Hero 616 - 10 pack, very cheap biut no other redeeming features

[Jolltax]

Hero 616 - cheap but not cheerful

I saw some chatter about the Hero 616 but haven't seen a posting about them, why post about a pen that costs under 70p (less than a US dollar)?
Well, the answer to that question is you might either be curious, or like me - thinking about using them for parts for Parker 51's. It may seem sacrilegious but I have been trying to buy a cap for P51 for a long time, and they are hard to come by.

I have taken some photos of one alongside one of my battered, but loved, P51's. I won't insult you by telling you which is which.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e352/Jolltax/Pen%20Stuff/P51_616i_zps1847b513.jpg

I took delivery of a 10 pack of these pens recently from China, it cost £7.90 including delivery. I find it amazing that any profit can be made from selling this item so cheap.

The version of the Hero 616 I have is dimensionally almost identical to a Parker 51, but not quite. None of the parts I have tried so far are compatible with a P51 (barrel, cap etc). The barrel width is a tiny bit smaller meaning the cap and barrrel will not fit an original P51.

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e352/Jolltax/Pen%20Stuff/P51_616iii_zpsc63a2953.jpg


Although they look superficially similar, anyone who has used or held a P51 will have no trouble distinguishing the Hero, but for the record the features which set it aside are its steel nib, pointed metal cap jewel, cheap plastic and ever so slightly thinner dimension.

The pens are all functional i.e. they write, the quality of manufacture is what you would expect - very poor (scratchy bits of poor quality plastic).
They do not fill particularly well but the feed and tube will hold a moderate amount of ink so its not a big deal.

The writing experience is pretty awful, very scratchy - on anything less than good quality paper the pen will cut and pick up fibres causing dragging and blurring of the line (you can see this on the first word of the sample below).


http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e352/Jolltax/Pen%20Stuff/P51_616ii_zps598925eb.jpg

In spite of their extraordinary cheapness I think these pens are a step too far down the ladder, so many of the other Chinese pens (Jinhao x450?) are pleasant writers that this is one to leave - it has no redeeming features. I would not even gift this to someone, it would probably put them off!

I have read that there may be different (better) versions of the Hero 616 out there, I would love to hear about them but steer clear of the 10 packs like mine though!


Jolltax

[Flounder]

Worthwhile caveat style review! I truly don't see the point of 10 packs at this price; I can't stand clutter, and giving away fps made to a 70 pence standard seems a great way to put people off fountain pens altogether.

Having said that I still love my 616s, and was pleasantly surprised by the new colours that have just been released!

My 616s all came from ebay seller "YesPen", all in individual 'Doctor' blister packs, and are all the 'Jumbo' size comparible to size Aero 51s with the earlier barrels (the ones threaded all the way to their lip). Placing an Aero 51 hood back to back with a 616 hood, they are the same circumference, same shape and length.

http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy19/flounder2009/Gray%2051/51%20Aero%20Hood%20vs%20616%20Jumbo/th_51Hoodvs616Jumbo.jpg (http://s773.photobucket.com/user/flounder2009/media/Gray%2051/51%20Aero%20Hood%20vs%20616%20Jumbo/51Hoodvs616Jumbo.jpg.html)

Placing the barrels back to back, they are the same circumference too (sorry, no photo).

With the sac protector removed, the ink sacs all fill well enough. the top arrow in this photo shows the water level:
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy19/flounder2009/Hero%20616/th_Hero616Jumbo-DoctorBreather002.jpg (http://s773.photobucket.com/user/flounder2009/media/Hero%20616/Hero616Jumbo-DoctorBreather002.jpg.html)

The cap fits all my 51s, both Vacs and Aeros. The clutch within the 616 seems modeled on the earlier 51 clutch ring profile, and is a bit insecure when used with a later 51 (exactly the same way an early 51 clutch basketted cap will be more insecure when paired with a later clutch-ring-profile pen).

I reckon YesPens are as genuine as you can get. We do only have his own guide to go on, but the pens I've received are pretty good and match his claims - large diameter cap jewels, larger sacs than most hooded chinese pens, the caps are screwed together rather than rivetted, and so on. The cap line engraving is decently deep too.

http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy19/flounder2009/616%20Cap%20Genuine/th_616Cap001Large.jpg (http://s773.photobucket.com/user/flounder2009/media/616%20Cap%20Genuine/616Cap001Large.jpg.html)

http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy19/flounder2009/Hero%20616%20Flighter/th_Hero616Flighter001.jpg (http://s773.photobucket.com/user/flounder2009/media/Hero%20616%20Flighter/Hero616Flighter001.jpg.html)

Here's a rolled silver 51 cap with one of my 616 caps next to each other.
http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy19/flounder2009/1948%20Canadian%20Parker%2051%20Vac/th_48Vac51010.jpg (http://s773.photobucket.com/user/flounder2009/media/1948%20Canadian%20Parker%2051%20Vac/48Vac51010.jpg.html)

[gbryal]

I don't believe that there is some price below which pens stop being worth talking about.

My 10 pack of Hero 616s is pretty bad though, which surprised me, because I also bought a single 616 that is different in every way, and while it is no Parker 51, it's pretty darn good for the price, and I think the best I have seen so far from Chinese and Indian pens in that form factor. I'll have to get some pictures up, but the differences are:

Single pen has a shorter section than the 10 pack pen.
Single pen has deeper embossing than the 10 pack pen.
Single pen has a wider jewel, the 10 pack pen has a pointer one with a smaller diameter.
Single pen has more/finer threads on the section, incompatible with the threads on the 10 pack.
10 pack pens are likely to have flashing around the air hole.
Single pen has a much better nib.
Single pen has a larger converter with a different sac. The 10 pack converter squeeze bar tends to move around.
Single pen has a plastic screw inside the cap.

If they are both made by Hero, why do they both say 616? One is one they can be proud of, and the other would tend to destroy repeat business. I emailed Hero with a picture of both to get a verification, we'll see what happens.

My single pen looks a lot like Flounder's above.

[rdcalhoon]

I have read several times that there is at least one if not more counterfeit Hero 616 source(s), which explains the different dimensions and functionality beyond the usual explanation of poor quality control. I have two noticeably different 616's. Both work fine. I'm just not a fan of aerometric fillers.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Thanks for the review. I've always wondered why people dismissed these as junk, since I always have one or more in rotation.

It's possible that the current ten-packs being offered are Hero 616 knock-offs. I got a ten-pack from a reputable fleabay seller at least five years ago and every one wrote like a charm. Similarly, the singles purchased from isellpens (again, years ago) were all great writers for the price.

Now that I actually own some Parkers, I see quality differences in tipping, build and material, but, hey, for $3-$5 each, the 616s fulfilled my desire for hooded pens.

[gbryal]

Thanks for the review. I've always wondered why people dismissed these as junk, since I always have one or more in rotation.

It's possible that the current ten-packs being offered are Hero 616 knock-offs. I got a ten-pack from a reputable fleabay seller at least five years ago and every one wrote like a charm. Similarly, the singles purchased from isellpens (again, years ago) were all great writers for the price.

Now that I actually own some Parkers, I see quality differences in tipping, build and material, but, hey, for $3-$5 each, the 616s fulfilled my desire for hooded pens.

The funny thing is that my 10 pack came in Hero packaging. There is even a seal across the perforation where the back of the package opens. Now, I am certain the packaging could be easily counterfeited, but I still don't see why they'd do such a thing. I just think maybe the quality is uneven on those. Also, I don't read Chinese, maybe the package says "These aren't as good as our regular pens, enjoy!"

I wrote some more with one of the "bad" pens. It's really not so bad, but not as good as my "good" one.

[Sailor Kenshin]

'These aren't as good...etc...enjoy....'

That cracked me up.

[Jolltax]

Great to read that there might be a 'better' Hero 616 - I think I will try and get a 'good' 616 just to try and satisfy my own curiosity.

Jolltax

[Sailor Kenshin]

I am tempted to get the ten-pack of new colors, though...

[Flounder]

I'd really like a large red one, and possibly yellow and a white too. If for some reason the new colours are only being made in the small size, I might just pick up a single red from jewelrymathematics.

[Flounder]

Even the 'good' ones can be a bit variable! ;)

Caps that need fettling for the clutch basket to engage the barrel rings:
flounders-mindthots.blogspot.com/2011/11/hero-616-cap-fix.html

Straightening up nib & hood alignment:
http://flounders-mindthots.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/hero-616-nib-hood-alignment-changing.html

I've had a couple of clips that were just insanely tight too - they had a Visconti-like curve to them much like the one in your photo, rather than the usual Parker shape. I just took them off and rolled them straight with a rubber coated screwdriver and an old mousemat.

[scrivelry]

Even the 'good' ones can be a bit variable! ;)

Caps that need fettling for the clutch basket to engage the barrel rings:
flounders-mindthots.blogspot.com/2011/11/hero-616-cap-fix.html

Straightening up nib & hood alignment:
http://flounders-mindthots.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/hero-616-nib-hood-alignment-changing.html

I've had a couple of clips that were just insanely tight too - they had a Visconti-like curve to them much like the one in your photo, rather than the usual Parker shape. I just took them off and rolled them straight with a rubber coated screwdriver and an old mousemat.

Have you found the nibs needing much fussing with?

I have a number of these that have come to me in a variety of ways, and one of them, a smaller one, writes really really well and some of the others ok to not-so-much. None are from these new color batches though.

[KrazyIvan]

Good nib grind practice fodder though.

[Flounder]

I can't recall a really awful 616 nib, but for any given batch of 3, there was usually a favourite. The rest only needed a bit of smoothing - no major issues, no skipping, paper tearing, or drying out.

[edit - sorry, this is in reply to Scriv's question above. Not sure why the quotey thing didn't take.]

[Jon Szanto]

Early in my pen days these were an interesting investigation, but the quality was so all over the map, and even the best of them weren't all that good, that I finally decided that they were cheap pens and nothing more. Any fascination in them was gone after a short time of fiddling around and ending up with a pile of mediocre pens.

[gbryal]

The 100 and 1000 are said to be better. I ordered a Hero 100, we'll see. I'm also curious about the Wing Sung 101, but they are hard to find.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Even the 'good' ones can be a bit variable! ;)

Caps that need fettling for the clutch basket to engage the barrel rings:
flounders-mindthots.blogspot.com/2011/11/hero-616-cap-fix.html

Straightening up nib & hood alignment:
http://flounders-mindthots.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/hero-616-nib-hood-alignment-changing.html

I've had a couple of clips that were just insanely tight too - they had a Visconti-like curve to them much like the one in your photo, rather than the usual Parker shape. I just took them off and rolled them straight with a rubber coated screwdriver and an old mousemat.

Have you found the nibs needing much fussing with?

I have a number of these that have come to me in a variety of ways, and one of them, a smaller one, writes really really well and some of the others ok to not-so-much. None are from these new color batches though.


Not a single one of mine needed fussing with. Okay, I stubbed one by accident and I fude'd one. On purpose. The rest are slinky little writers.

[Flounder]

They're more expensive, so probably!

The great value of the 616 model is its resemblance to the Parker 51 in size, shape and construction. If you're thinking about getting a vintage 51, but aren't sure whether you'll like the hooded nib, or you've picked your first and would like some safe practice before servicing it, there's no better (or cheaper!) dummy run than the 616.

[this was in reply to gbryal... hmmm.]

[top pen]

I ordered one from china and it arrived today. Mine writes ok a fairly wet fine. I wouldn't say I regret buying it as I think I got my £1.30 worth in playing about with it and dissembling it. The fit and finish isn't great however I wasn't expecting much. It's a good pen for the money but doesn't punch high above it's weight.

I guess it may see some use but only once in a blue moon as I have many nicer pens.

[gbryal]

I ordered one from china

You ordered a standalone one, like the 616 Doctor or Jumbo, or you ordered the 10 pack?

By the way, if you want a nice hooded Hero and don't want to mess around, I recommend the 100. I don't have a Parker 61, but from what I have read it's more similar to that pen. You get a gold nib and mine writes very well and is solid in the hand.

[top pen]

I ordered one from china

You ordered a standalone one, like the 616 Doctor or Jumbo, or you ordered the 10 pack?

By the way, if you want a nice hooded Hero and don't want to mess around, I recommend the 100. I don't have a Parker 61, but from what I have read it's more similar to that pen. You get a gold nib and mine writes very well and is solid in the hand.

Just ordered a standalone normal 616. I will look into the 100 however when I do I may just go for a 51 or 61 instead.

[gbryal]

Just ordered a standalone normal 616. I will look into the 100 however when I do I may just go for a 51 or 61 instead.

Right, it's hard to justify the Hero 100 at that point if you can find a reasonably priced 51 or 61 in good condition, and you almost certainly can.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Just ordered a standalone normal 616. I will look into the 100 however when I do I may just go for a 51 or 61 instead.

Right, it's hard to justify the Hero 100 at that point if you can find a reasonably priced 51 or 61 in good condition, and you almost certainly can.


Never thought I'd hear myself saying this, but yeah.

[Silverbreeze]

So like a Bulow

[mtnbiker62]

I've ordered two Hero 100 pens from Yespens on eBay, and both of them have been disappointing. The caps didn't seal on either pen, so the ink dried out quickly. The second one's rings were actually damaged, so that the cap wouldn't seat correctly. Lin responded to me, but is only offering a partial refund and a discount in his store, or another pen, and that only after I return the pen. I've had two of them that weren't usable, so I'm not inclined to accept the replacement pen or a different one. I was hoping he'd give me a full refund, but that doesn't look like its going to happen...oh well, live and learn.

[Flounder]

Oh, that's not good. I've had pretty good dealings with YesPen. What about the eBay resolution service (you're not asking anything more than you deserve, return for a full refund)?

There's a fair few things that put me off the Hero 100, the top of the list being the price compared to a user 51 or 61. The cap design (http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/225562-hero-100-cap-there-goes-the-clutch-spring/) is another.