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View Full Version : Platinum Riviere PTR-200 Review



heath
December 18th, 2013, 06:51 AM
For this full review with a load of additional images click here: http://penpaperinkletter.com/platinum-riviere-ptr-200-review/ (http://penpaperinkletter.com/platinum-riviere-ptr-200-review/)

This is the Platinum Riviere PTR-200 fountain pen. It was made for Daiso, a 100-yen shop, the Japanese equivalent of dollar stores, in a chinese factory. There are also Daiso shops on the US East coast that sell them for around $1.50US. More stores can be found in some parts of Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. There is a much nicer Platinum Riviere pen but this bargain one is labeled PTR-200 indicating a retail price point around 200 yen. I found it on ebay ranging from $3 to $15. I was able to get one new shipped from California for just over $3 including shipping.

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They are made in 3 colors that I know of, black, blue and red. I chose the blue version but would have been happy with any of them. The steel nib has the easily recognized “P” that is also on the Preppy and Preppy PN-900 as well as a few other Platinum pens. The nib is more of a traditional fountain pen nib shape than the clear plastic Preppy. They come with a single Platinum cartridge with ink corresponding to the clip and accents of the pen you choose.

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The nib indicates it is a medium and after some work it writes as such. At first it was a bit scratchy and wrote a bit more like a fine but after a few flex sessions it opened up a bit. It’s still a bit scratchy but not as bad as it was at first. The pen body is ivory with printing in blue along with the section and a tip at the back end of the pen. The clip is a lighter translucent blue. The clip also seats into the cap through an interesting opening in the top of the cap.

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The cap is a snap on variety and the section screws into the body. Once you open the pen you attach the cartridge to section with some force at it will seat flush with the section as opposed to some others that seat into the section.

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This is a solid pen at $1.50-$5US all things considered. It is a cartridge convertor and the nib is decent. The pen plastic isn’t perfectly rigid but it seems thick enough and not brittle or prone to cracks or breaking. The body is all plastic but not a single piece. That being said I have seen reports of people making these into eyedroppers. I would try to seal around the end cap and use silicone grease on the threads. I don’t have a Platinum convertor but the cartridges can be refilled with an appropriately sized eyedropper or syringe. I would likely still chose the Platinum Preppy over this one but that’s not a knock on this pen. At about the same price to a bit cheaper it is a good buy worth checking out.

-Heath
@WeThePPIL

Credits: Some information on this pen was found at The Captain’s Cabin, The Web Home of Walter Chang. US store and pricing info thanks to Stephanie Hsieh at Nib/Crease.

Tony Rex
December 18th, 2013, 07:50 AM
Nice review, good job mate! Daiso also sell these for AUD 2.80. They also sell three black cartridges in a pack, obviously for the same price. I have half a dozen or so of the these pen in black, they had replaced my Pelikanos as throwables. The clip is definitely more durable. And if I'm not mistaken there's the 'slip n seal' mechanism inside the cap. Not too shabby.

kaisnowbird
December 18th, 2013, 04:07 PM
Hi Heath, thanks for the review! And thank you to Tony for the additional comment. I must check out my local Daiso - how could I have missed this!!

Newjelan
December 20th, 2013, 02:01 AM
We have a handful in the office for emergencies (ie because one of us has left their FPs at home.) Daiso has become my favourite store - their notebooks, note pads and loose-leaf paper are great too - fountain pen friendly and $2.80 for 1 or 2 depending on the size. Now use them exclusively for our office stationery.

boerenkool
December 24th, 2013, 10:03 AM
Nice review. I picked up a couple of these pans just this past summer at the Daiso store in Richmond, BC., priced at CA $2.00 each. I got the same blue one as you, as well as a black. The red pens were sold out at the time, though they only had red cartridges in stock.

Mine fortunately, has worked out quite well. I didn't notice the scratchiness you mentioned, but then on lower price pens quality control tends to be less consistent, and variations are more likely. It's also a fairly wet writer. Thus far I've only tried it with the black cartridges, so I'm not sure how it would perform with other inks.

Another thing to mention is that relative to the Preppy, the grip diameter on the Riviere is a bit smaller (I don't have a micrometer, so I can't tell you exactly how much smaller) and the difference is noticeable. For my hands (large), it felt slightly smaller than ideal, but still pretty good.

Overall, definitely worth a couple dollars. Maybe even three.

kaisnowbird
December 24th, 2013, 04:17 PM
:cry:
I went to Sydney's Daiso (the one near Town Hall) yesterday to look for it and only to find the Daiso shelves were stacked with food -- it's closed down and the space has been reclaimed by the supermarket it has been co-sharing with.

Every time I went it's packed with customers... How could this happen?

Newjelan
December 24th, 2013, 09:14 PM
:cry:
I went to Sydney's Daiso (the one near Town Hall) yesterday to look for it and only to find the Daiso shelves were stacked with food -- it's closed down and the space has been reclaimed by the supermarket it has been co-sharing with.

Every time I went it's packed with customers... How could this happen?

Oh no! That's a tragedy. I hope it's not the start of a trend.:(

armia741
January 13th, 2014, 01:10 AM
Nice review, good work :)