heath
November 8th, 2013, 10:09 PM
I have this same review with more images on my blog here: http://penpaperinkletter.com/zebra-v-301-fp-fountain-pen-review/
This is the Zebra V-301 fountain pen. It gets most of its attention from the fact that it is the sole fountain pen available at Walgreens, a US chain drugstore. It is stainless steel and comes in either black or blue from the manufacturer but I don’t know that I have ever heard of anyone finding the blue one in the wild.
6827
It is cartridge only and comes with two decent sized cartridges. However, there are no cartridges available separately at the locations I have checked so I can only assume that Zebra doesn’t intend for most users to hold onto this pen for long. A hint towards my view on the pen here, I don’t know that the pen would last much longer than 2 cartridges.
6828
It is a snap cap which is actually one of the shortest caps I have ever seen on a fountain pen. It is postable and the clip is decent. I must say that every time I cap this pen I am afraid I am going to snap the plastic section of the pen from the metal body as it seems to bend slightly even with the slight pressure I am giving it to get the cap to snap. The Black ink that comes in the cartridges with this pen are not super black and lean towards a dark grey.
I’ve seen a decent amount of discussion on this pen from different sources and I have to say I haven’t agreed with a lot of it. Most people hail it as an amazing value at under $5. Some do indeed say it isn’t worth trying but most simply say that is because it isn’t as good as some other sub $5 fountain pens like the Platinum Preppy. In my opinion this pen has no redeeming value outside of the fact that it is the only fountain pen available at the particular drug store that carries it locally. That being said, I’d pick at least a handful of other pens ahead of it. I do try to be unbiased in my reviews in that what I say is my honest opinion of a product without influence from outside opinions or sponsorships and I believe I am not leaving that desire here. I will say that I hate to say that this pen is worthless. I don’t want the one pen that so many non-fp people may try first on a whim isn’t going to give them anything to like. I admit that obviously that is not true for some. But, in the end I would not recommend this pen to anyone
6829
For the same money I would easily recommend the Platinum Preppy over this pen. For less money I would recommend several Chinese fountain pens.
I hope I have been fair but please let me know if you have experience with this pen and would affirm or disagree. The only caveat I will give on this review is that I have only had. I just don’t see how it could be getting any good reviews with the weakness of the plastic section so there is a chance that others have better build quality. That being said, if that’s the case then I would add poor product quality control to the review.
-Heath
@WeThePPIL
This is the Zebra V-301 fountain pen. It gets most of its attention from the fact that it is the sole fountain pen available at Walgreens, a US chain drugstore. It is stainless steel and comes in either black or blue from the manufacturer but I don’t know that I have ever heard of anyone finding the blue one in the wild.
6827
It is cartridge only and comes with two decent sized cartridges. However, there are no cartridges available separately at the locations I have checked so I can only assume that Zebra doesn’t intend for most users to hold onto this pen for long. A hint towards my view on the pen here, I don’t know that the pen would last much longer than 2 cartridges.
6828
It is a snap cap which is actually one of the shortest caps I have ever seen on a fountain pen. It is postable and the clip is decent. I must say that every time I cap this pen I am afraid I am going to snap the plastic section of the pen from the metal body as it seems to bend slightly even with the slight pressure I am giving it to get the cap to snap. The Black ink that comes in the cartridges with this pen are not super black and lean towards a dark grey.
I’ve seen a decent amount of discussion on this pen from different sources and I have to say I haven’t agreed with a lot of it. Most people hail it as an amazing value at under $5. Some do indeed say it isn’t worth trying but most simply say that is because it isn’t as good as some other sub $5 fountain pens like the Platinum Preppy. In my opinion this pen has no redeeming value outside of the fact that it is the only fountain pen available at the particular drug store that carries it locally. That being said, I’d pick at least a handful of other pens ahead of it. I do try to be unbiased in my reviews in that what I say is my honest opinion of a product without influence from outside opinions or sponsorships and I believe I am not leaving that desire here. I will say that I hate to say that this pen is worthless. I don’t want the one pen that so many non-fp people may try first on a whim isn’t going to give them anything to like. I admit that obviously that is not true for some. But, in the end I would not recommend this pen to anyone
6829
For the same money I would easily recommend the Platinum Preppy over this pen. For less money I would recommend several Chinese fountain pens.
I hope I have been fair but please let me know if you have experience with this pen and would affirm or disagree. The only caveat I will give on this review is that I have only had. I just don’t see how it could be getting any good reviews with the weakness of the plastic section so there is a chance that others have better build quality. That being said, if that’s the case then I would add poor product quality control to the review.
-Heath
@WeThePPIL