Pilot Prera

[tamburlaine]

"ABCDEFG Eric the half a bee" Ha ha! I love that song...

 

Thank you for the scan. I'll show my brother (oh! sudden inspiration: "I'll show my bro") and see what he thinks about the medium width.

 

Thanks for that and for the nib closeup,

Patrick

[Tournevis]

Done. Decided. I'm getting one in March when I visit San Fran. You are all quite a corrupting influence I have to tell you!

[garyc]

Done. Decided. I'm getting one in March when I visit San Fran. You are all quite a corrupting influence I have to tell you!

Just the one?

 

Who was it who said: " I can resist everything except temptation"?

[pilgrim]

Done. Decided. I'm getting one in March when I visit San Fran. You are all quite a corrupting influence I have to tell you!

Just one ?

Wait till see all those beautiful colours

 

[pilgrim]

some post above I was disappointed because the preras are so small. after a week of using the pen, I must stated that it is very quality pen for that sum of money! ideal light pen to be wear in the pockets!

Edited November 18, 2007 by pilgrim

[Immoteus]

After using the prera for a few days; I'm beginning to take a liking to this pen. Only one compliant though, the pen can be considered a "featherweight" because its so light! Sometimes I forget that I'm holding it.

[Immoteus]

After using the prera for a few days; I'm beginning to take a liking to this pen. Only one compliant though, the pen can be considered a "featherweight" because its so light! Sometimes I forget that I'm holding it.

[ericthered2004]

I bought a Prera off ebay and it took about 6 days to arrive from Japan. I've been using it for a week and it's my current favorite. I'm really pleased that it offers the wonderful Pilot nib without the heaviness of the Knight. It's certainly a shorter pen, although I think the perception that it's a reallyshort pen may come from its stocky design. It's only 4-5mm shorter than a Sheaffer Imperial, and that never seemed to me to be a minipen.

 

Thanks for the excellent review(s)!

 

Cheers,

Eric

[tapo]

Hope Pilot will ship the Prera to Europe. I like the way the Prera looks and, seen the review, the quality of the nib must be very good. ...

 

Here you go:

http://www.cyberpens.co.uk/Pilot-Prera-Fou...-Pen_ABT8S.aspx

 

Thank you Saintsimon. Indeed good to see that Prera's are coming to Europe. Looked at the website and saw however that these Prera's were without a converter. Thats essential when there is not a supplier of Pilot fountain pen products (where one can buy cartridges) around. About the problems with the Pilot range in Europe see this topic.

 

 

cult pens sell pilot pen cartrdiges but not a convertor.

[aka]

so in terms of cartridges, this pen can ONLY take pilot cartridges, correct? no one has been able to jam a mini cartridge in there?

[Cedar]

Someone (maybe Taki) said that the Prera will take a Namiki 69899. I just got two from Pendemonium. My two Preras are loaded with ink right now so

haven't tried them as yet.

 

Cedar

[aka]

I see.. guess i'll have to use an eyedropper or the con-20..

[Taki]

so in terms of cartridges, this pen can ONLY take pilot cartridges, correct? no one has been able to jam a mini cartridge in there?

Pilot cartridge's opening is much wider than international cartridge, so it won't work if that's what you were thinking about using. I just refill empty Pilot carts with syringe for both Prera and VPs.

[djmaher]

Compare this to a Lamy Al-Star or a Lamy Vista?

 

Are the Pilot F nibs equivalent to other manufactures EF nibs? I heard this somewhere...

 

D

 

 

I was first intrigued by this pen from Taki's post here:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...33&hl=prera

 

But, needing another pen like I need another hole in my head, I didn't go further than Taki's thread to check out the pen. Besides, the dimensions are important for me. I've got this rather limited range of sizes I can handle for long periods of writing.

 

So...someone knew that my birthday is approaching and someone was a very bad girl and this little jewel arrived in my mailbox this past Friday. Friday the 13th worked out well for me.

 

Please forgive the picture quality. I don't have a decent set-up these days so this is outdoors with a lampshade and a cheap digital camera and failing batteries.

 

I will try to take better pics later when my batteries are recharged. And the camera batteries as well.

 

First, a writing sample plus a rather poor image of the pen.

 

http://www.ghg.net/schwerpt/founts/prera1a.jpg

 

A close-up of the handwriting. I'd planned on writing this review by hand but my handwriting sucketh to say the least. But this pic will give you a comparison of the line width of the Prera Fine, a Namiki VP fine, and one of my Pelikan Place Series Fines. I can't tell you the precise line width - I don't have the tool for that measurement. It is the finest nib I own. Prior to the Prera, my Estie 9128 and my VP F were the finest nibs but they are a hair wider than the prera. Of course, ink flow will make a difference. The Diamine ink in the VP has a little more generous flow than the mix in the Prera so they are not terribly different probably. Suffice it to say, I would call this an XF or XXF, having never used an XXXF.

 

http://www.ghg.net/schwerpt/founts/prera2.jpg

 

Despite this extremely fine line, the nib is extremely smooth. As smooth, if not smoother, than my VP Fine that was purchased from Mr. Binder (who, as we know, checks nibs before they are shipped.) Honestly this surprised me because I didn't believe a nib of this size could get as smooth as my Namiki F. Certainly not smoother. But, there ya go. I do have a light touch - if one has a heavier touch than I do, I believe the nib would give and you would lose some of that smoothness. My VP nib is stiffer than this nib.

 

I was shooting a close-up of unadorned nib when my battery died entirely so here's the next best thing...

 

http://www.ghg.net/schwerpt/founts/prera4a.jpg

 

Dimensions:

Section:

The above image shows the Prera next to my beloved Pelikan M400 White Tortoise. Had I aligned the section ends vs. the other ends of the pen, you would be able to see more clearly that the Prera section is slightly wider than then the Pelikan. At it's narrowest, my calipers tell me it is 12mm in diameter. My M400 at it's narrowest is 11.5mm. For comparison, the M600 is 12.5mm in diameter at it's narrowest. At it's widest, before the section ring, the Prera section is 14mm. You can see from the picture that the section of the Prera is longer (25mm) than that of the M200/400 (15mm up to threads) range and has no threads. Conclusion, If you like the 200 section size but the threads bother you, the Prera should suit your grip just fine. And at the same time, it would allow you to grip a bit higher comfortably if you prefer a wider grip.

 

Length Capped:

Prera: 12 cm

M400: 12.4 cm

M600: 13.2 cm

 

http://www.ghg.net/schwerpt/founts/prera5a.jpg

 

Length Posted:

 

Prera: 13.6 cm

M400: 14.3 cm

M600: 15.5 cm

 

http://www.ghg.net/schwerpt/founts/prera3a.jpg

 

Length Unposted:

Prera: 10.8 cm

M400: 12.1 cm

M600: 12.3 cm

 

In short (pun intended) the Prera is one of few pens I would post. I can use it unposted, but it's more comfortable when posted.

 

Weight:

Unofficially - a tad heavier than the M200. Don't have immediate access to my scale and I nearly sacrificed my Torty to this review* so I'm not carting it back there. The difference is very slight and mostly in the cap. yet because of it's length, the cap does not impact balance negatively. So, to Betty, no this isn't a heavy pen at all. It is plastic, not laquered brass. But the plastic feels substantial, not fragile.

Officially - my scale only goes to 10ths of an ounce and both my 400 and the Prera weigh in at .5 ozs.

 

Other Particulars:

The Prera uses cartridges. I haven't tried either of the Pilot converters in the pen but will do so and update on that. <span style='color:blue'>Edit: The Piston converter does fit. I assume the bladder converter will as well but have not checked it.</span>

 

The cap is a snap cap with a good solid snap much like a Waterman.

 

The look is clean and simple. I liked the ivory because, well, I just did. It reminded me of the Waterman Charleston color that I have always liked but never owned. Or the Caran D'Ache Dunas that I also liked but never bought.

 

Clip: I can't evaluate this in depth as clips are of minimal importance to me except in terms of appearances. It's a simple, clean design and seems to slip onto the leather of my pen case easily but securely. But I don't carry pens in pockets much so I can't tell you much past that.

 

Cost: Judging by the prices Taki mentioned, I think this pen is worth its price. I've been using it almost non-stop since getting it. The super-smooth extra fine nib is delightful. Of course, the price you'd pay for it in the US includes the cost of importing it so if you happen to be going to Japan for other reasons, it's probably worth picking one or two up for the more comfortable price that Taki mentioned ($19 I believe was the minimum she found.)

 

I don't seem to have any complaints. I suppose my major complaint would be that it is only available through an importer like Ujuku and I doubt that will change. If Pilot won't sell the Decimo here, why would they sell this one here? And of course, I always prefer piston-fillers to cartridge fillers but because I am learning to love Pilot pens, I'm learning to get over that one. Pilot carts are proprietary of course so that may be a drawback for some.

 

Thank You Thank You to the wonderful person who sent me this lovely Birthday Gift. Not just because it's a great little pen, but because it was such a kind and thoughtful gesture and clued in on the things I like most about pens. I guess that's why it's hard for me to find any negatives re: this pen.

 

Finally, I dunno why, I just liked this picture

 

http://www.ghg.net/schwerpt/founts/prera6.jpg

 

KCat

 

*I was measuring my torty and juggled it onto the tile, nib down. First ever nib-down pen drop. ACK! Knocked the nib out of kilter with the feed but it seems okay now.

 

<span style='color:gray'>(edit: typos)</span>

 

[KCat]

Compare this to a Lamy Al-Star or a Lamy Vista?

 

Are the Pilot F nibs equivalent to other manufactures EF nibs? I heard this somewhere...

 

D

 

I can't do that with a great deal of confidence but maybe someone here can. What I *recall* of my Lamy Safari (solid plastic version of the Al-Star) was that it had a fairly standard "Western" fine nib. By comparison to the Prera, much broader. The Pilot F nibs are definitely EF or even XXF depending on the ink used. My Medium is more on par with other makers' F nibs. Probably close to the Lamy XS (fine).

 

[augustmoon]

Another more than happy Pilot Prera (F) owner...

 

I have 4 of these Pilot Prera's inked up. Ivory, Light Blue, Royal Blue and the Slate Grey. I'm not sure if I'd care for the Pink/Red one, does anyone know if this is a hot-pink or bubble gum type of pink or more subdued? And truly unsure of the Lime color. If they made more colors, I'd buy them, and find more ink choices to fill them with.

 

Noodler's Beaver Brown in the Ivory (works well) In the others I have, Noodler's Aircorps Blue Black (comes out a dark black out of this pen, and lays down a slightly finer line than Aurora Black, which is my normal black, but I wanted a finer line), Noodler's Midnight Blue is an ink I use in another Taccia Medium nibbed pen, but it was too light out of my Prera by comparison (although much darker than out of my Safari XF), so I made up a special ink mix to get it to match, and Noodler's Tiananmen is in the 4th pen for a nice dark red.

 

I put the twist (Con-50) converters in each of these.

 

At least half of what I need to write everyday for work is very small fine printing in forms and lists. This part of my work is more fun now than it used to be and less fatguing on my wrists since switching to Fountain Pens from the rollerball types not too long ago.

 

I had a couple of Lamy Safari XF pens. But I'm not using those anymore. I really prefer the way the Prera's lay down the same ink better than the Safari XF's. Also the inks I use tend to appear write out darker out of the Prera. The size, shape and holding characteristics lend themselves better to printing and writing smaller than the Lamy Safari / AL-Stars. Visually (to me) much nicer looking as well.

 

 

 

[Cedar]

Someone (maybe Taki) said that the Prera will take a Namiki 69899. I just got two from Pendemonium. My two Preras are loaded with ink right now so

haven't tried them as yet.

 

Cedar

 

I think I'm talking to myself. But whoever would like to eavesdrop....I tried the Namiki 69899 in my Pilot Prera this morning and it works just fine.

 

Cedar

[augustmoon]

 

Cedar

 

I think I'm talking to myself. But whoever would like to eavesdrop....I tried the Namiki 69899 in my Pilot Prera this morning and it works just fine.

 

Cedar

 

Two of my four Pilot Prera's have the Namiki 69899 Converters in them and my other two Prera's have the Pilot Con-50.... To me they look just the same, just different packaging and all work equally fine.

 

Brian

 

[aka]

Have one of these on the way with a con-20. Went for the ivory color with a fine nib... plan on filling it with Havana Brown!

[Taki]

Someone (maybe Taki) said that the Prera will take a Namiki 69899. I just got two from Pendemonium. My two Preras are loaded with ink right now so

haven't tried them as yet.

 

Cedar

 

I think I'm talking to myself. But whoever would like to eavesdrop....I tried the Namiki 69899 in my Pilot Prera this morning and it works just fine.

 

Cedar

Cedar, sorry I hadn't been following this thread so closely, and thought I already replied to your post. Namiki 69899 is the same as Pilot CON-50, and as you found out it should work

Edited March 12, 2008 by Taki