Leonardo Officina Italiana Momento Zero vs. Ensso Italia - SHOOTOUT

May 17, 2021

Hi all,

These two models have already been reviewed in the forum, much better than I would be able to do. However, after having acquired the Ensso Italia Aluminum recently I’ve realized that both are veeery similar and I wanted to make a short shootout (I’m borrowing the term from Stephen Brown, thanks sbrebrown for your great reviews, by the way”).

I'll show you some pictures side by side:

Which one is the “original” and which one is the “copy” is something I do not know, although I believe that the Leonardo was issued (2018?) before the Ensso (2019?). May be this answer the question? 😏

However, we all know that Salvatore Matrone did a kind of mix of the shape of a Delta The Journal plus the characteristic Omas clip and pointy barrel/cap ends to design the MZ. So I guess it makes no sense to use the words “original” and “copy” if there are so many fountain pens with this shape since a long time ago.

Both pens share the exact shape, sizeand nib (steel Bock nibs, F in my MZ, M in my Ensso). Apart from the material (acrylic in the MZ, aluminum in the Ensso) and the corresponding weight, the main differences are:

- The end of the MZ barrel unscrews to access the end of the converter while the barrel of the Italia is made in one piece.

- The clip of the MZ is more elaborated and has a wheel and the clip of the Italia is simpler.

- The MZ has metal rings and the Italia has two bands with Greek motives.

- The MZ has Leonardo Officina Italiana and the number of the pen engraved in the barrel.

- The cap of the MZ screws flawlessly while the Italia suffers from crossing threads and you must be very careful not to damage the pen when you close it.

- I bought my MZ new for 120 Euro and the Italia used for 25 Euro (I think the price of a new Ensso Italia was about 65 Euro, now it is out of stock).

My writing experience has been also different: the nib in my MZ worked perfectly from the beginning while my Ensso is very dry. Nothing too difficult to solve, but still.

Is the MZ worth the price difference? Well, the material is nicer, and it feels more solid and pleasant. It writes better than the Italia, but I’ve heard of bad experiences with other MZs so it may depend on your specific pen.

Bottomline, I really like the Leonardo Momento Zero so I’m very comfortable using the Ensso Italia and it can become a similar good writer at a lower cost, or a better alternative if you prefer metal pens (the aluminum has texture, so it is not slipery).

My recommendation: try yourself both and make your own opinion… you will hardly be disappointed.