Asa Rainbow Review

[Samrat]

Hello Everyone,

Today I am going to review ASA Rainbow, a beautiful acrylic fountain pen.

ASA have many famous models, and in recent times the Nauka has taken all the limelight. I love my Nauka, but thought of giving some lesser known ASA models their dues first. ASA Rainbow is one of the best looking models from ASA, due to the vibrant acrylic material used to make these pens.

What I like most: The looks, what’s more- it’s very comfortable pen for everyday use.

What I don’t like- I love this model, so nothing to complain about.

 

1. Appearance & Design: ASA Rainbow is a medium sized simple cigar shaped pen. There are two varieties – round ended and flat topped. I bought two different colours of this model at different times, but both are round ended. The body is thicker in the middle portion and tapers slightly towards both ends, tapering towards the section is more pronounced than the bottom end. The cap is larger than the body without any tapering. There is one dome shaped finial at the top of the cap which is flushed with the rest of the cap body, thus hiding the clip ring in clipped versions of the pen. There is no ring at the bottom of the cap, though the construction is good and there is very less chance that the cap lip would actually break with regular use. The clip is a simple slender triangular shaped one with a tear drop end. It protrudes a bit too much at the top for my taste before gradually coming back to touch the body of the cap. It’s springy and functional. The section is a slender one with a step like flaring at the distal one third for easy gripping. ASA is imprinted on the top of the clip. No other branding in the body which is a very good decision.

What sets these pens apart is the vibrant acrylic materials used to make these pens. I absolutely love these colours; I have one orange-black swirl and one red-black swirl rainbow. The pens look very pretty. One can spend hours on end to look at and appreciate these beautiful patterns and depth of colours in these pens.

 

 

 

2.Construction & Quality: The pen is built well. The material is lightweight. I have no idea whether these will break if someone accidentally drops them on floor and neither I’m much inclined to test for myself. The acrylic has some camphor like smell when put to nose, but under normal circumstances, no smell was perceived. These pens have 3-in-1 filling system, but none of them leaked when used as an eyedropper. There is no burping issues with either with the Schmidt or the Versace nib units compatible with these pens. The cap closes by about three turns, which is a bit too much for me.

 

 

 

note the protrusion of clip

 

3.Weight & Dimensions: the pens are very light, and ideal for long writing sessions.

The pen dimensions are as follows

Length of the pen capped: 132 mm

Length of uncapped pen: Versace nib model- 120 mm, Ambitious nib model- 125 mm.

Length of nib: Versace nib model – 20 mm, Ambitious nib model - 25 mm.

Posted length: Versace nib model - 162 mm, Ambitious nib model- 167 mm.

Diameter of section: Lowest at the step- 11 mm, at the section end- 12 mm

Maximum Barrel diameter: 15 mm

Section length: 24 mm

 

I use them without posting. They are very good EDC pens .

 

 

From Left to Right- Waterman Hemisphere, Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy Safari, ASA Rainbow, all capped

 

 

From Left to Right- Waterman Hemisphere, Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy Safari, ASA Rainbow, all posted

 

4.Nib & Performance: The pen comes with a Schimdt nib unit by default. I chose another available threaded nib unit called the Versace nib. This nib was also there in my ASA Writer and I am impressed with its performance in both the pens. This Versace named nib is smooth out of the box with a well-controlled medium flow. It has superb feel on paper and there is very less feathering and bleed through even on very cheap papers. It’s a #5 nib, available only with medium tip. This nib fits inside a Jowo housing and as a result one could easily swap a Jowo spare nib with this nib. The ambitious nib in the red pen is a #35 fine flex nib with wet juicy flow and lots of feedback. It has a good ebonite feed, akin to the feeds seen in kim pens. The nib flxes easily with medium pressure, but the feed occasionally cannot keep up, thus resulting in rail-roading.

 

 

5. Filling System & Maintenance: This pen is a 3-in-1 system by default, so no complaints there. The red one with ambitious flex nib has a small plastic pipe as a feed tail, so it is meant to be used as an eyedropper. I pulled out the pipe and used it for normal writing with a Schimdt convertor without any problems. I didn’t try flex writing after removing the feed tail though, so cannot comment on that aspect.

 

 

6. Cost & Value: It’s a relatively costly pen from ASA at INR 1800 (US $ 48) but considering the beautiful colours, great Schmidt nib and a 3-in-1 filling system, it’s a very well-priced pen. The ambitious nib model cost less.

 

 

7. Conclusion: I would love to recommend this pen to all users with any level of experience with fountain pens and a love for beautiful things.

My suggestions: A bit slender body would look better or a slightly longer body with current diameter. Few users find this model a bit stocky as a pen. I personally have no complaints. ASA can think of putting cap ring for extra protection to the lip. The clip design can be improved.

 

ASA website ASA

Whatsapp no of Mr. Subramaniam - +91 9176607660

ASA email- asapens.in@gmail.com, unik.services@hotmail.com

my other reviews (In no particular order):

1. ASA Swan

2. ASA Writer

3. Ranga Thin Bamboo

4. Krishna Butterline Stub nib pen

5. Guider Egg- acrylic and ebonite

6. Kanwrite Desire

7. Kanwrite Heritage

8. Franklin Covey Lexincton Black

9. Gama Kuyil

10. Gama Forever

[Scribblesoften]

Excellent review of a lovely pair of pens. Your photos make it difficult not to purchase one immediately. The acylics look lovely. Thank you for taking the time to write and post this.

[EdeIstein88]

nice review, the pen look so pretty..

[Ada]

What pretty pens! Thanks for the review.

[visvamitra]

Nice review but the pen itself doesn't impress me that much

[subbucal]

Thanks Samrat for the detailed review and classy pictures.

 

As usual after reading your reviews, I feel like buying myself one ..:-)

[rahulchandna]

nice review !

[JasonChao]

Impressive Indian Fountain pen looking beautiful. Pen is big and colorful. Can i get website link of ASA ?

[Gautam Masaniya]

A great review. But adding a writing sample will make your reviews even greater.