Mr Retro Pop Collection Fountain Pen, Red Barrel, Black Ink, Fine

It has a good weight to it and a smooth barrel that gives it an almost luxurious feel despite the relatively low price. An excellent choice for a starter pen, although I would sill recommend a lighter pen when starting out.The pen has a smooth finish and vibrant color and feels pleasant to the touch.The italic nib took a little bit to get used to but I love the way it makes my writing look :)I would highly recommend getting a pilot twist converter to go with it.

My first fountain pen and my new favorite pen in general! If you’re looking for a good beginner fountain pen then I recommend this one. It’s not too particular about the angle which I like the best. It also writes so unbelievably smooth! Which makes for a good writing experience, but depending on your paper can affect your control. I also like that it comes with two filling options so you can customize as you please! It’s so gorgeous and I’m looking forward to writing more with it!

I have many Metropolitan pens with medium nibs. I was looking for an italic nib to make my handwriting more attractive. I bought the Orange Flower Retro Pop pen with because it is a very attractive and cheerful pen design. It would make a great gift. The CM Medium Italic nib wrote well from the moment the ink began to flow. My handwriting looks special when I use it. I wouldn’t use it for taking notes during a lecture. It requires a slower and more deliberate writing style.

Loved this pen from the very first use! I am a lefty and was always scared to try a fountain pen but with some changes in writing style I decided to give it a go. This was recommended by JetPens as a good starter and it has been fantastic! Weight and balance are great, and absolutely NO learning curve to start writing. They recommend starting with the medium nib but I write small so I bought a fine and a medium - I haven't even opened the medium nib as the fine nib works flawlessly. Pen looks great and works even better. I am not using it for quick note taking, more for thoughtful writing in my journal where I can be at a desk and be positioned well and take my time. Highly recommend this pen!

I recently gave this color Metro to a friend who is just starting to use fountain pens. I loved the color so much that I ordered one for myself the next day. This is my fourth Metropolitan (all different colors and nibs) . I love the weight and the heft of it. The finish is very pleasing. The quality out of the box is high. I'm always surprised how well these pens write, especially given the price point. The nibs are smooth with good flow. I never have hard starts or blobs of ink. I can get a little line variation if I try. I much prefer a heavier pen, so my Metros get a lot more usage than the few resin pens I own. I like to play around with tweaking nibs, so I've been swapping the nibs from my inexpensive Plumix pens, grinding, polishing, and experimenting before ... MoreI recently gave this color Metro to a friend who is just starting to use fountain pens. I loved the color so much that I ordered one for myself the next day. This is my fourth Metropolitan (all different colors and nibs) . I love the weight and the heft of it. The finish is very pleasing. The quality out of the box is high. I'm always surprised how well these pens write, especially given the price point. The nibs are smooth with good flow. I never have hard starts or blobs of ink. I can get a little line variation if I try. I much prefer a heavier pen, so my Metros get a lot more usage than the few resin pens I own. I like to play around with tweaking nibs, so I've been swapping the nibs from my inexpensive Plumix pens, grinding, polishing, and experimenting before putting them to work in the Metro body. It's great fun, and the risks are low. I wouldn't attempt that with a more expensive pen. If I could only have one pen, and it had to be under $50, this would be the pen.

The second of my first two fountain pens. I thought it would be interesting to check out, mild curiosity.I took my trusty Pilot G2s to the shop today where they will live out their lives and not get replaced. This and my LAMY Safari are now my go-to office pens. Just amazing.Smooth nib, comfortable grip. Real pretty and also a great workhorse. I love it.

I bought a couple of fountain pens to try to pressure myself into writing on paper again, but these pens have been a legitimate pleasure to write with! This is a beautiful pen with a solid weight to it, without being too heavy for my somewhat unpracticed hand. It writes smoothly, but I can still feel the texture of the paper I write with which is sensorially pleasing to me, a bit like writing with a pencil.It comes with a plastic case for permanent storage. The case feels mostly solid, except most of the lid is a clear plastic that I'm always a bit worried will come unattached from the frame. I've been careful not to put anything heavy on the lid, and it's been alright so far.This pen also has a refillable cartridge in it, and the case also has a space to store ... MoreI bought a couple of fountain pens to try to pressure myself into writing on paper again, but these pens have been a legitimate pleasure to write with! This is a beautiful pen with a solid weight to it, without being too heavy for my somewhat unpracticed hand. It writes smoothly, but I can still feel the texture of the paper I write with which is sensorially pleasing to me, a bit like writing with a pencil.It comes with a plastic case for permanent storage. The case feels mostly solid, except most of the lid is a clear plastic that I'm always a bit worried will come unattached from the frame. I've been careful not to put anything heavy on the lid, and it's been alright so far.This pen also has a refillable cartridge in it, and the case also has a space to store the refillable cartridge in so that you can use disposable cartridges. Being able to store the cartridge it has and use a disposable cartridge instead helped ease me into using this pen -- there's less pressure about buying liquid ink and learning to fill the cartridge.Overall, a great entry point into the world of fountain pens!

A Solid Choice

My overall experience with using the Metropolitan has been solid and enjoyable. It has performed flawlessly in providing a good line of ink and the balance posted is fine for my needs. I believe it is a solid value and based on other reviewers comments will be part of my 'stable' for a long time.Prior to getting the Metropolitan with a fine nib I had a Kaweco Sport and a Lamy Safari - both with fine nibs. It took a bit to adjust to the different feel on paper and narrower line of ink but no other issues. All three have been reliable with start up and ink flow, although the metropolitan has been slightly wetter I have only used Pilot ink with it. I can openly recommend any of the three as a starter pen option. The Metropolitan is smaller in circumference, the Kaweco ... MoreMy overall experience with using the Metropolitan has been solid and enjoyable. It has performed flawlessly in providing a good line of ink and the balance posted is fine for my needs. I believe it is a solid value and based on other reviewers comments will be part of my 'stable' for a long time.Prior to getting the Metropolitan with a fine nib I had a Kaweco Sport and a Lamy Safari - both with fine nibs. It took a bit to adjust to the different feel on paper and narrower line of ink but no other issues. All three have been reliable with start up and ink flow, although the metropolitan has been slightly wetter I have only used Pilot ink with it. I can openly recommend any of the three as a starter pen option. The Metropolitan is smaller in circumference, the Kaweco is a shorter pocket pen, and the Safari has a snap cap that has not come off but doesn't seem quite as secure as the other two pens. If I could only have one of the three, as a starter pen, well that is a very tough scenario that I don't have a clear answer to since they have slightly different attributes. To a degree, like Brian, my list of one would be more than one.

Cigar pen of the year!

1. The cigar type band is the reason I bought this pen and the main reason I like it. 2. I bought the medium nib and found many inks from my starter kids are wetter and bleed through. However, using these inks, many worked well, so it it just a matter of trial and error.3. the ink capacity is 5-7 days, or 5-6 A5 notebook pages (Lechtrum or Moleskin) regular notebooks. This was great for getting use to inks that I liked and enjoyed using. With that being said I might have wanted to get the more fine tip as it may add more options for inks than what I am experiencing. In addition, this might expand the time needed between inking up. My solution is to use my parker pen when I run out of ink and I am somewhere. If you will be out for some time then refilling may be more ... More1. The cigar type band is the reason I bought this pen and the main reason I like it. 2. I bought the medium nib and found many inks from my starter kids are wetter and bleed through. However, using these inks, many worked well, so it it just a matter of trial and error.3. the ink capacity is 5-7 days, or 5-6 A5 notebook pages (Lechtrum or Moleskin) regular notebooks. This was great for getting use to inks that I liked and enjoyed using. With that being said I might have wanted to get the more fine tip as it may add more options for inks than what I am experiencing. In addition, this might expand the time needed between inking up. My solution is to use my parker pen when I run out of ink and I am somewhere. If you will be out for some time then refilling may be more difficult; but all you need is a cup and a sink to empty it and a towel and ink to fill it up. To be honest it is easy to refill (5 minutes).

Durability Issues

When I first got this pen, I was thoroughly impressed. The metal body feels great in the hand and has a good weight to it. I have the stub nib and really enjoyed writing with it. It also looks very attractive and I love showing it off. However, I don't think this pen really held up. I know, it's a $25 pen, so maybe I'm expecting too much, but I have owned it for 6 months, written about 200 pages, and the signs of wear range from noticeable to problematic. The clip on the lid has loosened somewhat, even though I rarely use it. It also rubbed off the finish under the clip, leaving a scratched mark of bare metal. The retro pop design near the grip is also starting to rub off, though less concerningly so. The threads on the body of the pen seem to be made from a soft or ... MoreWhen I first got this pen, I was thoroughly impressed. The metal body feels great in the hand and has a good weight to it. I have the stub nib and really enjoyed writing with it. It also looks very attractive and I love showing it off. However, I don't think this pen really held up. I know, it's a $25 pen, so maybe I'm expecting too much, but I have owned it for 6 months, written about 200 pages, and the signs of wear range from noticeable to problematic. The clip on the lid has loosened somewhat, even though I rarely use it. It also rubbed off the finish under the clip, leaving a scratched mark of bare metal. The retro pop design near the grip is also starting to rub off, though less concerningly so. The threads on the body of the pen seem to be made from a soft or brittle plastic, as there are little plastic shavings in the grooves. I know I don't overtighten the pen, because the pen sometimes comes undone on its own, even while writing.Most worrisome of all, however, is the fact that the nib came loose. It almost fell out of the pen while I was writing. When I pushed it back in, the tip got ever so slightly bent and the already somewhat finicky stub nib now catches on the paper. For this reason, I am retiring this pen.Overall, I think it did the job for a cheap pen, but don't be fooled by the good looks and the hefty metal body to believe that this is a high quality pen. I now started writing with a Lamy, which feels less premium, but I expect will last a while longer. My last Lamy did 8 years of daily writing in school and it didn't cost any more than this Pilot Metropolitan.