construction and bright colours make for an attractive pen that is also light and comfortable to use. I would expect to see these in a Japanese stationery shop next to the Hello Kitty pens.

The packaging is all manner of Chinglish, with Kkokkoma Bakery being the theme, and “sweet dreams cometrue (sic), good tuck is only for you” being the tagline. I think that roughly translates to “Your dreams will come true if you tuck yourself in”. If only it were that simple.

These were the only pens that actually came in a bubble-sealed package. They come with five blue cartridges (regardless of pen colour) and they are Hero style (meaning they’re not standard international). The cap is transparent, and each colour has a different animal print on the body.

The cap posts fairly well, but stays on firmly. The clip is a little weak, though I imagine you would keep these in a pencil case and not front and centre in your pocket at a board meeting.

I quite like the way these write. They pass the no-pressure test, so the flow is consistent, but they write really well. There is a small amount of feedback, but nothing too bad, and the line width has zero variation – this is a true ball nib. Flow is medium, and the included cartridges suit the pen well. Overall I think they are really solid pens. If you can get over the super cute exterior, you have a pen that’s very high quality despite the price.

These are on the higher end of the price spectrum, but they do come with packaging and five cartridges. Give one to your little sister or cousin for their birthday, it will be right up their alley.

Verdict: 8/10

The 358 is available in Light Blue (bunny), Yellow (bear), Light Pink (kitten), and Lilac (panda) for $4.80 from JustWrite

So I think these pens are evidence enough that the sub $5 range of fountain pens is alive and kicking. The sheer value of these pens is not to be overlooked, and many of them punch well above their weight in terms of quality and writing ability. I think students now have no excuse for using terrible quality ballpoint pens. Just pick your kids/friends/family up some of these and they’ll be well impressed by the writing they produce.

If you want to see the whole range of student pens at JustWrite, click here. Thanks again to Kevin from JustWrite for providing the products for this post!