Moonman 80 Mini

[old4570]

 

 

 

 

 

Takes the same cartridge / converter as a Parker 45 ..

I used this one to flush the feed NIB .

 

 

With the cartridge in place , it was time to test the pen :

 

 

 

 

1) The Moonman 80 mini posts really well , making the pen really nice to write with .

2) The pen is not sensitive to how it is held , very easy to use . ( CANTS left and right )

3) It does put down a very fine line .

4) Doing 3 consecutive infinity signs the pen ran dry on the last one ( so not so great on continuous use )

5) It did start writing again with no real issue

6) Compared to a Parker 45 GT gold plated F NIB with Quink black .

7) The Parker 45 is just , by the hair on my chine chin chin - better than the Moonman 80 mini ( Smoothness )

[penzel_washinkton]

Thanks for the review.

What type of converter did you cut off there?

[old4570]

Be a Chinese 3mm ID converter available on Ebay ..

Currently waiting on about 15 3mm ID converters ..

 

Seems the Parkers have some variation in the ID of the barrel , making it possibly difficult to use a budget converter due to interference fits .

[Antenociticus]

I have also acquired the same pen, in the same grey-blue (teal?) plastic with silver-coloured trim. I like the way it looks and feels, but the pen has some drawbacks.

 

Pros

• Sturdily built, fits together with satisfying precision – well-made for the price (I paid €6.50 incl. delivery)

• At 100mm capped, the right size for a pocket pen

• Posts easily and nicely – important for a pocket pen. It's irritating when you want to make a quick note in the street and have to fiddle around screwing the cap to post it

• Feels good in the hand when writing

 

Cons

• Writes a really dry and thin line. Thinnest of any pen I own. In itself this is not a bad thing. Why not own an extra-extra-fine/needlepoint type writer? But this pen's line is sadly faint, which seems a drawback in a pocket pen, used on the go and in variable lighting conditions. I want to see what I'm writing

• Can only be used with Parker-style mini cartridges. These aren't readily available around here, and come only in a boring selection of basic colours. If I continue to use this pen, I see a lot of syringe-filling in my future

 

Given the extreme faintness of the line and the poor selection of colours, I can only see me using it as a mark-up tool, something to keep handy for those occasions when a thin red line is just the thing. Right now I use a Moonman Wancai for that purpose. The only area where the 80 Mini beats the Wancai, though, is in how well it clips in a shirt pocket.

[penzel_washinkton]

So in conclusion both the Mini and 80S is very dry, but I see this as very good for those that want quick drying in their writing.

Perfect for lefties!

[old4570]

I pushed in the cartridge harder , and twisted it some more ...

 

Writes a slightly darker line , and does not dry out now .. So the issue could very well be the cartridges rather than the pen to some degree .

But all the Moonman 80 pens produce a very fine line . ( Might be the nature of the NIB )

I await spare parts ... ( To become available )

[inotrym]

It looks very nice posted. Not so much capped, though...

[Antenociticus]

I pushed in the cartridge harder , and twisted it some more ...

 

Writes a slightly darker line , and does not dry out now .. So the issue could very well be the cartridges rather than the pen to some degree .

But all the Moonman 80 pens produce a very fine line . ( Might be the nature of the NIB )

I await spare parts ... ( To become available )

 

It writes noticeably finer than either my M2 or my Wancai, though some of that may be down to the ink.

[truthpil]

Thanks for the review of this interesting little pen.

 

Could the dryness problem be solved by simply swapping out of nib and feed with that of an original Parker 45?

I have a grip of those and wouldn't mind having a smaller body to hold one of my buttery smooth P45 nibs in as an EDC!

[vinnied]

This one has a great colour - well done!

[old4570]

Thank you ...

 

NIB's , should be interchangeable with the Parker 45 .

Though I would very much like to see some spare parts from Moonman . ( been meaning to ask the pen sellers for spare parts )

 

The fine line = One should be able to tweak the NIB for a broader line ( more ink ) .. I think the 80 could be a great Learners pen ( NIB'ling )

Just need to see NIB's become available ( Not at Parker Prices ) .

I'd hate to have to buy an entire pen , just to get a NIB .

[Honeybadgers]

Just got mine and no converter I own works. It fits parker converters, but all 3 I have (piston, aerometric, slide) are miles too long.

 

So I just ordered some short parker quink cartridges and will refill those.

 

I like the snap cap, much better than the friction fit cap on the original one.

 

The pen is noticeably shorter than a pilot e95s when capped, and very reasonable posted. capped it's a touch longer than an Ohto Tasche and about 2cm longer than the moonman wancai mini.

 

fit and finish seem good. Snap cap is very secure, plastic is well polished and the hardware fits nicely.

 

It has a little metal ferrule on the bottom that extends into the barrel. Otherwise, I'd absolutely recommend it for eyedropper duty.

Edited August 27, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[truthpil]

Just got mine and no converter I own works. It fits parker converters, but all 3 I have (piston, aerometric, slide) are miles too long.

 

It's weird that the pen didn't come with a converter or ink cartridge at least.

 

I just ordered my 80mini from Moonman's main online retailer (Shanghai Jingdian) and they make a big deal out of showing you how to use the tiny squeeze converter included with it:

 

 

 

They also kindly include a free 6-pack of the special proprietary short cartridges for this pen, only available in black, blue, and blue-black:

 

 

I'll report on how the converter and cartridges work after the pen arrives. I can't wait to screw in my glassy smooth Parker 45 broad nib!

Edited August 27, 2018 by TruthPil

[penzel_washinkton]

That's the first time I've actually see the Mini with a proprietary converter.

Does it come in the newer batches?

[Honeybadgers]

how much did you spend? I spent in the neioghborhood of two bucks on mine.

[truthpil]

That's the first time I've actually see the Mini with a proprietary converter.

Does it come in the newer batches?

That's what it seems like. The Taobao page says that the mini converter version was available from August 20th, but that's when buying in china so I don't know how long until it'll be sold like that internationally. Hopefully they'll start popping up on eBay soon.

 

Although it's frustrating that Chinese penmakers keep releasing products and re-releasing them, at least improvements are being made.

[truthpil]

how much did you spend? I spent in the neioghborhood of two bucks on mine.

It cost me 25RMB which is about US$3.67.

[Honeybadgers]

I don't really like little squeeze converters anyways, don't see any real benefit over a parker shorty. I think I'll be happy with refilling a cartridge and keeping a spare on hand.

 

the nib on this one doesn't catch like the big brother m80s did. I think this'll be a good pocket pen for people who can't afford an E95S and don't want to spend the extra $5 putting a kaweco sport clip on a wancai mini (or hate the wancai's section)

[truthpil]

I don't like squeeze converters either and will probably just refill the proprietary cartridges that come with the pen, but I really appreciate that Moonman went to the trouble of designing a converter for this pen. Not everyone likes to play with syringes like us haha.

 

I always have a box of Parker shorties for funky Chinese pens like these.

[Honeybadgers]

I really don't know why they didn't just make it fit standard international. I have four or five different SI converters that fit inside the barrel just fine.

 

It's like finding a temporary solution for a problem you created. instead of actually just fixing the problem.