Lamy vista extra fine nib review

I've been carrying my Lamy Vista as an every-day carry pen for around five years now, EF nib. It's fantastic.

This pen is durable, writes fantastically, and looks great. I use the piston converter in mine, and I'm /very/ pleased with the red/black converter in the clear pen. It looks great! For those that are critical of the 'easily-scratched finish'; sure, you can tell that I've carried this pen for years, but it still looks great. The clip is also fantastic; the spring-steel has managed not to get bent, even after years of riding in my pocket. All the seals and rings are as tight as when I first got the pen. Once a week, I go over the cap with a damp q-tip to remove the small amount of ink that gets inside.

As to the people who are critical of the nib... yes, these tend to be broader points than they say, but it's because they're going by German standards. The German EF nib is more like a standard American nib, I would say the line width runs about as thick as a Pilot V7. And my nib was a hair scratchy when I first got it; I believe that many pens are supposed to be, so that it will wear to your writing style. This "issue" was a non-issue within a few days, this pen writes smoothly and offers fantastic results.

If you've been considering trying out a decent fountain pen, or just need an every-day pen to carry with you, this is a /great/ start.

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The Lamy Vista is plastic bodied fountain pen (also available as a rollerball, ballpoint and pencil). It’s available with extra-fine, fine, medium, broad and left-handed nibs at the point of sale but several italic nibs (such as this 1.5mm one) are available as extras. It costs around £14 in the UK and $30 in the USA – a rare case of something being cheaper on this side of the pond.

It’s possible to find the occasional dodgy Lamy nib but it’s quite rare. I’ve got…more than I want to admit to…and only one of them has caused me problems. This 1.5mm nib is great and the Lamy Vista feed easily keeps up with it with all but the gloopiest of inks. It’s smooth and brings out the character of the ink.

The grip is the standard Safari/Vista/AL-Star triangular affair. It suits me fine, I find it very comfortable. You may find the same. Or you may not. The only way to find out is to try. Maybe go to a real actual shoppy shop and pick one up, see how you get on.

The barrel is a good size and very light, so will be comfortable in any hand. The cap posts securely and being so light doesn’t throw off the balance at all.

The clip is a strong loop of chrome-plated brass and not only looks great, works well too. It clips onto things.

Lamy use their own cartridges and converters. Lamy converters are pretty good and aren’t expensive as these things go.

When I wrote the handwritten part of this review I was under the impression my first Lamy pen was an AL-Star. It was actually a black Safari but that was a very long time ago and I lost it sometime in the distant past. I liked the Safari but didn’t have anything else to compare it to at the time. The AL-Star was an early purchase during this current obsession/interest/passion and I didn’t like it much. I still don’t. It’s completely lacking in character. I bought this Vista because it was on eBay. (That’s all it seems to take.) I’m so glad I did: it’s great! Such a fun pen.

What is the difference between fine and extra fine nibs?

An extra fine nib creates a line of ink that is 0.35mm – 0.45mm wide. A fine nib creates a line of ink that is 0.45mm – 0.55mm wide and is generally regarded as the preferred option if you have a relatively light touch, write quickly or deal with lots of numbers.

Which fountain pen nib is smoothest?

Pelikan M205 Pelikan is known for manufacturing some of the smoothest and most consistent nibs in the fountain pen world, and the M205 is no exception. It produces a nice, wet flow that adds to the overall buttery feel of the nib.

Is the Lamy Safari scratchy?

The nib feels as scratchy as a cheap pencil. On almost every paper I tried it, it just feels very bad. I had a Parker IM before the Lamy and that thing was much smoother on the same paper.

Why is LAMY so popular?

Even today, the Lamy Safari is a benchmark in terms of nib performance. The Safari steel nib represents a leapfrog in nib quality because at one time steel nibs would rust and so people were encouraged to buy gold nibs to avoid that. Also, ink quality has improved as well preventing corrosion.