I bought my first Prera a couple of months ago for a work pen. Purchased from Jet Pens, a beautiful ivory color. The snap cap solved the problem of a screw cap (my Sailor compas) that slowed me down too much opening and closing the pen a lot each day. Writes like a dream, and makes a great fidget toy during boring zoom meetings. Great review. I've learned a lot from your detailed videos. Thanks so much for your attention to detail for us pen nerds...
Well described! Living most of my adult life in Japan, I appreciated your insight into the focus on improving quality while maintaining backward compatibility. Using my first Prera, I am truly impressed.
Pilot pen feeds are amazing honestly. So consistent. All my TWSBI pens start overly wet then get dry. Lamy has great feeds too but those don't handle shimmer well Loved the plane test btw! :D
Their feed design works extremely well. People complain about the con 40 and the ink capacity and I get it, but it has to do with the feed design which is absolutely flawless
Love the Prera--to avoid the squeeze on or the Con-40 (Pilot's way of saying, oops you ran out of ink, so try a new color), I just refill a cartridge. It's one of my favorites to keep with a planner to the size and reliability.
I picked up a Prera for one of my daughters and she loved it. She didn't look after it though, dried ink. It cleaned up easily enough but was surprised to see a slight etching/ink corrosion to the top of the nib, she was using Mont Blanc Mystery Black. I have since removed the etched layer and have it looking minty again.
Hey DB. Thank you again for a great video review. I also bought my Prera from Pen Chalet, and i am very happy with my pen. I admit, it's actually smaller than I thought it would be... lol. It writes well. Pilot Pens are very well built. Of all my pens, they seem to be the most consistent writing with no hard starts, and minimal problems.
Thank you so much for the air pressure test!! Please make this a feature of all your reviews! I have always been nervous taking my fountain pens on airplanes...Thank you, sir!
No problem glad it helps. I did a while series on flying with pens. Different filling systems etc. I have a playlist with some engineering type topics and the flying with pens is on there. Give it a look th-cam.com/play/PL6RAe6vPmtDiZnhH7NNjKORkwboOZUurR.html
Would you mind going into more detail about why you prefer the Prera over the Metro? I love my Metros and have a hard time justifying paying more for the Prera's plastic appearance, especially since the nibs and feeds are the same. The Prera just looks like a higher-end Platinum Preppy to me. I am biased because I love the Art Deco period but I still question why I'd pay 50+ for an art supply when I can get a refined pen for less than half that cost. What makes it worth the extra money, in your opinion?
@@twitch7515 There is only one aspect that I like most on the Prerra over the Metro - comfort, for me at least. That big step up for my large hands is not comfortable over long period of times. And it posts very odd for me. I have no issue with either them on the Prerra. Don't waste your money until you get a chance to try it - or get it from somewhere where you can return it. Just because I like it, doesn't mean you will.
@@eugenborcan Thanks for the fast, honest, and helpful reply! And fair enough! I've heard that the Metro's step between barrel and grip sections is a bother for a lot of people, as is the awkward posting of the cap. I looked further into the Prera and found some opaque color options which look quite handsome! I love Pilot nibs so I might just have to buy a Prera on the used market or on Black Friday.
Thank you for all your reviews! I appreciate your attention to detail, it is similar to my own. I really like how thorough you are in explaining functions and details of the pen. I have watched many of your videos and am never disappointed.
I've never really considered getting a Prera but after this video, it's at least higher on my list lol I guess I never realized just how small it is, and nice that it has a slightly wider grip section than the sport. Now I think it's cute ahaha
I have Prera and Sport. I find both of them nice though I hated the light weight of the Prera when I first got it (I got the Sport later). I still don’t love the weight of either and I don’t notice that the grip on the Sport feels noticeably narrower, but maybe that’s just me. The Prera has a nicer nib though - even after 3-4 weeks sitting I’ve never had a hard start or skip from it. Only used pilot black ink from cartridges in it since I’ve had it.
I bought one from Pen Chalet with the Pink trim effects and a bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku Bottled Ink(50ml) Fountain Pen Ink: Flower Raft of Japanese Cherry (hana-ikada), which I understand is now discontinued, for a sweet co-worker of mine (we share a birthday) who is a fanatic for the color pink. She's got an artistic side I figure a fancy writing implement might suit her. I used this review as a guide. A practical, EASY TO CARE FOR (a gift for a Fountainpen newbie) solid writer. I hope she likes it. Thank you for the uber-helpful review. (BTW, I bought myself a Pilot E95s in Ivory/Burgundy, fine nib, and Diamine Bottled Ink(80ml) Color Chart Ox Blood (the ink held up the order a bit as it needed to be restocked via Great Britain.) I haven't used it yet. I understand the ink converter in the E95s is small and refilling a used pilot ink cartridge is about as large an ink-holding system as you can hope for. True?)
Great video. Pilot has made the biggest impact of all on my fountain pen journey. Via their FA & Music Nibs. I have a massive respect for the brand and as you say I don’t think they make a bad pen. This Prerera has a lot of value and I think that at the very least in a broad nib would be a very useful pen for me to carry around. I’m becoming a bit more of an EDC person & this one pretty much ticks the boxes. Thank you Doodle Bud for yet another great video. Catch ya next time D
Amazing timing (again!) I just received my Pilot Prera yesterday from AMZN. Mine has "CM" Caligraphy nib (Pilot Fountain Pen Prera Iron-Ai ) and was only $35. I got it to try out two things 1) to see if it would provide the line variation (like we discussed in your Flex Friday offerings.) 2) I wanted to experiment with the "eye dropper" fill system the Goulet guys showed. I got a 10mm x 1 mm O-ring and was planning to remove the converter and fill the translucent body with SHIMMER ink. Unbelievably, just before doing so, I came here (to TH-cam) to watch their video again and VOILA you have this brand new review. NOW I'm wondering if I should proceed with my plan. (cont'd in reply...)
I love the Prera with some Diamine Aurora Borealis (just tested the converter.) But, the reason I bought it was for the shimmering see-thru body effect. H E L P. I trust you completely. What do you say?? PS -- we got a big THANK you from Goulet guys for liking their heat-setting demo. FUN! Thanks in advance for your recommendation -- leave it alone vs. give it a try. I can always clean it up and put the converter back, I hope. My hands might look like yours, tho 😱 Happy 4th! 🎆
The pen case "closes with a very firm snap". How's that work? With some type of spring? I'd rather not dissect my box. And yes, I love my Prera. Great little, highly dependable pen.
I just converted my Prera Demonstrator into an eye dropper by using an O-Ring I use on my soft plastic fishing worms. It's a perfect fit and you don't need silicone grease.
@@Doodlebud Thanks. Watching your channel over the past year has given me tons of great ideas on how to fix issues or just plain improve my pens. Thoroughly enjoy the channel sir!
quick qn: just curious - why would people use prera when Kakuno has similar size and similar advantages and is much cheaper? If you could do a shootout that would be great!
I just ordered one of these today. I am laughing when you got ink on your hand- because I just did that being a newbie to Fountain Pens. But this is fun, like playing in mud when you were a kid. i like your videos. they are entertaining.
I have found that if you keep the disposable ink cartridges you can just fill them up any time you want. The pen comes with both. What’s not to love, the verse and transparency is awesome. I’m not used to the way these write though, it’s a different beast to to fountain pens i grew up with. (Hard to dispute a montblanc as a good experience)
@@gonnfishy2987 that works too, but I’m not a fan of having to wait for the ink to make its way through the feed. So much so that, whatever complaints I may have with the con40, I would rather use that than refilling the cartridge. On a different note, what’s so different between a Montblanc and say a Pilot Custom 823? I’ve had brief opportunities to write with a montblanc and it was nice, but I didn’t think it was anything but comparable to any of the premium Pilot pens I owned. But maybe that was just because I didn’t know what to look for and the short length of the experience didn’t let me identify it on my own, so that is why I am asking. Something like that happened to me with gold nibs where I did a writing test and didn’t get it. But it wasn’t until I took the plunge anyway and eventually I started to like writing with it more and more than the rest and now I own more gold nibs than not.
@@Vendavalez i will come back to this to answer, really tired. In short, the montblanc i used had a very smooth soft nib, it put down ample ink and pressure made the kind of difference you would expect rather than like the prera behaves (though i recall the nib was different? It was an old pen, had been a grandparent’s pen, i took it up and cherished it till deteriorated barrel leaked ink onto my fingers) There were plentiful cheaper pens for sale, I spent the time after trying to find a substitute for the montblanc. They mostly seemed to dry, scratchy… the stiffer nibs and lack of wetness couldn’t compare. I gave up using fp until recently when i got gifted a prera and a calligraphy pen with an assortment of nibs 🙂
@@gonnfishy2987 gotcha. While I think that Pilot has the best steel nib/feed combinations I have used, specially when considering the price point in which you can find them, they are not to my preference after using a lot of gold nibs. My current favorite is the Pilot Soft Medium #15 nib which is smooth, bouncy, and gushes ink. Because of that the line tends to be a bit broad depending on the ink so you may prefer a Soft Fine-Medium because the Soft Fine may be too fine. I got a Soft Fine a few months ago and regretted not going for the next size up. I have 2 Custom 743 with the Soft Medium nibs because I love that nib so much. I had to import them from Japan because retailers here don’t carry the “soft” variety. The only thing is the price… Because of my writing preferences, I certainly envy having lived in a time and place where buying pens where it was possible to get pens with those characteristics conveniently and affordable. But things change and at least I have a chance to get them at all. Even then, they are cheaper than a montblanc. I have been meaning to see if it is worth getting one but I would prefer to get the input of someone who is familiar with them. So I really appreciate your input when you can!
Since I didn’t take that special 40 hour course offered by Pilot on “How to fill a Con-40”, I belong to ‘those who dislike Con-40’ category 😉 Have you tried a Twsbi Diamond Mini - Another pocket sized demonstrator pen (but a piston filler) ?
I think the demonstrator Preras have a cheap look to them, and I hate to say that with the way they write like a dream. As some other comments mentioned, the solid color ones look a lot more luxe in my own personal opinion, but you don't see them all that often. Thanks for putting the pen through the ringer in the review! All I could think of was inflating the pen up like a bicycle tire pump, and I couldn't stop laughing. 😂
Agreed about the demonstrators, but then I don’t like the look of most demonstrators regardless of price. My Prera looks cheap but feels well made. I got my 823 in smoke because it’s less noticeable that it’s demonstrator than the Amber version. I think people either really love demonstrators or not.
@@adamzappia2213 I love demonstrators, but I think it comes to a point where certain color shades just look... more juvenile and cheap? Like, I think of when I was a child and the big thing was to get those cheap colorful pens to catch your eye with lights in them (they're still made, but I'm reflecting). They might have been made well, but they remind me of a more childish time where things were inexpensive and throwaway to a fault. If you look at the Prefounte, it is an inexpensive pen at its core, but it looks more expensive because of the darker shades. It feels cheaper, but looks more expensive. Strange, isn't it?
A demonstrator showing off the ink color is a nice touch though. Also very practical when you wonder how much ink is left to write with at a glance. So, a clear pen body (without stress cracks, I'm looking at you, TWSBI) does not bother me.
My only complaints- i need a bit more feedback, the weight of pen+barrel feel is not giving me the feels: also; this is not a medium lol. It’s sparse af with ink, great for lefties but it’s like an artline .4 compared with a 1.0 biro. I had to personalise my tines to make up but it’s never going to be luscious strokes. And: so smooth and quick it’s almost “gets away from me” slippy. 😅
Seems to be very similar to the metro. Can't say for sure if the writing experience is the same. This one doesn't have as many nib options as the metro. My metro has the CI nib, and I do find the pen dries up. This one hasn't had started even once, so "performance" seems better.
So far for pilot I’ve bought a Custom 74, a Vanishing point, an Elite, and a Metropolitan. I must be unlucky because the ONLY one that did NOT have an issue when it arrived was the metropolitan. My custom 74 I had to send to Pilot BRAND NEW cause it wasn’t writing correctly. They changed the nib and I still could barely write so I just sold it. My VP also would not write. I chose not to send that to pilot and wait 2 months to get it back cause this pen was brand new too. Goulet sent me a replacement nib unit and now works great. My fine elite is super tight too, it doesn’t like upstrokes but I’m tired of sending brand new pens to pilot and waiting for spare parts for them to work. All 100 plus dollar pens I bought had issues. The ONLY one that worked well out of the box was the metropolitan. It’s gotten me a bit disappointed with pilot and unsure if I’ll ever buy their pens again. I MAY give them one more chance when I have money for an 823 but if that pen arrives with issues like all my other ones have I’ll have to stop giving them the benefit of the doubt cause even at this point my pilot fails are 75% and every failed pen was 100+ dollars.
Damn, you must have a bad luck streak going. The only pen that has left me down a bit was the 823. Everything works perfectly, just the nib didn't feel greet for me.
I read somewhere that Pilot pens are designed to write a bit dry: Iroshizuku inks seem mostly wetter than I want - if you’re having issues try pairing a Pilot pen with an Iroshizuku ink and see if that helps: fwiw, shin-kai(blue/black), shin-ryoku(forest green), momiji(red leaning pink and sui-gyoku(emerald) are on the drier end of the spectrum, everything else just seems too wet for me!:)
I haven't tried out eye droppering the Prera. I'm not a big eye dropper person in general so not the best person to ask. If you search around pen groups or forums I'm sure there answer is out there
The Con 40 gets hate because Pilot discontinued the Con 50, which was better, and gave us the Con 40. We know Pilot can make better converters, but they don’t. The Con 50 was backwards compatible with everything too. There is no reason for the Con 40
@@deltapi6880 The con 50 is universally known as the better of the 2 converters. Not saying that it was good, but it was better than the con 40. The con 50 also had an agitator and they same diameter opening as all pilot cartridges or converters, so it “running dry” or failing to deliver ink unfounded. I used the con 50 for years (I still have a few) they work perfectly fine.
@@Doodlebud If I understand the phenomenon, it is actually a reduction in air pressure as compared to ground level vs cruising altitude. I don't think it would be a true 3.7psi vacuum, but a drop of up to 3.7psi in the atmosphere at cruising elevation compared to the pressure at ground. If that is true, I would think a full vacuum would indeed cause a higher guarantee of ink bleed vs a higher chance of capillary action do to a a reduced pressure.
Happy to send you the five instead of buying a "tube of lube" (to seal my Prera.) I used a dab of my Burt's Beeswax and it's perfect. The 10 mm O-ring was too large for this baby. I filled the transparent barrel with Shimmery ink. Tomorrow I'll take a pic in daylight and post on my blog, with a few more details. I'm sure anyone innovative enough to "drop fill" a fountain pen can locate my blog 😜 Thanks again DB.
@@Doodlebud Working GREAT. I posted a couple of Prera pics on my "Ink of Zialink" blog post, as update at the end-- same post where I mention you 😇 The shimmer ink looks fantastic in the barrel and on the page. Thanks again for ALL your videos. They are fun and very helpful.
Hi! Do you know a fountain pen you can recommend that is waterproof and maybe alcohol proof for EDC. I had a bad experience that the note I wrote got wet in alcohol and water and erased some of my important notes I wrote, I'm new to this quality pen and fountain pen and I don't know where to start. I have always thought that any pen will do but now I really need to get better quality pens.
I bought my first pilot-a metro with a medium nib. This is by no means a medium. More like a fine or xfine. Very disappointed. I don’t like fine nibs. If I could somehow get one of their stub nibs it might work better for me but I’ve been unable to find where to get pilot nibs.
Love the idea of bringing in the plane test for these reviews, very informative and well shot, thank you!
I'm always curious how a pen will hope up during that test
I bought my first Prera a couple of months ago for a work pen. Purchased from Jet Pens, a beautiful ivory color. The snap cap solved the problem of a screw cap (my Sailor compas) that slowed me down too much opening and closing the pen a lot each day. Writes like a dream, and makes a great fidget toy during boring zoom meetings. Great review. I've learned a lot from your detailed videos. Thanks so much for your attention to detail for us pen nerds...
Good to hear you're enjoying your new pen & got something out of my video 👍
Well described! Living most of my adult life in Japan, I appreciated your insight into the focus on improving quality while maintaining backward compatibility. Using my first Prera, I am truly impressed.
6:18 - could be an innovation for ink reviews: Here's a writing sample, here's a swatch, and this is what it looks like if you wear it...
And quite frankly many of your viewers are watching with inky hands too. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Pilot pen feeds are amazing honestly. So consistent. All my TWSBI pens start overly wet then get dry. Lamy has great feeds too but those don't handle shimmer well
Loved the plane test btw! :D
Their feed design works extremely well. People complain about the con 40 and the ink capacity and I get it, but it has to do with the feed design which is absolutely flawless
Love the Prera--to avoid the squeeze on or the Con-40 (Pilot's way of saying, oops you ran out of ink, so try a new color), I just refill a cartridge. It's one of my favorites to keep with a planner to the size and reliability.
Cool little workhorse pen. I love that Pilot put so much thought into every product, including the humble, yet mighty, Petit 1 I am currently using.
I picked up a Prera for one of my daughters and she loved it. She didn't look after it though, dried ink. It cleaned up easily enough but was surprised to see a slight etching/ink corrosion to the top of the nib, she was using Mont Blanc Mystery Black. I have since removed the etched layer and have it looking minty again.
Hey DB. Thank you again for a great video review. I also bought my Prera from Pen Chalet, and i am very happy with my pen. I admit, it's actually smaller than I thought it would be... lol. It writes well. Pilot Pens are very well built. Of all my pens, they seem to be the most consistent writing with no hard starts, and minimal problems.
I've been very happy with all the purchases I've made with Pen Chalet & this little Prera is great!
Thank you so much for the air pressure test!! Please make this a feature of all your reviews! I have always been nervous taking my fountain pens on airplanes...Thank you, sir!
No problem glad it helps. I did a while series on flying with pens. Different filling systems etc. I have a playlist with some engineering type topics and the flying with pens is on there. Give it a look
th-cam.com/play/PL6RAe6vPmtDiZnhH7NNjKORkwboOZUurR.html
Very underrated pens - I recommend this over the Metropolitan any time of the day :).
BTW, you can use CON-50 in the Prerra, if you hate the CON-40.
KAKUNO UBER ALLES
Would you mind going into more detail about why you prefer the Prera over the Metro? I love my Metros and have a hard time justifying paying more for the Prera's plastic appearance, especially since the nibs and feeds are the same. The Prera just looks like a higher-end Platinum Preppy to me. I am biased because I love the Art Deco period but I still question why I'd pay 50+ for an art supply when I can get a refined pen for less than half that cost. What makes it worth the extra money, in your opinion?
@@twitch7515 There is only one aspect that I like most on the Prerra over the Metro - comfort, for me at least. That big step up for my large hands is not comfortable over long period of times. And it posts very odd for me.
I have no issue with either them on the Prerra.
Don't waste your money until you get a chance to try it - or get it from somewhere where you can return it. Just because I like it, doesn't mean you will.
@@eugenborcan Thanks for the fast, honest, and helpful reply!
And fair enough! I've heard that the Metro's step between barrel and grip sections is a bother for a lot of people, as is the awkward posting of the cap.
I looked further into the Prera and found some opaque color options which look quite handsome! I love Pilot nibs so I might just have to buy a Prera on the used market or on Black Friday.
Thank you for all your reviews! I appreciate your attention to detail, it is similar to my own. I really like how thorough you are in explaining functions and details of the pen. I have watched many of your videos and am never disappointed.
👍😀🤓
I've never really considered getting a Prera but after this video, it's at least higher on my list lol I guess I never realized just how small it is, and nice that it has a slightly wider grip section than the sport. Now I think it's cute ahaha
I have Prera and Sport. I find both of them nice though I hated the light weight of the Prera when I first got it (I got the Sport later). I still don’t love the weight of either and I don’t notice that the grip on the Sport feels noticeably narrower, but maybe that’s just me. The Prera has a nicer nib though - even after 3-4 weeks sitting I’ve never had a hard start or skip from it. Only used pilot black ink from cartridges in it since I’ve had it.
I bought one from Pen Chalet with the Pink trim effects and a bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku Bottled Ink(50ml) Fountain Pen Ink: Flower Raft of Japanese Cherry (hana-ikada), which I understand is now discontinued, for a sweet co-worker of mine (we share a birthday) who is a fanatic for the color pink. She's got an artistic side I figure a fancy writing implement might suit her. I used this review as a guide. A practical, EASY TO CARE FOR (a gift for a Fountainpen newbie) solid writer. I hope she likes it. Thank you for the uber-helpful review.
(BTW, I bought myself a Pilot E95s in Ivory/Burgundy, fine nib, and Diamine Bottled Ink(80ml) Color Chart Ox Blood (the ink held up the order a bit as it needed to be restocked via Great Britain.) I haven't used it yet. I understand the ink converter in the E95s is small and refilling a used pilot ink cartridge is about as large an ink-holding system as you can hope for. True?)
Yup, refill the cartridge and that's the max ink solution for the pen
Great video. Pilot has made the biggest impact of all on my fountain pen journey. Via their FA & Music Nibs. I have a massive respect for the brand and as you say I don’t think they make a bad pen. This Prerera has a lot of value and I think that at the very least in a broad nib would be a very useful pen for me to carry around. I’m becoming a bit more of an EDC person & this one pretty much ticks the boxes. Thank you Doodle Bud for yet another great video. Catch ya next time D
I've always wondered about this pen, can see why it's fairly popular 👍
Amazing timing (again!) I just received my Pilot Prera yesterday from AMZN. Mine has "CM" Caligraphy nib (Pilot Fountain Pen Prera Iron-Ai ) and was only $35. I got it to try out two things 1) to see if it would provide the line variation (like we discussed in your Flex Friday offerings.) 2) I wanted to experiment with the "eye dropper" fill system the Goulet guys showed. I got a 10mm x 1 mm O-ring and was planning to remove the converter and fill the translucent body with SHIMMER ink. Unbelievably, just before doing so, I came here (to TH-cam) to watch their video again and VOILA you have this brand new review. NOW I'm wondering if I should proceed with my plan.
(cont'd in reply...)
I love the Prera with some Diamine Aurora Borealis (just tested the converter.) But, the reason I bought it was for the shimmering see-thru body effect. H E L P. I trust you completely. What do you say??
PS -- we got a big THANK you from Goulet guys for liking their heat-setting demo. FUN! Thanks in advance for your recommendation -- leave it alone vs. give it a try. I can always clean it up and put the converter back, I hope.
My hands might look like yours, tho 😱 Happy 4th! 🎆
It’s a great pen. It’s one that I carry around without worry. I take it out and always writes without problems.
Super dependable little pen
The pen case "closes with a very firm snap". How's that work? With some type of spring? I'd rather not dissect my box. And yes, I love my Prera. Great little, highly dependable pen.
Thank you for showing the inside without a converter or cartridge!
This looks like a great notebook companion pen. I've been wanting to try a pilot steel nib along with resin in an affordable package.
This or if you're so tight in budget, kakuno clear
Great review DB. Happy Canada Day to you and yours.
Hey thanks 😁🇨🇦
I just converted my Prera Demonstrator into an eye dropper by using an O-Ring I use on my soft plastic fishing worms. It's a perfect fit and you don't need silicone grease.
Great hack!
@@Doodlebud Thanks. Watching your channel over the past year has given me tons of great ideas on how to fix issues or just plain improve my pens. Thoroughly enjoy the channel sir!
Loved this review! I want a prera in a solid color.
quick qn: just curious - why would people use prera when Kakuno has similar size and similar advantages and is much cheaper? If you could do a shootout that would be great!
Never apologize for inky fingers DB!!!
Pilot Prera comparable to my TWSBI mini with a 1.5 stub nib. I'll have to get a red and blue Prera.
Best little pen!! I've never had a problem with a Pilot! All the way down to the Varsity!
Tough to go wrong with a Pilot
I never thought about the air exchange,so thank you for discussing it. The best way to fill a CON-40 is by using a syringe.
if you're using a syringe why even use the con 40 why not just refill a cartridge? (which has a larger volume)
I didn't really have much of an issue getting a reasonably full fill with the con 40
@@fiachrahackettmte
Compared to the Lamy Safari, Kaweco Sport, and TWSBI Eco, the Prera offers better control and ease of use.
I just ordered one of these today. I am laughing when you got ink on your hand- because I just did that being a newbie to Fountain Pens. But this is fun, like playing in mud when you were a kid. i like your videos. they are entertaining.
Having fun is the best part. If you want to see ink stains check out this video :
th-cam.com/video/mwyL8VLuQA8/w-d-xo.html
I just watched that last night I have heard how scary that ink is. But wow is it beautiful. @@Doodlebud
I am a huge fan of Pilot Pens. My only complaint about them is the con40.
I have found that if you keep the disposable ink cartridges you can just fill them up any time you want. The pen comes with both.
What’s not to love, the verse and transparency is awesome.
I’m not used to the way these write though, it’s a different beast to to fountain pens i grew up with. (Hard to dispute a montblanc as a good experience)
@@gonnfishy2987 that works too, but I’m not a fan of having to wait for the ink to make its way through the feed.
So much so that, whatever complaints I may have with the con40, I would rather use that than refilling the cartridge.
On a different note, what’s so different between a Montblanc and say a Pilot Custom 823? I’ve had brief opportunities to write with a montblanc and it was nice, but I didn’t think it was anything but comparable to any of the premium Pilot pens I owned.
But maybe that was just because I didn’t know what to look for and the short length of the experience didn’t let me identify it on my own, so that is why I am asking.
Something like that happened to me with gold nibs where I did a writing test and didn’t get it. But it wasn’t until I took the plunge anyway and eventually I started to like writing with it more and more than the rest and now I own more gold nibs than not.
@@Vendavalez i will come back to this to answer, really tired.
In short, the montblanc i used had a very smooth soft nib, it put down ample ink and pressure made the kind of difference you would expect rather than like the prera behaves (though i recall the nib was different? It was an old pen, had been a grandparent’s pen, i took it up and cherished it till deteriorated barrel leaked ink onto my fingers)
There were plentiful cheaper pens for sale, I spent the time after trying to find a substitute for the montblanc. They mostly seemed to dry, scratchy… the stiffer nibs and lack of wetness couldn’t compare. I gave up using fp until recently when i got gifted a prera and a calligraphy pen with an assortment of nibs 🙂
@@gonnfishy2987 gotcha. While I think that Pilot has the best steel nib/feed combinations I have used, specially when considering the price point in which you can find them, they are not to my preference after using a lot of gold nibs.
My current favorite is the Pilot Soft Medium #15 nib which is smooth, bouncy, and gushes ink. Because of that the line tends to be a bit broad depending on the ink so you may prefer a Soft Fine-Medium because the Soft Fine may be too fine. I got a Soft Fine a few months ago and regretted not going for the next size up.
I have 2 Custom 743 with the Soft Medium nibs because I love that nib so much. I had to import them from Japan because retailers here don’t carry the “soft” variety. The only thing is the price…
Because of my writing preferences, I certainly envy having lived in a time and place where buying pens where it was possible to get pens with those characteristics conveniently and affordable. But things change and at least I have a chance to get them at all.
Even then, they are cheaper than a montblanc. I have been meaning to see if it is worth getting one but I would prefer to get the input of someone who is familiar with them. So I really appreciate your input when you can!
I loved your review, it's been years now that I am considering to buy Prera, I think you convinced me 😅
Since I didn’t take that special 40 hour course offered by Pilot on “How to fill a Con-40”, I belong to ‘those who dislike Con-40’ category 😉
Have you tried a Twsbi Diamond Mini - Another pocket sized demonstrator pen (but a piston filler) ?
Think there's now a shortened 40sec course on how to fill the con 40 😉
You can also convert the Prera into an eye dropper with a bit of silicone grease.
Do you need an o ring to do so? Or just silicone grease?
@@kielaroznos98 Just the silicone grease
Love Preras ! ❤
I had to get my pen out to check if it really is as small as it looks in your hands.
Lol, it's pretty small for my hands but still works well
I swore I wouldn't complain anymore about pen prices.
Filename. - look at the Fuliwen 2062 (similar to the 708). Mine cost $7.74 including shipping. Nice smooth writer.
Damn you autocorrect. Fakename !!!
Haven't had a chance to leave a comment in a while, but still great videos. Keep up the great and informative videos.
Thx buddy 👍
The Prera is one of my favorite fountain pens. I have a collection of the clear and solid-color ones.
I just picked up an opaque slate gray one from Jet Pens.. if I love it I'll want to get an demonstrator version next. 😅
Great video, thank you very much. Made up my mind for a purchase of same!
I think the demonstrator Preras have a cheap look to them, and I hate to say that with the way they write like a dream. As some other comments mentioned, the solid color ones look a lot more luxe in my own personal opinion, but you don't see them all that often.
Thanks for putting the pen through the ringer in the review! All I could think of was inflating the pen up like a bicycle tire pump, and I couldn't stop laughing. 😂
Agreed about the demonstrators, but then I don’t like the look of most demonstrators regardless of price. My Prera looks cheap but feels well made. I got my 823 in smoke because it’s less noticeable that it’s demonstrator than the Amber version. I think people either really love demonstrators or not.
@@adamzappia2213 I love demonstrators, but I think it comes to a point where certain color shades just look... more juvenile and cheap? Like, I think of when I was a child and the big thing was to get those cheap colorful pens to catch your eye with lights in them (they're still made, but I'm reflecting). They might have been made well, but they remind me of a more childish time where things were inexpensive and throwaway to a fault.
If you look at the Prefounte, it is an inexpensive pen at its core, but it looks more expensive because of the darker shades. It feels cheaper, but looks more expensive. Strange, isn't it?
A demonstrator showing off the ink color is a nice touch though. Also very practical when you wonder how much ink is left to write with at a glance. So, a clear pen body (without stress cracks, I'm looking at you, TWSBI) does not bother me.
Wonder what you think about the Kaweco Original 250 🤗 I love the Prera btw. It’s such a smooth writer but I just love a metal pen…
Good video I'm not sure how to fill up a fountain pen though
An entertaining and educational presentation
Thanks glad you like the vid
My only complaints- i need a bit more feedback, the weight of pen+barrel feel is not giving me the feels: also; this is not a medium lol. It’s sparse af with ink, great for lefties but it’s like an artline .4 compared with a 1.0 biro. I had to personalise my tines to make up but it’s never going to be luscious strokes. And: so smooth and quick it’s almost “gets away from me” slippy. 😅
I've heard it could be eyedropper. Can you test that?
So nibs and sizes of pilot metropolitan and prera are same?
Writing performance of both are same?
Seems to be very similar to the metro. Can't say for sure if the writing experience is the same. This one doesn't have as many nib options as the metro. My metro has the CI nib, and I do find the pen dries up. This one hasn't had started even once, so "performance" seems better.
I’m here for the airplane test!
It's also the same feed on the Pilot Kakuno.
Yup 👍
@@Doodlebud maybe I'll get this one first before jumping straight to custom 74.
Guess it depends on what you want. It's an extra $50-60 spend before buying the Pilot 74. They're fairly different
So far for pilot I’ve bought a Custom 74, a Vanishing point, an Elite, and a Metropolitan. I must be unlucky because the ONLY one that did NOT have an issue when it arrived was the metropolitan. My custom 74 I had to send to Pilot BRAND NEW cause it wasn’t writing correctly. They changed the nib and I still could barely write so I just sold it. My VP also would not write. I chose not to send that to pilot and wait 2 months to get it back cause this pen was brand new too. Goulet sent me a replacement nib unit and now works great. My fine elite is super tight too, it doesn’t like upstrokes but I’m tired of sending brand new pens to pilot and waiting for spare parts for them to work. All 100 plus dollar pens I bought had issues. The ONLY one that worked well out of the box was the metropolitan. It’s gotten me a bit disappointed with pilot and unsure if I’ll ever buy their pens again. I MAY give them one more chance when I have money for an 823 but if that pen arrives with issues like all my other ones have I’ll have to stop giving them the benefit of the doubt cause even at this point my pilot fails are 75% and every failed pen was 100+ dollars.
Damn, you must have a bad luck streak going. The only pen that has left me down a bit was the 823. Everything works perfectly, just the nib didn't feel greet for me.
@@Doodlebud it’s gotta end sometime write?
I read somewhere that Pilot pens are designed to write a bit dry: Iroshizuku inks seem mostly wetter than I want - if you’re having issues try pairing a Pilot pen with an Iroshizuku ink and see if that helps: fwiw, shin-kai(blue/black), shin-ryoku(forest green), momiji(red leaning pink and sui-gyoku(emerald) are on the drier end of the spectrum, everything else just seems too wet for me!:)
Do the Prera pens eyedrop? It looks like it unless there’s some metal or vents I missed
I haven't tried out eye droppering the Prera. I'm not a big eye dropper person in general so not the best person to ask. If you search around pen groups or forums I'm sure there answer is out there
What are the two pens that passed the worst case scenarios?
I wish that’s was full size fountain pen , its will be my dream pen but unfortunately very small
Well this pen is meant to be a small portable pocket style pen. They have plenty of full size pens to choose from
The Con 40 gets hate because Pilot discontinued the Con 50, which was better, and gave us the Con 40. We know Pilot can make better converters, but they don’t. The Con 50 was backwards compatible with everything too. There is no reason for the Con 40
The con 50 often ran dry and didnt deliver ink properly so they needed to make the con 40 with agitator balls to fix the issue.
@@deltapi6880 The con 50 is universally known as the better of the 2 converters. Not saying that it was good, but it was better than the con 40. The con 50 also had an agitator and they same diameter opening as all pilot cartridges or converters, so it “running dry” or failing to deliver ink unfounded. I used the con 50 for years (I still have a few) they work perfectly fine.
Will a Con70 or 70N fit or is it too big?
I have a regular Con70 and its a no go. If you want more ink capacity you can refill a Pilot brand cartridge
Stupid question. Why test for vacuum, when the aircraft passenger area is pressurized?
It is pressurized but at a lower air pressure than when the aircraft took off. Its about a 3.7psi vacuum at cruising altitude VS ground level
@@Doodlebud If I understand the phenomenon, it is actually a reduction in air pressure as compared to ground level vs cruising altitude. I don't think it would be a true 3.7psi vacuum, but a drop of up to 3.7psi in the atmosphere at cruising elevation compared to the pressure at ground. If that is true, I would think a full vacuum would indeed cause a higher guarantee of ink bleed vs a higher chance of capillary action do to a a reduced pressure.
Thanks!
Happy to send you the five instead of buying a "tube of lube" (to seal my Prera.) I used a dab of my Burt's Beeswax and it's perfect. The 10 mm O-ring was too large for this baby. I filled the transparent barrel with Shimmery ink. Tomorrow I'll take a pic in daylight and post on my blog, with a few more details. I'm sure anyone innovative enough to "drop fill" a fountain pen can locate my blog 😜 Thanks again DB.
Hope the eyedropper test is going well 👍
@@Doodlebud Working GREAT. I posted a couple of Prera pics on my "Ink of Zialink" blog post, as update at the end-- same post where I mention you 😇 The shimmer ink looks fantastic in the barrel and on the page. Thanks again for ALL your videos. They are fun and very helpful.
Oh hey I just saw the $5 super thanks! I've never had that before so didn't know what it was! Thanks buddy thats really cool of you 😁
@@Doodlebud I'm a gal, but no prob.
Hi! Do you know a fountain pen you can recommend that is waterproof and maybe alcohol proof for EDC. I had a bad experience that the note I wrote got wet in alcohol and water and erased some of my important notes I wrote, I'm new to this quality pen and fountain pen and I don't know where to start. I have always thought that any pen will do but now I really need to get better quality pens.
Look at Noodlers Baystate Blue or their Black waterproof ink.
Looks extremely fragile, can it take a fall and rough use?
👍
A pen aficionado apoligizing for having inky fingers 😂😂😂
X pen siv
I bought my first pilot-a metro with a medium nib. This is by no means a medium. More like a fine or xfine. Very disappointed. I don’t like fine nibs. If I could somehow get one of their stub nibs it might work better for me but I’ve been unable to find where to get pilot nibs.
I can’t believe you have joined the “dark side” promoting stuff that aren’t worth the cost just because the retailer wanted you to.
So I'm in agreement that a super popular pen is a good pen & that makes me a sell-out... Ok then
The sound the pen nib makes when it's written with, is that what's called "feedback"? I have noticed different pen nib sounds in review videos. 😇🩵🙏🙌
Yeah different nibs have different feel and in turn a different sounds. Some nibs can be louder but still feel extremely smooth
Thank you! That has confused me a lot when someone says a nib is smooth and it is loud when written with. 😁