OPUS88 Demo- the new king of $150 segment

[punjabi]

This is my first review and I will be talking about my favorite pen in budget section i.e. OPUS 88 Demo – After years of usage I will call it a “Perfect Pen in this price segment” & a great option for students or professionals who need pen with good ink capacity.

I have been great fan of OPUS Demo Pens since their launch in 2017. Overtime I have many pens Opus 88 pens and I never ever had any issue with any of their pens . Their Demo model which comes in 4 different colors(clear,red,gray & orange) is one of my favorite model.For the price they are being sold makes them exceptional value for money pen.If someone asks me for best pen under $150 I will recommend you this OPUS Demo because it’s just a perfect pen for everyone with no-nonsense yet appealing design. OPUS Demo has #6 JoWo nibs which are very very good out of the box as they are tuned by the them. Pen is very durable and almost unbreakable & can be used for many years!!!

Pros

• Well-made pen that feels very nice
• #6 JOWO nib which comes tuned out of the box
• Huge ink capacity
• Great looking pen , you will surely get compliments .
• Perfect Balance
• At $120, its cheapest pen with Shut-off valve filling mechanism .
• Perfect ink flow, not overly saturated, not pale.
• Very nice grip section.
•  Construction, fit and finish are far beyond the price point of this pen
• No need of silicon grease(O rings do the job well)
• Can carry while travelling even during air travel !

Cons

• Take very long time to uncap (3.5 turns) that’s huge & it's not for people with small hands. 
• No one posts jumbo pens (it's not a con)as pen will become very uncomfortable to write with

More details that you may need to know-

• Body material: Acrylic resin with ice effect
• Trim: Black
• Cap: Screw on(3 turns)
• Posts: No
• Nib material: JOWO #6 Steel(tuned out of the box)
• Filling system: Eyedropper + shut off valve
• Ink capacity: 4 ml approximately
• Length (capped): 147.30 mm/5.80″
• Length (uncapped): 136.6 mm/5.38″
• Length (posted): N/A
• Length (section): 22.46 mm/0.88″
• Diameter (barrel): 14.16 – 14.97 mm/0.56″ – 0.59″
• Diameter (section): 11.05 – 12.86 mm/0.44″ – 0.51″
• Weight (all): 27 g
• Weight (cap): 10 g
• Weight (body): 17 g
• Price: $120.00 USD (goes on sale often)
• Nib Size- Extra-Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, 1.5mm Stub

Packing-

The Demo is available in a white box with a a black magnetic flap box inside. The outer field has the corporation logo, “OPUS 88,” and “Fine Writing Instruments” embossed at the center. The internal field has “OPUS 88 Fine Writing Instruments” embossed in right side and “Since 1977” on the lowest left side. Their is an informational sticky label with the version and enterprise name, a photo of the pen and the nib size. The lid has a magnetic the front flap which opens up and we see the pen, a warranty and glass rubber eyedropper, and a person manual. You won’t get this kind of packing in this budget anywhere else. It could be a great gift .

Performance-

The pen comes with a #6 steel nib. It has a single slit, a spherical breather hole, and is engraved with a few flourishes (JoWo-style) and the nib size is written over their. It is laser-engraved with ‘Opus 88’ which appears adorable and aesthetically pleasing.

This nib is a pleasure to put in writing with. It is a simple JOWO metal nib that glides throughout without any issue and on any kind of paper. You don’t have worry about any hard starts or any issues . Every OPUS nib is tuned out of the box

The filling machine is cool – it holds a variety of ink, it is smooth to fill, operate, maintain, and clean. The shut-off valve is right for eyedropper pens as it enables to save you ink burping in case you are sporting the pen around, for example. It is very very convenient & I belive all eyedropper fillers need to have.You can carry it anywhere even in your air ride without worrying about your shirt.Opus 88 makes the cheapest but great quality Eyedroppers which have shut off valves.

The clip is very comfortable & sturdy. You can’t post the clip in this pen. The spherical ball on clip makes nice grip on your pocket or note book. The pen is very comfortable to write with, even for longer writing sessions. It doesn’t feel heavy neither slippery . You will enjoy writing with it . It is very well balanced pen.

Overall – Best pen under $150 . You should get one for yourself (it’s MRP is $120) and it goes on discount pretty occasionally. This review is based upon experience with my OPUS Demo pens which I have been using over the years.

What are other options at this price range? – Some models of Benu, Kaweco Al / Brass Series pens, Lamy 2000(when on sale) , Pilot Capless, Platinum 3776 , Pilot Custom 74 and TWSBI aka Crackbi pens. Although some of them have gold nibs.But if you see as overall package this OPUS Demo is better than all these pens. I will write an article about modern gold nibs vs modern steel nibs soon. This is not much talked topic, but I belive one should know the reality.

Note- I have always purchased from different retailers like mainly from JetPens & Goulet Pen Company. And also from some other online stores.

 

Link- https://inkpenlover.wordpress.com/2021/04/22/opus-88-demo-review-best-pen-under-150/

[tde44x]

I have one and it is a great writer. Mine has the stub nib.

 

Do you have any experience you could share with the other nib sizes on this pen?

 

Also, how this pen compares with other Opus 88 models would be great info.

[TitoThePencilPimp]

I have the Kolero. A nice pen, and I have had no issues with it. I wouldn't pay full retail. Not because its not a good pen, but one can get a Pelikan m200 for this price. At $80, I would definitely purchase.

[Ste_S]

1 hour ago, TitoThePencilPimp said:

I have the Kolero. A nice pen, and I have had no issues with it. I wouldn't pay full retail. Not because its not a good pen, but one can get a Pelikan m200 for this price. At $80, I would definitely purchase.

 

That's the thing. I imagine Opus 88 are great if you want an eye dropper. If not, there's a boatload of cheaper steel nibbed pens that give equal or better performance. 

[punjabi]

4 hours ago, tde44x said:

I have one and it is a great writer. Mine has the stub nib.

 

Do you have any experience you could share with the other nib sizes on this pen?

 

Also, how this pen compares with other Opus 88 models would be great info.

Their all pens use JOWO & BOCK nibs! I never had any issues with any of nibs. Their new Lacquered model is very good - it too has shut off valve & lacquer is very nice.... My personal favourite is Demo & the lacquered one but as you can't post demo other may like Omar or Koloro who write posted. They are great pens anyway.. 

[punjabi]

52 minutes ago, Ste_S said:

 

That's the thing. I imagine Opus 88 are great if you want an eye dropper. If not, there's a boatload of cheaper steel nibbed pens that give equal or better performance. 

Yeah I agree but have you tried their new handmade shell / pearl pen, the images they uploaded on page doesn't do justice with pens beauty. And yeah some people may not like eye droppers pens, but it's perfect pen for people looking for huge ink capacity & a solid make ( my one blue opus was dropped thrice in last 2years ) , I am using it as desk pen. Still it looks like brand new pen just OPUS 88 engraving is gone 😂 and yeah their are many steel nib pens available at that price but most people won't prefer steel nibs for long writing sessions ( generally starters or students look for such pen) this is that's why perfect pen for them in that way. Shut off valve prevent from leakage that is usually concern with Eye dropper pens ( my FC leaks when ink is ) less than half) . And as you said some people won't like eye droppers & demos? It's personal preference. 

[Aysedasi]

3 hours ago, TitoThePencilPimp said:

I have the Kolero. A nice pen, and I have had no issues with it. I wouldn't pay full retail. Not because its not a good pen, but one can get a Pelikan m200 for this price. At $80, I would definitely purchase.

 

Quite a bit smaller though......

[TheDutchGuy]

Thanks for the review! It's a nice pen. Its size, sheer ink volume, shut-off valve and looks set it apart. A true workhorse pen. Another plus: due to the shut-off valve, you can change nibs on the fly without having to empty the pen. You could carry multiple nib/feed/collar assemblies and change them as needed. Any #6 that fits the Jowo collar and feed will do. Order a nice bi-colour 14k from fpnibs.com and you have a truly killer pen. Whenever things get rough and/or whenever I just cannot afford to run out of ink, then I take mine. It'll be in my shirt pocket during hikes, on airplanes, in public transport etc, so my more precious pens can stay safe. The nib in mine is a Kaweco #6 F that I customized into something that's halfway between EF and F and I ink it with Diamine Kensington Blue or Florida Blue.

 

 

[A Smug Dill]

4 hours ago, TheDutchGuy said:

Another plus: due to the shut-off valve, you can change nibs on the fly without having to empty the pen.

 

I'm not sure I follow. I change the nibs on eyedropper-filled Platinum Preppy pens ‘on the fly’ sometimes, without having to empty the pens, in spite of the absence of a shut-off valve to physically block the ink supply pathway. I don't think there would be any problem doing it on an eyedropper-filled Fine Writing International Planets series pen, which is (advertised by the manufacturer as being) designed to accommodate that mode of operation and has a screw-in nib assembly unit, either; so I don't see the necessity (or cause-and-effect) of having a shut-off valve in that regard.

 

16 hours ago, punjabi said:

What are other options at this price range? – Some models of Benu, Kaweco Al / Brass Series pens, Lamy 2000(when on sale) , Pilot Capless, Platinum 3776 , Pilot Custom 74 and TWSBI aka Crackbi pens. Although some of them have gold nibs.But if you see as overall package this OPUS Demo is better than all these pens.

 

I see it as an overall package, and thus I say: no. Not trying to invalidate your subjective opinion as applies to you, but since you framed the statement as “you see”, I must reply from my perspective.

 

Ink capacity is not everything in the overall package, irrespective of whether a particular user may need it for a subset of his applications and/or use cases; and neither is nib interchangeability with so-called #6 nibs of other makes. Japanese product quality and reputation, Slip & Seal mechanism, availability of UEF and Soft nib options, and gold as the nib material all form part of the overall package and value proposition. Even though the Platinum #3776 Century is not my favourite pen in the price range, both it and the Pilot Capless Vanishing Point pens trump the Opus 88 Demonstrator model any day at the US$150 price point, even though I really like my Opus 88 Picnic pens (and am planning on buying a fourth colour). To me, the Picnic having a physically smaller nib is no disadvantage, whereas being able to accommodate posting of the cap on the end of the barrel is no advantage.

[Detman101]

Awesome and ACCURATE review!!! @punjabi
One of the most awesome pens I've experienced in the past year.
I came from the Penbbs-355 camp.
After getting fed up with the Penbbs cheap-chinese-shenanigans...I sought out a "Japanese-Eyedropper" that was full-figured and a demonstrator.
Lo and behold...OPUS-88!!
There's no turning back now...this pen is PERFECT!
I've dropped mine twice now with no ill effects and swapped in an FNF flex-nib unit on day one!
Beautiful flex writing, though the nib unit is for a converter pen...so it railroads sometimes under heavy use.
But railroading be damned...my "SECRETARY OF DE FLEX" nib unit is in-state and will be IN-MY-HANDS in a few days...
After that...life with the Opus-88 will be GRAND!!
I'm saving up for another Opus-88 Demo and another "S.O.D.F." nib unit in 1.1 flexy stub.
After that I can permanently retire my former two Penbbs-355s to the collection box...it'll be OPUS-88 all day, every day!

[Detman101]

May as well get some eye-candy up in here. 😁

[Detman101]

[TitoThePencilPimp]

8 hours ago, Aysedasi said:

 

Quite a bit smaller though......

True, but a size of a pen does not bother me. I can use Kaweco Liliput up to a Pelikan m1000 for 4+ writing sessions with no issues. I just have this thing where if I'm shopping for a pen near that price point , it is either a Sailor or Pelikan. 

 

The Opus is a great pen, and I would recommend it. But not at MSRP.

 

 

[Karmachanic]

On 4/25/2021 at 7:19 PM, TheDutchGuy said:

Another plus: due to the shut-off valve, you can change nibs on the fly without having to empty the pen

 

Definitely an asset whilst on the go, in less than ideal circumstances.  Gives one confidence, knowing that should something go amiss 2ml of ink won't end up in ones lap.

[sansenri]

I have been looking at some of the Opus pens.

My usual questions, how sharp are the threading and the step down?

The step looks small but rather sharp... acrylic can be razor sharp.

[mizgeorge]

1 hour ago, sansenri said:

I have been looking at some of the Opus pens.

My usual questions, how sharp are the threading and the step down?

The step looks small but rather sharp... acrylic can be razor sharp.

It hasn't bothered me on the picnic, and it's definitely less sharp than it looks, but my grip is so light that I struggle to think of any pen where it's been a real problem, unless it's in completely the wrong place. 

 

I think I may cave in on the big version any moment now.

[sansenri]

thanks

it's not that I grip pens tight, but rather somewhat high up, whereby my fingers often end up smack on the threads and steps...

[Tseg]

Great review... but not sure $150=budget.  A year ago I bought a Moonman C1 for ~$20... now that is budget.   Clear acrylic eye dropper, except for the section.   Writes great and has a very large reservoir... I’m still on my first fill a year later and has never once hard-started.

[Detman101]

There is no better Japanese-Eyedropper Demonstrator.
With the way the pen is designed, the flow of ink and the exchange of air are seamless.
They have smoothed the transitory areas where any burps could happen and eliminated them all.
I wondered for so long why no highline nibs worked for me...the problem was that I had them in the wrong pen.
This Opus-88 Demonstrator is a much better platform than my old Penbbs-355 pens.
I've put my CustomNibStudio Franklin-Christoph 14k Flexy XXF nib in it and it's blown me away with its performance.
Then I put my "Secretary of De Flex" nib unit in it and I'm in heaven! This platform is what nib units were meant to be slotted into for maximum performance!
Needless to say, I'm upgrading all of my pens to Opus-88 Demonstrators as time and money allow.
1 down, two to go...

 

[langere]

If I am not mistaken, Opus 88 is a Taiwanese company...

 

Erick