Each year, Lamy announces a new color of their best selling Safari (plastic) and AL-Star (aluminum) pens. From the moment I first heard the colors for the 2019 special editions, I started counting down until I could get them in my hands. 2019 was the first year that not one but three Lamy Safari colors were announced!
The three 2019 special edition Safari colors are Powder Rose, Blue Macaron and Mint Glaze. In some ways, this triple release is a problem for me; I’ve never been good at resisting Safari special editions and I’m even worse at saying no to pastel pens (ok, I might not even try to say no to these).
As I was waiting for my Mint Glaze Safari to arrive from Appelboom, I couldn’t resist picking up another pastel Safari – Blue Macaron. I wonder how long I’ll be able to resist adding the Powder Rose as well.
One detail that I absolutely love about the pastel safaris is the ring separating the section from the body (this also allows the cap to snap firmly into place when the pen is closed). In all three pastel pens, this ring matches the color of the body. Typically in Safari pens, this ring is black or grey.
The Safari comes with a variety of nib choices – extra fine, fine, medium, broad, 1.1 italic, 1.5 italic, and 1.9 italic. I’ve never needed to adjust a Lamy nib although the actual line widths run wider than their names would imply. For instance, I would label the Lamy fine to be a medium, the medium as a broad and so on. I chose a medium for this Mint Glaze. I have found each nib choice from Lamy to be smooth right out of the box. Don’t forget, however, that these nibs are easy to change out as well!
Normally when we review pens on the Well-Appointed Desk, we compare them to a list of standard pens so our audience can get an idea of the size and weight of the new pen. On this list is always a Lamy Safari, so the comparison is built in!
But the characteristic that sets this Safari apart from others is the color. I have included a photograph with three other recent pen releases to give a feel for the actual color of the pen. Below is the Pilot Explorer in green, the Kaweco Frosted Sport in Fine Lime and a Lamy Safari Charged Green.
Now if only Lamy would release a trio of inks to match these beautiful Safaris!
- Papers: Birmingham Pen Company A5 Slim Notebook ($8.99)
- Pen: Lamy Safari Pastel Mint (17.27 Euros)
- Ink: Taccia Ebi (40ml for $12)
Disclaimer: The Lamy Pastel was obtained for free from Appelboom for the purposes of this review. All other items in this review were purchased by me. For more information, visit our About page.
