Zebra V-301 Fountain Pen Review

[KrazyIvan]

This is the first review of a fountain pen I do written with the actual pen being reviewed. Come to think of it, I think this is the first fountain pen I officially review. Please be patient as I work out the bugs of the system. This first portion will be typed followed by a scan of the written review. Please keep in mind that some portions of the review cannot be typed, like the flex test and will only appear in the scanned portion of the review. Thanks. Now on to the review.

May 27, 2012

Zebra V-301 Review

The Zebra V-301 is a budget fountain pen in the vein of the Pilot "Squid" pens or Platinum Preppy. It is surprisingly very well adjusted to the harsh lifestyle of just being thrown in a bag and forgotten. It is surprising how long I go without using the pen and how it starts right up even after a month of non-use. Most of my other pens would have already dried up in the heat of the desert or at least need to have the converter primed with ink. (I meant feed). Not this Zebra. It was not so at the beginning though. I have read of a lot of problems when just starting out with this pen. I also had issues with the pen at first. I think I know the reason. The feed of this pen is a felt strip much like what is used in felt tip pens. When I first popped in the cartridge, the pen did not work right. It skipped a lot. I set the pen aside and forgot about it for a few days. I believe this is what the pen needs. Since the feed is felt, it needs time for the felt to saturate with ink to deliver proper ink flow to the nib. It has not failed since.

Really, for the $3 that it costs, I think this is a much better value than any "cheap" I have come across. It is available at just about any Walgreen's Drug store as are the cartridges. That is the only con, proprietary cartridges. (I revise that statement later in the review). I am not even sure refilling cartridges is an option because of the felt feed wick thing it has. That is going to be a nightmare to clean out.

Overall Impression: 3 out of 5 Nibs.

The Pros:

-Price ($3)
-Smooth Fine Nib. It writes very well once saturated
-Stainless Steel Construction
-Light Weight
-Balanced with posted cap
-Works very well un-posted too.

Cons
-Proprietary Cartridges
-Hard to Clean
-Cartridge refilling may not be a good idea because of possible ink interaction due to not being able to clean out the pen thoroughly.
-Ink flow stops when you try to flex the nib. * See scan


Zebra V301 Reviewp1 by IvanRomero, on Flickr


Zebra V301 Reviewp2 by IvanRomero, on Flickr

[Bogon07]

What a strange coincidence I was only fiddling about with my Zebra M301 (0.5mm) Mechanical Pencil pencil last night which has green plastic instead of your black. I recall there is also a ball point (F301) available in that style too so you could make up a neat matching pen & pencil set.

I like the clean looks of your fountain pen. The nib appears to write a bit wider than usual for Japanese nibs, it looks to be similar to a Lamy F nib. Seems to write pretty well when you get it going. Are you writing on a Rhodia dot grid ?

The only real downsides I can see are the proprietary cartridge and the felt ink feed.

thanks for the review.

[KrazyIvan]

That is odd bogon. FWIW, I also have the highlighter that also uses the same cartriges just with neon yellow ink. I have been getting used to wider lines and this just seems super fine to me now.

[Bogon07]

Oooh a highlighter too. H301 ?
Now that would make a really nice pen set, even better than the Staedtler ones & you get a fountain pen too.

[PeppWaves03]

Never knew these were at Walgreens! I'll have to pick one up

[KrazyIvan]

Oooh a highlighter too. H301 ?
Now that would make a really nice pen set, even better than the Staedtler ones & you get a fountain pen too.

Yeah. I did not even know they existed until a coworker saw me with the V-301 and then gave me his spare H-301.

Never knew these were at Walgreens! I'll have to pick one up

Just remember to plug in the cartridge and let it sit for a while to let the ink really saturate that feed.

[Maja]

Oh wow.....For your first handwritten review, you pick the one fountain pen that frustrated me like no other....
I have had nothing but problems with the two (yes, two!) Zebra V-301s that I purchased, which is ironic as the Zebra F-701 ballpoint is one of the best inexpensive ballpoints ever made, IMHO.

I couldn't believe how much trouble the first V-301 fountain pen had starting up (even after being left alone for a few days), so I bought another one....which had the same problem.
After doing a massive amount of Googling, I found some threads on FPN that showed me how to (a.) take the nib off (b.)widen the channels in the feed-holder to make the pen usable and (c.) trim the wick-like feed to make it narrower, thus allowing ink to flow more easily to the nib.

The pens work well now, but I tell ya.....It was an uphill battle. I think Zebra should have stuck to a regular feed for the V-301 (which is their first and only fountain pen from what I have read); hopefully their second FP will be better designed.

Anyway....Thanks for the review, Ivan---glad you didn't have the problems I had with my two pens!

[KrazyIvan]

I am sorry you had so much trouble. It is really odd but makes sense as the feed really seems to restrict flow. I have had the same cartridge in it since I bought it and the ink seems to be going sparingly even with my recent writing sessions.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Great review, thanks. I like the handwritten portion.

I keep hearing how bad these little pens are, and how hard they are to start, and yes, mine was a bit reluctant, but all I had to do was dip it in other ink or in water to get it writing well. Then it wrote for months and months, until it was empty.