Friday, July 31, 2009

Review: Pilot Prera


Specs:

Length capped: 4.7 inches
Length uncapped: 4.25 inches
Length posted: 5.4 inches
Diameter: .5 inch, narrows at the section to 3/8 inch
Weight: 0.5 oz.
One cartridge supplied.
Optional converter.

The Pilot Prera is a very attractive pen with silver-toned trim. The clip is on the stiff side and is best for thinner fabrics such as a dress shirt rather than a thick fabric like corduroy.

Shorter than the Pilot Ecrino, the Prera is still comfortable for me to write with the cap unposted as I prefer. The Fine nib I got is typical of Japanese pens, being about a half-size narrower than a European pen with a Fine nib. There's a bit of spring to the nib which adds to the comfortable writing and the line varies only slightly as pressure changes, not enough to call it a semi-flex nib. It writes smoothly with consistent ink flow and good start-up.

The balance is great as may be expected of a Pilot pen.

Since I'm not in the habit of laying down a fountain pen uncapped, I can't say how well it starts after lying out that way for a while.

Available in Brown, Ivory, Lime Green, Royal Blue, Slate Gray, Soft Blue, Vivid Pink, White, and Yellow in Fine or Medium nibs, at $42 or less, this is an excellent pen for people who need a conservative look as well as those who want fun colors.

For those who like to match their pens to their inks, the Soft Blue I bought is leaning toward turquoise, somewhat lighter than Noodler's Britannia's Blue Waves.

I think the Prera rivals the Waterman Phileas that serves so well as a starter pen or gift or extra pen for those who like fine, low-cost, user pens.

The bottom line is that I like it. I like it! I REALLY like it!

I'm trying to figure out what other color(s) I should get :).


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