Sailor Fountain Pen,Four Seasons Weave, 11-1227-302, Fairy-Barna, Orihime (Medium Fine Point)

I'm not even a "sailor" guy.. But I quite like this pen. I first must say that my idea of what makes a quality writing instrument has nothing to do with neither size nor mass.. I like smaller pens, they work better for me. My main gripe about most popular pens is that they are too dang long.. For years, the apex for me was a nice Pilot Elite. Smooth writer. Hate the convertor, but hey.. Then my father gave me his old Pelikan M250 (or 200.. I think those had gold nibs back in the 80s). He hadn't used it in 30 years.. Unkillable that pen. But it challenged everything I thought i knew about what a good pen was: It was not heavy, made of plastic with gold appointments. The nib was fairly scratchy to the point that at first i thought it needed tuning or repair. After some time i understood: Such a pen, while it might not be the smoothest writing experience, gives life to one's writing. The flex of the nib just makes the words leap off of the page. This pen has some clear similarities. So, I love the Pelikan M line, but while this pen though roughly the same size as a 200, is not a piston pen. It is a simple cartridge pen. Some people will love this, some will hate it, but with a M or smaller nib, i don't think it matters really. There is quite a bit of feedback with this nib. I've been using the fairly dry Sailor Blue-Black (a personal favorite BB) and it sort of feels like i'm writing with an engineering pencil. I haven't wanted to move far past the Sailor range but i did try one Iroshizuku ink and it did not feel great. Sailor black makes a nice line in this pen. There is much less flex than in my, now, well loved Pelikan, but i suspect with use the nib will start to break in. I would also rate this nib squarely in the F category, though i think they market it as a "Medium-Fine" or some such thing. I was not prepared for how beautiful this pen would be and the feel of the pen while writing has absolutely grown on me (who used to solely rate nibs by how smooth they felt). Despite the feedback, there are no sudden skips or hard starts evidenced in my writing. It's a pretty good option to keep inked long term. It is a stark contrast to a Pilot or Twisbi, but if you are a fan of the current Pelikan M200 or M205, this would be a shockingly good alternative for less. One caveat: I think i bought this pen for 85$ and Pro Gear Slims are usually about 3 times that

Love the feedback of the nib on paper. Lightweight pen, great for long term writing/drawing. Precisely calibrated ink flow. Smooth. Beautiful. Not flex nib though. The pen has gold specks shimmers on the body. Very well designed and built. She’s gorgeous.

The pen is stunning and it functions perfectly. Those that want a frictionless writing experience may want to stay away, but I have come to enjoy the unique feedback that sailor nibs write with.

This Sailor Pro Gear Slim with a medium fine nib is my first fountain pen. This review is merely my initial assessment of the product. I can't vouch for its longevity yet. I have about average sized hands for a woman. That makes them small relative to the average mans. That makes me part of the typical audience for a smaller sized pen. Even so, I got worried during the initial unboxing that it was smaller and lighter than I expected, but once I posted the cap on the back of the pen, it felt comfortable to hold, and the balance felt nice. It has a delightful anchor symbol on the nib. The writing on the edge of the cap and the shimmering of the body could have been tacky, but the pen remains elegant. It does not feel cheap, but it doesn't carry itself with a luxurious or serious weightiness either. There is a bit of feedback that it provides when I write. I view it as a pleasant responsiveness, rather than a grating problem. From what I've read, this is a characteristic the brand is known for - a feature, not a bug. However, that does not guarantee that you'll like it! I'm sure that an experienced fountain pen lover could find various workarounds if they had a problem and were determined to use it anyway, but if you are a novice expecting a buttery smooth experience without any tinkering, then this is not the pen for you. All in all, I'm enjoying this pen very much. I did consider the Burgundy Pilot E95s, but it isn't as affordable as the Pro Gear Slim as of the time of this review. While I do intend to eventually get the E95s anyway, I don't feel disappointed with my choice. My one true gripe with this purchase was that I did not receive the advertised converter that comes included. I could still immediately install one of the two cartridges provided to test the pen, but I will have to buy a converter whenever I get into bottled inks. Converters aren't expensive, but it's the principle of the thing! You can't get 5 stars if you don't send everything that's advertised, and this is a complaint that multiple people have had. Despite this hiccup, I would still recommend the product. Just recognize that you might have to spend an extra $12 or so later down the line.