Stipula Splash With Flexible Nib

November 30, 2014

It railroads and the ink flow stops. Difficult to restart.

How does it compare to a Noodler's flex, in your opinion? (If you have one)

December 1, 2014

"It railroads and the ink flow stops. Difficult to restart."

How does it compare to a Noodler's flex, in your opinion? (If you have one)

Allow me to say this as I have experience with the Noodler's Ahab and Konrad "flex" pens:

In my experience, I have not had a single Ahab or Konrad that out-of-the-box could keep up with the nib when flexing. The stock pens railroad and/or dry-up when flexed until primed again.

However...

If an Ahab railroads and stops out-of-the-box, you have the option to hack and heat-set the Ebonite (hard rubber) feed so the pen writes (and flexes) properly. In-fact the instructions that come with the pen encourage this - but it is NOT a trivial task..

If a Stipula pen railroads and stops out-of-the-box, you do NOT have the option to hack and heat-set the feed because the feed is plastic, not Ebonite. Your only recourse is to send the pen back for return or repair - and I have heard of mixed results when it comes to Stipula's repairs.

December 4, 2014

I have just realised that the Stipula Splash has exactly the same body as the Noodler's roller ball pen. It is practically the same pen and the caps can even exchange without problems. The difference is in the price which is far higher for the Stipula. This confirms my earlier suspicion that the Stipula Splash is made in India where - I think - Noodler's have all their pens manufactured (probably by Ranga).

January 29, 2017

I got one over the weekend directly from Monteverde rep at the annual pen fair hosted by the Fountain Pen Shop in Monrovia, CA. Jumped on it for the 25% off price... wish I hadn't. I got the navy blue one and first tried it with Sailor's Jentle Nioi-Sumire in it (since I bought the ink at the same time). Ran dry and railroaded all over the place. Flushed it profusely and then reloaded with Noodler's Apache Sunset (taking advantage of the clear body with a light colored ink). Still railroads constantly. There's no way I can figure out to adjust the feed (not like Noodler's ebonite feeds).

Right out of the box, I noticed strange globs of oil hung up behind the piston in the body. Now the ink is starting to ooze up into that oiliness! YAFA customer service won't tell me how to disassemble the pen but instead wants me to send it back to them... which will pretty much nullify the great price I received by paying for shipping & handling.

It writes fine as a non-flex pen. But that's really NOT what I bought it for. Wish I had spent that $60 on 3 or 4 Noodlers pens. I'll probably end up having to send it back to YAFA. I asked if I could just return it and they haven't responded.

As for the "flex" of the nib, it isn't nearly as flexible as my Noodler's Creaper and Ahabs are. Definitely not worth that much more in price.

Disappointing…

Agreed for the price point "whatever" but i was also disappointed as well. It would stop start and railroad allover the map. Its also quite scratchy as well. But for the price I thought try out the brand but this pen is a bit of a disappointment. It writes horrible with minimal line variation and also feels scratchy no comparison to the ahab.