Thursday, April 7, 2016

Review: Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot

Thank you Goldspot for sending this lovely little bird over!
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (24)
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (14)
ABOUT

Body Material: Acrylic Resin
Trim: Gold-plated
Length (capped): 125.2 mm/4.92"
Length (uncapped nib-end): 121.3 mm/4.77"
Length (posted): 147.8 mm/5.81"
Barrel Diameter: 11.8 mm/0.46"
Section Diameter: 9.1 - 9.8 mm/0.36"- 0.38"
Nib material: Steel, gold-plated
Nibs available: F, M, B
Weight (all): 12 g
Weight (cap): 4 g
Weight (body): 8 g
Fill type: Piston-filler
Price: $143.95USD
Where to buy: Goldspot
Goldspot Pens
PACKAGING

This Pelikan is packaged in a box that resembles Pelikan's coffin gift box, but is smaller and, in my humble opinion, better! Inside a white cardboard, Pelikan-branded sleeve, there is a matte brownish-grey box. The top has the Pelikan logo on it, in brown. The brown matches the brown tones of the grey around it, as well as the brown slide out tray on the side. The brown satin ribbon makes the tray easy to spot and remove. Blah blah you don't care. The pen.
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (12)
Inside the tray, you will find the white Pelikan leather pouch, with matching brown ribbons (instead of the plastic seal found on the Souverän series). Underneath this, there is some tissue paper that protects the Pelikan warranty booklet. I prefer this to Pelikan's larger, rectangular gift box because this does as good a job protecting the pen, and it takes up much less space.

APPEARANCE

I saw this pen in pictures and I thought it was beautiful. I must say that, although it is not the most expensive pen I've ever seen or held, it is certainly attractive.
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (13)
I have always been a fan of the M200 shape. The cap and barrel are round, with slightly rounded off ends. The finial is a gold-on-black Pelikan logo. The black looks great, because it looks more continuous with the black of the cap. The clip is attached externally by a ring around the cap. The clip is cute and it is one of my favorite clip designs! It's adorable, and looks like a pelican's bill. The end angles upward just a little.
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (15)
The center band is a thin, gold-plated metal band around the end of the cap. It is engraved with Pelikan Germany. The last piece of trim is another gold band, denoting the end of the piston-turning knob. The cap, section, and piston-turning knob are all solid black. The section is fairly small, although the pen itself is not all that big, and it is smooth and round, tapering towards the nib. It ends in a flared ridge before the nib. There is a large ink window, visible when the pen is uncapped. Pelikan's ink window is one of my favorite thing about the pens, and this one is no exception.

The most beautiful part of this pen is the barrel. It is a gorgeous, super chatoyant green marble acrylic resin. The dark green to light green is really eye-catching and lovely, and it practically glows in the light of day.
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (19)
If you've been here before, you probably know I'm a fan of Pelikan pens. I think the Green Marble is just the right combination of colors - black, green, gold trim - to maintain its class and elegance, while being very pretty. It's very nice, and classic like the Green Stripe, and I really love that barrel.
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (25)
NIB & PERFORMANCE

This gold-plated stainless steel nib is a fine. It has a single slit and a round breather hole. The nib is simple, and matches the pen well. It is engraved with Pelikan, the Pelikan logo, and the nib size (F). I flushed the pen before inking it up, of course. I like the finer nibs on the M200 series, as they tend to be slightly springy, so they're very enjoyable to write with. I like gold nibs more than steel nibs because they often have a bit more give than steel nibs (not always, but the more often), but these steel nibs just have the right amount of spring to mimic that feeling.
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (20)
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (21)
The nib is fairly smooth, but it isn't glassy and I find it has just a bit of feedback. It is not an extremely wet writer, and drying times are fairly fast. Considering it is a fine nib, that is not unusual or surprising. Under normal writing conditions, the nib and feed keep up well. I experienced a few skips and hard starts - it looks and feels like the sweet spot is fairly small.
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (9)
With pressure, the nib does produce a little bit of line variation. On smooth paper, the nib occasionally would skip and hard start if I applied pressure. Too bad, but I think the parts of the tipping that get exposed with pressure are not polished enough. This makes sense, as it's not designed for that. With fast writing, the nib and feed keep up easily, and the pen also passes the free weight test with ease. The nib performs best on paper like Leuchtturm1917, Moleskine, Field Notes, William Hannah UK, etc. Darn that smooth paper.

IN HAND

The clip is smooth and perfectly shaped to slide it on to papers, into pockets, and into pouches. It doesn't get stuck, and it's not so stiff that it's hard to use.
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (16)
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (17)
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (18)
The section is small, but I don't find it slippery or uncomfortable. Unposted, the pen feels a little light in hand, especially as it's small. The balance is okay, but since it's short, it doesn't feel all that substantial. The cap can be posted by friction, and the cap seats securely and snugly. I like using the pen posted - it is a little heavier than when it's unposted, and the balance is spot on. It's super comfortable, not too heavy, a good length, and easy to use for long writing sessions.
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (23)
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (22)
PROS & CONS
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (10)
OVERALL
Review Pelikan Tradition Series M200 Green Marble Fountain Pen @Goldspot (27)
A decent Pelikan experience - a classic, beautiful pen that is functional, affordable, and easy to maintain yourself. The Green Marble is a superb color, and the pen is really comfortable. The nib performed really well on normal paper types. A quick tuning could fix this to make that sweet spot a little bigger, but it's pretty decent out of the box.

I received this pen free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. There are no affiliate links in this review.

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