Platinum Riviere (ptr-200)

[Vargouille]

I was at the Marukai Value+ (Daiso in Japan, and other places in the US, among others), and I picked up three fountain pens for about 1.89 USD (About 100 yen, I think) each, plus a pack of cartridges for each. The first two are not worth nothing, they were in red and black, but the third is a Platinum Riviere, only you wouldn't know it unless you knew what the symbol on the nib meant. Also, one would expect a bad experience, considering that it came from those cool bags that are sealed at one end, and have a weak adhesive strip at the other, which folds over, plus one of the proprietary Platinum cartridges. With that introduction, know that my standards are going to be low for such an inexspensive fountain pen. Please note that this is my first fountain pen review.

 

 

Appearance & Design (6/10) – Let me say, that this is being generous. It has an off-white color, which the model number on the side in black. The clip is made of a transparent grey plastic, and sticks in to the top in a less than perfect manner. The section is plain black, and the cap is pulled off, with a little indented ring that the cap lip slides in, making it spin around. When it is closed, it does something that tends to bother me. You can actually see a little black ring that is the section peeking underneath it. All in all, not bad, but not great.

 

Construction & Quality (7/10) – It feels fairly sturdy, and although I would avoid dropping in on any surface, I am confident that it would survive. It is made of plastic, of what make, I do not know. All in all, average.

 

Weight & Dimensions (8/10) – I don't have access to anything more high tech than a ruler, but it is about 5-11/16 inches capped, 4-13/16 inches uncapped, and a little over 6 inches posted. What I can say about weight is that it is very lightweight. I like larger pens, and fairly heavy pens, but this isn't too bad. A solid 8.

 

Nib & Performance (7.5/10) – It looks like a regular steel nib, with a Japanese Medium point, about the same as a Lamy Safari Fine, with the Platinum "p" logo, and a simple "M" underneath it. It is rather small, but is well shaped, and more or less proportioned to the rest of the pen. It does not write very smoothly, and does have quite a bit of feedback, and when left for a while, it needs a bit of shaking, and in some cases, to write heavy for the first few letters. Better than some, but worst than most that I have access to.

 

Filling System & Maintenance (7/10) - It's the run-of-the-mill cartridge/converter filler, with the interesting Platinum cartridges, which have the little metal ball in them. I do prefer piston-fillers and other kinds, but this is fairly good.

 

Cost & Value (9/10) – Considering I got this for 1.89 USD, this is very good quality, which I have come to expect from the Daiso/ Marukai Value+. Like the name of the store, this is a good value (+).

 

Conclusion (~7.5/10) - All in all, not a bad thing for less than two dollars (USD), and I would recommend for people to at least try it, with the mention that it is by no means a measure of the full capacity of the skills of a fountain pen. However, for the price, it's pretty good.

 

My picture taking skills leave much to be desired, but eBay (A Japanese seller, BTB) came to the rescue, with this listing, with better pictures than I could give:

http://cgi.ebay.com/PLATINUM-Fountain-Pen-RIVIERE-Black-Stylo-Ink-Cartrid-/150407152968?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0#ht_2224wt_911

[fermopagus]

i love the "Smooth and Easy" special features

 

great review!

[cocojj]

I found the nib of mine quite smooth but unfortunately I could not get it to write well. At first ink would not flow at all then I tried widening distance between the tines but ink would still stop at some strokes. I gave up when I broke off the black plastic (part of the feed?) trying to widen the slit some more.

[Vargouille]

I found the nib of mine quite smooth but unfortunately I could not get it to write well. At first ink would not flow at all then I tried widening distance between the tines but ink would still stop at some strokes. I gave up when I broke off the black plastic (part of the feed?) trying to widen the slit some more.

 

Well, at least when you have a Daiso nearby, you can just buy a bunch and then if one breaks, oh well.

[Tberry010]

I received one of these as langiappe with another pen I bought from one of the most respected pen experts here on FPN. I appreciated the little pen for what it was, a little gift: and then I wrote with it. Like most asian pens my M nib writes like a western F, and even has a touch of flex. A very usable, very light,inexpensive pen. If you get a chance, try one.

[fpn00b]

I turned mine into an eyedropper by putting a little O-ring at the base of the section threads, with some silicone grease. Still hasn't leaked. The pen writes smoothly with a slight bit of flow issue, but a very serviceable pen for the price.

[caxawu]

I got a ptr-200 as a gift and loved it for how light it was. I never had any problems with writing, but the grip section towards the nib cracked and I had ink leaking everywhere.