Pen Review: Lamy Safari Rollerball
One pen that I found I really wanted in my new obsession was a Lamy Safari. A colleague at work bought a fountain pen version and I found it very nice apart from the nib type. The roller ball version was added to my Amazon wishlist and for my birthday in March it was a gift from the lovely elfinessy and her husband.
I think the Safari series was actually conceived to be taken on exotic holidays. It is made from tough ABS plastic with a very large metal pocket clip. The grip area has a distinct three sided profile for a secure hold and I find it very comfortable with the cap posted on the end or left off.
The default cartridge is a pleasing dark blue that writes a sharp line. There is no indication of nib size but I'd judge it around 0.5mm from the line.
One difference from the original fountain pen version is that there is no little viewing window showing how much ink is left in the cartridge. This is because the rollerball uses a metal body refill. While I generally vote metal over plastic in life here it means I cannot tell how much ink is left. Not a problem in the office but bloody annoying if I was on Safari!
The cartridge uses a soft plastic ring at the rear which is crushed by ABS fins in the barrel to headspace the nib. Not as elegant as the little spring in the Tombow Egg but I guess less likely to break.
I've used mine for a few months at work and it performed very well. I find its 'Industrial Safely' yellow plastic cheers me up. It's quite a tactile pen; you can feel the quality.
In short; it's a design classic that's also very affordable. See the entire range at Cult Pens. There is also a version called the Al-Star in aluminium; I'm tempted to get one of those in ballpoint!
I think the Safari series was actually conceived to be taken on exotic holidays. It is made from tough ABS plastic with a very large metal pocket clip. The grip area has a distinct three sided profile for a secure hold and I find it very comfortable with the cap posted on the end or left off.
The default cartridge is a pleasing dark blue that writes a sharp line. There is no indication of nib size but I'd judge it around 0.5mm from the line.
One difference from the original fountain pen version is that there is no little viewing window showing how much ink is left in the cartridge. This is because the rollerball uses a metal body refill. While I generally vote metal over plastic in life here it means I cannot tell how much ink is left. Not a problem in the office but bloody annoying if I was on Safari!
The cartridge uses a soft plastic ring at the rear which is crushed by ABS fins in the barrel to headspace the nib. Not as elegant as the little spring in the Tombow Egg but I guess less likely to break.
I've used mine for a few months at work and it performed very well. I find its 'Industrial Safely' yellow plastic cheers me up. It's quite a tactile pen; you can feel the quality.
In short; it's a design classic that's also very affordable. See the entire range at Cult Pens. There is also a version called the Al-Star in aluminium; I'm tempted to get one of those in ballpoint!