Burgundy Hero 330

[richardandtracy]

The pen under review is a Burgundy Hero 330, bought from Cutepens. It has a hooded, gold plated steel nib and a gold plated cap with a sprung loaded clip.

 

I have tried to avoid words like 'clone' throughout this review. The pen may have been inspired by the Parker 51/61, but it deserves to be considered on its own merits. Where I have compared it with other pens, they are pens of similar cost to the Hero 330, rather than the top of the range pens that may have been the designer's inspiration.

 

I bought the pen for my eldest daughter as she reached the final year of her primary school (age 10). She loves the pen, and considers it a great prize; unfortunately so do most of her classmates, to the extent that her teacher considers it safer to look after it during breaks for fear of theft.

 

When you first see the pen, the gold plating on the cap seems a little 'brassy' and bright. If there is no solid gold to compare it with, it's OK, otherwise it looks a little cheap. Overall feel of the pen, when first picked up, is that it's rather light, however removing the cap doesn't significantly alter the weight and uncapped it's a mid weight pen. It's a weight that can be held for hours without fatigue.

 

The diameter of the pen body is middle of the range, larger than a Parker Vector, but smaller than a Parker 61. This is a pen that's comfortable for an adult as well as a child. The pen length is as comfortable for my large hands as it is for my 10 year-old daughter's.

 

When writing, the nib is a little scratchy on the lateral strokes for my right-handed writing. My daughter is left handed and finds no scratchiness at all. What scratchiness there is should wear away in time, or with a little polishing. The gold plated steel nib is not as soft as a solid gold nib, but it is softer than the stainless steel Parker Vector (to which it compares in price). The nib is wet enough to start every time it's placed on the paper, and doesn't blob or run dry even when writing at speed. The nib is fine, permitting very small, clear writing. It is possible to see the tip of the nib as it pokes out from under the hood, this is easier to use than some hooded pens where the tip is shadowed by the hood.

 

As already mentioned, the cap is lightweight. It will probably suffer from dings in time. The clip is a light gauge sheet metal design that does not inspire great confidence in its longevity. An inner cap seals the nib, so even if the clip breaks off the pen won't dry out. The cap clutch fingers gently hold the cap on the pen, whether posted or over the nib. The fingers do not clutch hard enough to do damage (which is to be applauded) but do hold the cap on securely.

The barrel is well moulded from fairly thick plastic. This should be very robust against unexpected bending or overtightening. There is no tassie to come loose. The barrel and hood colour is a deep, rich burgundy, a colour that enhances the look of the pen. The saturation of the colour in the plastic is good, as is the eveness of colour. There were no mould flow lines visible, indicating that the moulding will be relatively stress free and less likely to crack as it ages.

The aerometric filler is made from chrome plated steel rather than stainless steel. It is gaudy, however there are no sharp edges that could do damage and the parts fit together well. The pliglass sac is large, meaning that refills should be infrequent. The threaded section of the connector is transparent, permitting relatively easy assessment of the amount of ink left.

The hood, clutch ring and barrel align well, making a smooth & continuous curve from the tip to the nib.

The 'Star Trek' style decoration above the nib is flush with the hood and doesn't feel as if it will become detached in the near future. The colour of the gold in the nib decoration is the same as on the cap, though in this smaller component it doesn't seem as gaudy.

 

Overall I rather like the pen. I normally use a Parker 61, but would find this to be an acceptable alternative in preference to a cheap Parker (like the 25, Vector or Rialto). The build quality is pretty good, regardless of price. To be honest, while it's not as good as my best Parker 61, it is nicer to use than the worst P61 I own.

I think it should be a robust and long lasting pen in an everyday environment; certainly it's more robust and longer lasting than the Parker equivalents available at the same price. I've worn out Parker Vectors in 6 months, I'd expect this pen to last years.

As a school pen, I struggle to think of a better one.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

 

[Maja]

Thank you very much for your honest and objective review of the Hero 330 (I too like it when you can see the tip of the nib )

I have a hooded-nibbed Hero (not the 330, but the 343) and it's a good knockaround pen...but it doesn't have that cool "Star Trek" Starfleet logo like your daughter's pen. I hope she gets many good years of use with it. Sorry to hear that the teacher has to "guard" it during breaks.

[ngfchen]

thank you for your review.hero pens are indeed reliable pens of their price.

they sell well here in China too.

what I strongly recommend is hero 100,it is a great pen with a 14k nib ,you'll like the smooth writing feeling.

(excuse my english,too bad)

[RLTodd]

I am not clear on this, is this the old style 330 or the new style 330?

 

 

[richardandtracy]

  RLTodd said:

I am not clear on this, is this the old style 330 or the new style 330?

To the best of my knowledge it's a new style one. I understand that Cutepens ( http://www.cutepens.com/ ) sell only new stock. Having said that, from photo's on the web it seems externally identical to the 330 identified as 'Old Style' on ISellPens ( http://www.isellpens.com/hero2.html ). The packaging was a small green pen shaped cardboard box - as shown in the Cutepens Hero 330 web page. All the pens explicitly identified as 'Old Style' seem to have blue boxes with a different style of printing where the box is shown.

 

Regards

 

Richard

[richardandtracy]

  ngfchen said:

...excuse my english,too bad...

Please don't apologize for your English. It is absolutely superb compared to my Mandarin & Cantonese - or any other language for that matter. It is embarrassing to admit that I can just about understand enough French to read a French language forum, but not enough to contribute meaningfully. And French is the only other language I have any idea about.

 

Regards

 

Richard.

 

[richardandtracy]

To report further on the Hero 330 after about 2 month's use.

 

1) The scratchiness I initially reported has worn away and the nib is nice and smooth for my right handed writing as well as my daughter's left handed writing.

2) My initial concerns about the clip have been shown to be valid. It fell apart last weekend. However, it was easy to put back together with a chopstick and bamboo skewer. The spring had become displaced from within the middle of the clip, allowing the clip to fall out of the cap. The sheet metal of the clip itself is showing no signs of distress whatsoever.

 

Regards

 

Richard

 

[Palusito]

Hi!!! I'm new in the website (and I'm sorry because my english is not very good), so Richard, a few days ago I found one of this Hero 330, and I would like to make it work again, is that possible?, how can I do it?; for all, thank you.

 

 

Best regards

 

J Angel

Edited January 10, 2011 by Palusito

[lovemy51]

  On 1/10/2011 at 2:53 AM, Palusito said:

Hi!!! I'm new in the website (and I'm sorry because my english is not very good), so Richard, a few days ago I found one of this Hero 330, and I would like to make it work again, is that possible?, how can I do it?; for all, thank you.

 

 

Best regards

 

J Angel

bienvenido al foro!

 

just give it a nice flush with soap and water and then rinse it with just plain water. let it dry a bit, you don't have to, and ink it up!!!

[richardandtracy]

Agreed, should be all that's needed.

 

Regards,

 

Richard.

[Stefan-Ionut-Marius]

i have a Hero 330 to , when I bought the pen it have misaligned nib and feed , the clutch ring was inconsistent in size , the top of the barrel and the hood were badly finished , and the inner edge of the cap, scratched the pen . It was needed to fix all these problems with patience and with some micromesh, where needed . Now I have a pen that looks good and write well .

Edited March 5, 2017 by Stefan-Ionut-Marius

[davidpro]

I was lucky. My Burgundy Fine nib pen was temporarily scratchy, but now writes as well as my Oarkers. No loss of line or other feed problems. Love the Art Deco styling