Lamy Vista Fountain Pen, Fine Nib

TL/DR: A versatile fountain pen for learners, a handy every day carry for veterans.Because the Lamy Safari came up in my search for good starter fountain pens, I looked for a color a liked and couldn’t find one. Eventually I learned about the Vista, which is mostly the same thing (aside from being the only model of this type of pen to feature a clear body.) The pen has been, overall, a joy. I actually received it with a defective nib, which JetPens quickly and professionally offered to address, however a local fountain pen professional helped me troubleshoot the issue. After figuring everything out, I can see why Lamy pens are so commonly recommended: they provide one of the smoothest writing experiences on the market. For beginners, these nibs are really nice. ... MoreTL/DR: A versatile fountain pen for learners, a handy every day carry for veterans.Because the Lamy Safari came up in my search for good starter fountain pens, I looked for a color a liked and couldn’t find one. Eventually I learned about the Vista, which is mostly the same thing (aside from being the only model of this type of pen to feature a clear body.) The pen has been, overall, a joy. I actually received it with a defective nib, which JetPens quickly and professionally offered to address, however a local fountain pen professional helped me troubleshoot the issue. After figuring everything out, I can see why Lamy pens are so commonly recommended: they provide one of the smoothest writing experiences on the market. For beginners, these nibs are really nice. Having the option to change them out (very easy) and experience different sized nibs is invaluable for someone learning about fountain pens.The cherry on top (in my opinion) is being able to see the ink in it. It’s fun and it cheers me up throughout the day.

I give this an A plus. It is a FINE nib, butter smooth, with SUPERB inkflow. Not scratchy or dry at all. I am leaning toward western fine nibs after years of choosing mediums because of the wider variety of paper you can write on. More versatile. The craftsmanship is solid and the demonstrator is a great idea. Takes you back to the display and sales models when the industry was in its infancy. Kudos!

Disappointing. Buy a Platinum Preppy. Buy 6 Preppies.

I’ve been writing with my new Vista Fine for the past three weeks, trying to decide if it’s better or worse than my Platinum Preppies. And I can’t quite decide. But since the Preppy sells for $4-5, that means the Vista is worth $3, $5, or $7. It is not worth $30. And it’s definitely not as nice as my TWSBI Go, TWSBI Eco, or Noodlers Ahab. (That’s my cheap pen line-up.)This is going to be a lengthy review, so just skip it if you're already in love with the Vista. But I don't want anyone else buying this pen unless they understand some of its problems. If I had known, I wouldn't have bought it.The plastic used on the Vista is thinner and feels cheaper than the Preppy. I’m not strong at all yet I can press the plastic and it flexes in an “I might break” way – as ... MoreI’ve been writing with my new Vista Fine for the past three weeks, trying to decide if it’s better or worse than my Platinum Preppies. And I can’t quite decide. But since the Preppy sells for $4-5, that means the Vista is worth $3, $5, or $7. It is not worth $30. And it’s definitely not as nice as my TWSBI Go, TWSBI Eco, or Noodlers Ahab. (That’s my cheap pen line-up.)This is going to be a lengthy review, so just skip it if you're already in love with the Vista. But I don't want anyone else buying this pen unless they understand some of its problems. If I had known, I wouldn't have bought it.The plastic used on the Vista is thinner and feels cheaper than the Preppy. I’m not strong at all yet I can press the plastic and it flexes in an “I might break” way – as opposed to an “I’m flexible so I won’t break” way. Especially the plastic part on the nib/feed section where the barrel screws on and attaches. I’ve never seen anything so flimsy on a pen before. It appears to be made out of the same plastic used for single-use, disposable beverage cups - you know, the kind you use for sodas or beer at a picnic/BBQ? Yes, that type of cheap plastic. Preppies feel sturdy by comparison.The only part of the Vista that is nice and sturdy is the cap. It’s pretty gorgeous, compared to the Preppy. But, because the rest of the pen is so cheap, it’s kind of weird.In addition, my Vista came with scratches on the barrel, the nib/feed section, and the cap. None of my Preppies came with scratches on them. (I’m sure I could have contacted either Goulet or Lamy to see if this were normal, but I have no interest in spending any more time on this pen.)I bought a Lamy converter and it’s also cheap plastic. The Platinum converter for the Preppy has some metal on it, a bit of heft, and moves more easily.In terms of appearance, the Vista has a better visual appeal, especially in the nib area and feed area. In general, it looks more professional than the Preppy. Except for the cheapo plastic converter.In terms of writing quality, the Preppy wins. It’s smoother, more precise, more responsive, and handles well. In addition, the Lamy nib needed work. I bought a Fine, expecting it to be a European fine, and it wrote a thin, scratchy line. Much thinner than a Preppy Extra Fine. I had to align the nib, use a brass sheet, and smooth it to get a fine line out of it. (Thank you, Goulet team, for the videos and tuning materials!) Only one EF Preppy ever gave me trouble and, at $5, I just tossed it and inked another one.I’m actually so surprised by how bad this pen is that I went back to the Goulet site to confirm that, yes, indeed, I did buy a Lamy Vista. And I looked at the photos to make sure that, yes, this is what it’s supposed to look like. And I re-read the reviews to see that yes, indeed, many people like this pen. Maybe I just got a dud. But I feel like I shouldn’t have spent more than $7 on this pen.To be fair, it does write. And it did write, to a certain degree, immediately after inking. It just didn't write well. That's why I'm giving it 2 stars instead of 1.

Great demonstrator but not for beginners, this should not be your first fountain pen.

The pen is mostly great. It is beautiful, well put together, and the clip is sturdier than the AL Star I have. I'm disappointed that it still has holes in the body of the pen even though it's clear, but I guess they wanted to keep the look consistent which is fair. I'll agree with TPH that proprietary converters are annoying, but the converter isn't very expensive so it's not that big of a deal.The reason I knocked it two stars is because of the nib. I know Lamy has issues with their nibs, but out of the five nibs I own three simply needed to be aligned properly, one needed some smoothing which was simple enough and didn't take too much time to correct, and then there is the one that came with this pen. I aligned the nibs, cleaned it out, shimmed the tines, ... MoreThe pen is mostly great. It is beautiful, well put together, and the clip is sturdier than the AL Star I have. I'm disappointed that it still has holes in the body of the pen even though it's clear, but I guess they wanted to keep the look consistent which is fair. I'll agree with TPH that proprietary converters are annoying, but the converter isn't very expensive so it's not that big of a deal.The reason I knocked it two stars is because of the nib. I know Lamy has issues with their nibs, but out of the five nibs I own three simply needed to be aligned properly, one needed some smoothing which was simple enough and didn't take too much time to correct, and then there is the one that came with this pen. I aligned the nibs, cleaned it out, shimmed the tines, smoothed it with 12k micromesh, and aligned them again. This made it somewhat usable but it still wasn't writing well. I spent the next few hours smoothing, aligning, testing and repeat. I thought it might have been an issue with the feed, but I swapped the nibs and it worked great. In the end I couldn't get it to work, bought another nib at half of the original cost of the pen, took two minutes to align the tines and it worked great.So my point is this: I love this pen, especially now that I have a nib that works. But if someone were to buy this as their first pen it would likely end in frustration and could turn them away from this hobby. But if you are like me and love the lamy grips and demonstrators go for it, but be willing to tune the nib or just flat out have to buy a new one.

Great for on the go writing

I got the pen as an everyday carry. It was important that the pen write no matter the environment I’m in at the time, and that it be legible. Problem for me is I have spidery handwriting which takes best to a Japanese EF nib. Which leads me to my first caveat: the nib doesn’t seat as solidly as other pens I’ve used due to the way it connects to the pen. It’s a slide on type deal. It makes it easy to change nibs on the go, but the extra wiggle does not translate well for my super-fine handwriting.The second caveat: The barrel spins loose, and sometimes completely off, while in my pocket. I work in a fast paced, physical environment and it’s clipped to a small notebook in my pocket. It’s possible my movements generate enough torque & friction to unscrew the barrel, ... MoreI got the pen as an everyday carry. It was important that the pen write no matter the environment I’m in at the time, and that it be legible. Problem for me is I have spidery handwriting which takes best to a Japanese EF nib. Which leads me to my first caveat: the nib doesn’t seat as solidly as other pens I’ve used due to the way it connects to the pen. It’s a slide on type deal. It makes it easy to change nibs on the go, but the extra wiggle does not translate well for my super-fine handwriting.The second caveat: The barrel spins loose, and sometimes completely off, while in my pocket. I work in a fast paced, physical environment and it’s clipped to a small notebook in my pocket. It’s possible my movements generate enough torque & friction to unscrew the barrel, but it’s just odd and kind of annoying when I need to jot something quick.Third caveat: it does not like to be filled via and ink bottle in the “standard” fashion (dipping nib & pen barrel into ink bottle & pulling up ink through to converter). The three times I’ve attempted this (with different inks each time) the nib has stayed over saturated and no amount of blotting corrected the issue. Instead, I now inject ink directly into the converter then install or resort to cartridges.The pen gets 4 out of 5 stars because it’s held up ridiculously well, namely in two situations:1. Keeps on writing while jotting notes in a walk-in freezer2. Survived being washed in an automatic washing machine. The barrel came unscrewed a little, but the converter stayed in place and the ink was not diluted, so its seal remained intact. No water made it into the nib area, but a little water got under the protective portion OVER the cap (whatever it’s called).Good little pen. Definitely worth the purchase.

I'm sure there are better demonstrators out there.

This pen has a futuristic look that is aesthetically pleasing to me, but unfortunately the functionality isn't quite up to snuff. The nib that came on the pen (a steel in fine with no coating) simply doesn't want to work - it skips too often to be usable. I cleaned the pen before filling it with ink (I'm currently using Robert Oster's Tranquility), and paid extra attention to the nib after experiencing issues (distilled water flushes, brass sheets, etc.), but the skipping didn't stop. I swapped the nib out for a steel fine with black coating, and now it writes like a dream. I'm quite irked about the nib it came with, considering the price point (I know it's not the most expensive pen on the market, but at thirty dollars it really should work right out of the ... MoreThis pen has a futuristic look that is aesthetically pleasing to me, but unfortunately the functionality isn't quite up to snuff. The nib that came on the pen (a steel in fine with no coating) simply doesn't want to work - it skips too often to be usable. I cleaned the pen before filling it with ink (I'm currently using Robert Oster's Tranquility), and paid extra attention to the nib after experiencing issues (distilled water flushes, brass sheets, etc.), but the skipping didn't stop. I swapped the nib out for a steel fine with black coating, and now it writes like a dream. I'm quite irked about the nib it came with, considering the price point (I know it's not the most expensive pen on the market, but at thirty dollars it really should work right out of the box).My other issue with the pen is that the triangle grip causes marring on the inside of the cap when removing and replacing [the cap]. Due to this pen being a demonstrator, the scratches are visible, and make the cap appear to be clouded. I've only had this pen for about 2 weeks, so I hate to see how poor the cap will appear in the future.I should note this is my first demonstrator, but not my first Lamy of this class (Safari/Al-Star design).The ratings I've attached to this pen (quality, value, wetness, etc.) are based on the nib that came with the pen (so the pen as it was out of the box), and not the nib I purchased separately as a replacement.

Pens and ink make me happy

I ordered the Lamy Vista demonstrator pens and two bottles of Noodler's ink (Lexington Gray and 54th Mass) as a pick-me-up and they have done exactly that. I love demonstrators, and the Lamy Safari and Vista size & shape fits my hand nicely. Goulet Pens packaged everything securely, and as always let me know who was accountable for the shipment. I respect that - the pride in their business and their care for their customers is really evident. I may not place orders often, but I am a customer for life. Highly recommend.Lamy is not a very fussy pen. With the converter, bottled inks are easy. Recommend high quality inks like Noodler's. Writing feels smooth, depending more on the paper than this pen in my experience. I wish the EF nib was a touch narrower, but it is ... MoreI ordered the Lamy Vista demonstrator pens and two bottles of Noodler's ink (Lexington Gray and 54th Mass) as a pick-me-up and they have done exactly that. I love demonstrators, and the Lamy Safari and Vista size & shape fits my hand nicely. Goulet Pens packaged everything securely, and as always let me know who was accountable for the shipment. I respect that - the pride in their business and their care for their customers is really evident. I may not place orders often, but I am a customer for life. Highly recommend.Lamy is not a very fussy pen. With the converter, bottled inks are easy. Recommend high quality inks like Noodler's. Writing feels smooth, depending more on the paper than this pen in my experience. I wish the EF nib was a touch narrower, but it is very reliable. Great beginner pen and great EDC.

Quite a good pen

The Lamy Vista was my second pen ever (I'm now up to nine) and it was my absolute favorite when I first got it. I had a Jinhao X750 before and the Vista was such an improvement. Now that I have expanded my collection and used the Vista for longer, here are my thoughts.I like this pen quite a bit, and for the price, I don't think it would be easy to beat. It's a very smooth writer, even with the EF nib, and I like being able to see the ink color and level inside, as well as the mechanisms more generally. I like the triangular grip, as it fits nicely in my small hands. It's reliable and I only rarely have difficulty getting the ink going.As for the negatives, they are quite trivial, but I wasn't quite prepared to give it five stars because it isn't perfect:-The ... MoreThe Lamy Vista was my second pen ever (I'm now up to nine) and it was my absolute favorite when I first got it. I had a Jinhao X750 before and the Vista was such an improvement. Now that I have expanded my collection and used the Vista for longer, here are my thoughts.I like this pen quite a bit, and for the price, I don't think it would be easy to beat. It's a very smooth writer, even with the EF nib, and I like being able to see the ink color and level inside, as well as the mechanisms more generally. I like the triangular grip, as it fits nicely in my small hands. It's reliable and I only rarely have difficulty getting the ink going.As for the negatives, they are quite trivial, but I wasn't quite prepared to give it five stars because it isn't perfect:-The nib is lovely and smooth when it is juicy with ink, but gets a little dry when its ink level is lower. A nice thing about the demonstrator aspect is that I can see the ink in the feed, so I was able to figure out what was going on. I've just taken down to twisting down on the convertor so that more ink goes into the feed and that's enough to get rid of the dryness.-I'm also not crazy about the aesthetics of this pen. It's very well-made, but the pen is designed for utility more than looks. Obviously you can decide if this pen suits your aesthetic from the pictures. When I got a Sailor Pro Gear, my little Vista looked a bit sad in comparison.-The extra fine nib is German, so it's not the thinnest you can find, if that's something you're looking for. I've since found that I like finer nibs with just a bit of feedback, so this pen doesn't perfectly suit my preferences.-This is more of a converter problem, but I've found that this pen isn't as easy to clean as my others. The convertor's piston doesn't seem to be in good contact with the walls of the convertor, so it gets streaky with ink and takes about twice as long to clean as my other pens.Overall, this is a really nice pen, especially for the price, but it isn't perfect.

Super Reliable!

My wife and I are now fountain pen lovers for life. Mine being the Lamy vista and hers the Diplomat Magnum. Great workhorse pens! We use them for school. Thanks Goulet for introducing us to the fountain pen world! We did our research for almost a year now with all your videos and video blogs you guys have been so awesome and your customer service is outstanding. They answered all my questions and were very helpful and friendly. My wife and will be buying all our fountain pen needs through you guys. Thanks again!

Very good demonstrator fountain pen

I don't buy outrageously expensive fountain pens anymore, but I still do buy good quality fountain pens. This Lamy Vista (Lamy Safari Demonstrator if you ask me) works and looks as good as some of the more expensive Lamys. I bought this for my 13 year old daughter to go along with her other calligraphy, normal fountain pens, and her demonstrators. She was thrilled. I was happy. It came with a Lamy blue/black ink cartridge, but once it is empty, I will clean that cartridge out and set it aside and use a Lamy z24/28 ink converter and put one of my many other bottled inks in it for her. I always use bottled ink. Less waste, and the pen, with lower costing bottled ink, will actually end up costing you less than several disposable ball point pens. Have fun going green ... MoreI don't buy outrageously expensive fountain pens anymore, but I still do buy good quality fountain pens. This Lamy Vista (Lamy Safari Demonstrator if you ask me) works and looks as good as some of the more expensive Lamys. I bought this for my 13 year old daughter to go along with her other calligraphy, normal fountain pens, and her demonstrators. She was thrilled. I was happy. It came with a Lamy blue/black ink cartridge, but once it is empty, I will clean that cartridge out and set it aside and use a Lamy z24/28 ink converter and put one of my many other bottled inks in it for her. I always use bottled ink. Less waste, and the pen, with lower costing bottled ink, will actually end up costing you less than several disposable ball point pens. Have fun going green while writing happy and classy. Being a demonstrator, you will always know what ink color is inside and how much ink is left. What I found most absurd but very fun indeed is that, like other colored plastic and colored aluminum Lamy Safaris and Al Stars, it has two opposing cutouts to display the ink color and amount of ink. Very redundant, but still funny anyway. As it has a Lamy steel nib, there is no flex, and as far as that goes, some will call it a nail with a split down the middle, but no, it writes very smooth with a nice triangular grip, and the nib has the right amount of scratch and smoothness on even lined paper. Gives good response and feedback. Very good pen to start someone off with on fountain pens. Very good for student use and all around everyday use. Also, with the vast amount of different colored inks that are out there, it makes a good art pen.