I’ve always wanted an Italian fountain pen, but sadly many of them are outside my price range. So when I came across the Pineider Avatar UR Fountain (on sale for $126.50 at Vanness) I hit buy pretty fast!
The UR in the title stands for ultra-resin, a new mother-of-pearl compound resin that Pineider developed in Florence for the body of these pens. I chose Abalone Green, but there are six other colorways in the the Avatar collection. The mother-of-pearl gives the body a sheen, and all the colors are a bit marbleized.
The model I chose is the regular line up which features a steel nib, and steel clip and hardware. There is also the Deluxe option, which comes with a 14K gold nib and gold hardware. Nibs are available in extra fine, fine and medium (I chose fine) and the steel nib is an N6 demi-flex nib. I did play with it a bit and it’s quite bouncy, and produces some line variation.
The details on the pen are really nice. The steel clip feels sturdy, and the band on the cap is engraved with a Florence-inspired design. The cap itself is magnetic, for a soft closure that produces a nice seal. Those who like to fidget with pens will enjoy this one! The cap is postable, but given the length and weight of the pen, I don’t think it adds anything and may actually disrupt the balance (I didn’t post!)
The Pineider comes in at about average length (capped: 5 3/4″/14.5 cm; uncapped 5 1/4″/13.5 cm) and is a bit heavier than the standard resin-bodied pens at 30g.
I really enjoyed the writing experience with this pen. The pen is smooth and cool to the touch, and the nib writes really nicely. Loading it with ink the first time went super smoothly, and I didn’t notice any problems restarting after letting it sit overnight. I always talk about how I have small hands and pens end up being uncomfortable to write with after short notes, but this one doesn’t feel like that at all. It’s just a really nice writing experience – the kind we fountain pen users crave.
I ended up choosing Colorverse Photon for its inaugural inking, which I think matches the pen perfectly!
- Paper: Ghost Paper Notebook ($25), Kanso Sasshi Booklets
- Pen: Pineider Avatar UR Fountain in Abalone Green (on sale for $126.50)
- Ink: Colorverse Photon ($36)
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Usually what I do if such an urge overcomes me is scour eBay and Marktplaats for something appropriate. Second hand or vintage often is quite OK to use.
Wow, that’s gorgeous!
Yes. I did swoon a little. 😉