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Giveaway: 2024 Colors of Lamy AL-Star or Safari?

Posted on 80 Comments

For years, my friends and I have played the “Safari Forever vs AL-Star Always” when we see the “colors of the year” released by Lamy.

Some years, we have felt like Safari won and other years AL-Star. One year, we all agreed that Kaweco’s release of their five fruity colors stole Lamy’s thunder. We even made pin badges and distributed them at pen shows to show your enthusiasm for your favorite. A rep from Lamy saw us handing out pins and was shocked at the strong enthusiasm for one or the other. Clearly, they aren’t acquainted with the enthusiasm of the community. The whole Dark Lilac nonense this year only amplifies my belief about this.

Now, onto the the voting and giveaway.

Earlier this year, Lamy announced the release of the 2024 Safari colors: Pink Cliff, a matte finish, deep purple exterior and a bright pink grip section and Violet Blackberry, a glossy, plum purple with a matte purple grip section. Many people felt this was a cash grab based on the success of the Dark Lilac ink and pen from 2016.

In the last couple weeks, Lamy finally announced the AL-Star colors for 2024 are Aquatic and Fiery. The Aquatic is a light blue aluminum body with a bright blue translucent plastic grip. The Firey is a deep red body with a bright red translucent grip section. Both feature black clips.

So which pen color is your favorite? Do you think the AL-Stars or the Safaris are more successful this year? Type your comments below to be entered to win you selection. Good luck and I can’t wait to hear which one is your favorite!

Thanks to JetPens for sponsoring this giveaway!

THE GIVEAWAY: One winner will be selected from the comments and will have the option for the LAmy 2024 color of the year pen of their choice: Violet Blackberry, Pink Cliff, Fiery or Aquatic. Winner can even choose fountain pen, rollerball or mechanical pencil (subject to availability).

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below and pick one of the 2024 Lamy colors of the year: Safaris or AL-Stars. Play along and type in something. It makes reading through entries more interesting for me, okay? One entry per person.

If you have never entered a giveaway or commented on the site before, your comment must be manually approved by our highly-trained staff of monkeys before it will appear on the site. Our monkeys are underpaid and under-caffeinated so don’t stress if your comment does not appear right away. Give the monkeys some time.

FINE PRINT: All entries must be submitted by 10pm CST on Monday, April 29, 2024 . All entries must be submitted at wellappointeddesk.com, Instagram, Tumblr or Facebook, okay? Winner will be announced on Tuesday. Winner will be selected by random number generator from entries that played by the rules (see above). Please include your actual email address in the comment form so that I can contact you if you win. I will not save email addresses or sell them to anyone — pinky swear. If winner does not respond within 5 days, I will draw a new giveaway winner. Shipping via USPS first class is covered. Additional shipping options or insurance will have to be paid by the winner. We are generous but we’re not made of money. US and APO/AFO only, sorry.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this post were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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80 comments

  1. I’m a fan of Pink Cliff. So often purples are red-leaning (plum), it’s less common to see a nice blue-leaning purple, and although I don’t generally reach for pink, this sets off the purple nicely IMO.

    Also, I find the Safari feels better in my hand than the Al-Star. I do like both, but tend to reach for Safari more.

    1. I love the Aquatic! I like the AL-Stars better just from the look of them. I’m still new to fountain pens and haven’t used either type before.

  3. Based purely on the colors of these four, I would have to choose the Safari Violet Blackberry! The shades of purple, especially that plum body, completely catches my eyes.

  4. Pink Cliff and Firey are the most interesting, with the matte or the clear section. I have to sate the clear section on the Firey takes it.

  5. Considering I’ve purchased the AL-Stars and not the Safaris, I’m #ALSTARALWAYS, at least for this go round. I’m not opposed to the colors of those Safaris, but they’re just kind of…meh.

  6. I prefer the Safaris. I think the colors are more fun. And I could never figure out whether you should pronounce the AL-Star as “All Star”, like a baseball all star, or “A-L” Star, like they are separate letters. But I do know how to say ‘Safari” so I prefer it on pronunciation terms, if nothing else.

  7. The Aquatic AL-star is my favorite of the four new pens. This was a difficult choice.

  8. Judging them as pairs, I think the Safaris top the AL-Stars. But I think each pair has a stronger pen and a weaker pen – IMO Pink Cliff and Fiery are the strong ones, and Violet Blackberry and Aquatic are the week ones. And to my tastes, Aquatic is so much weaker that there’s just no way that Fiery could pull the AL-Stars to victory. (What I think would have been an even better pen would be “Violet Cliff” – the body from Pink Cliff with the grip from Violet Blackberry.)

  9. I like the Aquatic. That is one beautiful shade of blue! It would complement the others in my small stash.

  11. I love LAMY’s and it would be great to have the AL in Fiery, preferably as a fountain pen. And, if I had a choice of nibs, a broad.

  13. It’s an incredibly tough choice, but I have to go with the Aquatic Al-Star because I’m a sucker for metal pens. I’ve got a small collection of Al-Stars, including last year’s Petrol release (my all-time favorite!). The pale blue body on the Aquatic is pretty, but it’s the grip that really gets me. That translucent blue is stunning.

  14. I’m voting for the AL-Star Aquatic. Generally I’m a Lamy Safari fan, but I’ve been thinking about getting a AL-Star to add to my collection. And I like blue… But’s really about the nib after all, right?

  15. I’m a fan of both of the Al-Stars. I think the purples of the Safaris would be tough to match with the other items I carry. Also, I have three Safaris (four if you count my Vista), and adding and Al-Star would be nice.

  16. Hi ink Monkey!
    I like the Violet Blackberry The best although all of them look great.
    Here’s wishing you coffee and nibs.

  17. For the life of me, I can’t remember the difference between the Safari and the All-Star. However, I absolutely LOVE the Fiery All-Star. To me, it blows the other colors out of the water. If I win, I’d like it in a fountain pen, please. With a stub nib (if available). 🙂

    I hope you have an awesome day!

  20. Normally I prefer Safaris, but these colors just aren’t working for me. The Al-Star colors, however, totally are! Something about the shiny bodies and the translucent grips are tantalizing to me. If I had to choose one, I think it would be Fiery, as I think the Aquatic body should have been a deeper shade of blue.

  21. It’s hard to choose between the two safari pens, but I like them better than the AL Stars.

  22. They’re all gorgeous, but I’m ALL IN on the Safari Violet Blackberry; this color scheme is basically my ideal, I don’t even CARE if it’s derivative. Gorgeous!!!!

  23. LOL. I’m usually an Al-Star fan but the matte looking pink cliff wins for me this year. Between the Al-stars i think the blue one (Aquatic) is the one i would choose but i’m also partial to blues… but really the safari wins the color war for me this year.

  25. I love both of the Safari colors, but especially the Violet Blackberry ! How beautiful! The al-stars look too cold… With a purple ink, how beautiful that would be!

  27. This is tough. I should be in Al-Star always because I have 3 and love the feeling of the aluminum body. But, the colors of the Safari are very tasty. I have one yellow and I regret missing the mango. I think the safari colors this year will make them more popular than the Al-Stars. I would treasure the violet blackberry Safari. Thank you.

  28. I much prefer these Safaris and will pick Pink Cliff. (The red section on that AL-star says “cough drop” to me, but that’s probably just me.)

  29. Oh gosh, Red is my favorite color but something about Aquatic speaks to me. If I had to choose, Aquatic is my favorite.

  32. I think it’s interesting that Lamy focused on grip sections this year, but I don’t love the safari color combinations…even though I’d normally pick a safari over an Al-star. So the fiery one has my vote, because a transparent grip section is fun in a color besides gray!

  36. I didn’t think I’d like the color combo, but I really do love the Pink Clif Safari. I own both the Safari and the Al-Star, but the former is my first love.

  39. This is a tough call, because there isn’t one of these where I love both the body and the grip. If I had to pick one, it’d be the Violet Blackberry; I really like the grip color, and I have an AL-Star but haven’t tried a Safari.

    The Aquatic AL-Star would be my runner-up. Love the grip; meh about the light blue body, but interested in how the aluminum feels.

  40. That AL-Star in Aquatic is blue sky perfect and, I’m sure, would look fabulous on my desk or when I find it under a sofa cushion after I frantically look for it for a week and beat myself up for not remembering where I left it. Don’t judge……we’ve all done it. Right?

  41. I would pick the Lamy Al-Star Fiery since I already bought the Safari Pink Cliff. For years, I got the Safari SE colors likely due to FOMO. Lately, I’ve been on a Kaweco buying spree, kind of regretting chasing the Safari and Al-Star SE. So i definitely see why the Well Appointed Desk team liked the Frosted Kawecos when they came out. The Natural Coconut was the purchase that opened the floodgates to Kaweco Sport and AL Sport pens.

  42. Al-Stars Aquatic is for me. I like blue and as I am not a good swimmer, this is as close to the water I will get this year when I use this pen.

  44. Pink Cliff Safari all the way- love the color combination! Thanks for the giveaway!

  45. While Fiery is probably the most unlike recent releases, I’d probably go with Violet Blackberry. Great name, and I think it would pair well with the aggressive green sheen of new Dark Lilac.

  48. I like all the Lamy limited releases this year, but violet blackberry is my favorite and overall I feel like the Safaris were more interesting color combos

  49. The AL Star Aquatic is a gorgeous pen. They would be my choice. But with that said, I love the surprise factor of the Safaris. The Pink Cliff offers the surprise pop of color when uncapped and the pen happens to offer a color combo I love.

  50. Oh, it’s the Al-Star Fiery, for sure. I’m not crazy about the two-toned look in pens, but the Fiery grip goes better with the barrel color than the other pens.

  52. Id definitely have to choose the LAMY violet blackberry. It looked good enough to eat!! The color was so rich it made me think of blackberry cobler…mmm warm, just out of the oven. How weird is it that a pen can make me hungry!?

  53. “The Lamy Safari in Pink Cliff is a true beauty. The color is simply delightful, and it inspires me to put pen to paper.”

  54. Safari for me! Most years I like the Safari colors better, with the exception of Vibrant Pink

  55. I generally prefer Safaris, but this year I have fallen for the Fiery AL-Star. Such an obvious choice for the necessary red ink in one’s pen cup.

  57. I prefer the Safaris. The colors are more vibrant and unique. I’d pick Violet Blackberry as my favorite.

  59. I like the Pink Cliff because of the matte finish bu I’d vote for the AL-Star colors, with the Firey being the top since single color pens look nicer than the dual color pens of the Safari.

  60. I like Pink Cliff (and have one) but don’t really care for the other three colors. Now, AL-Star Petrol from last year was amazing.

  61. I don’t usually like the Al-Stars, or light blue, for that matter. But I don’t know, that blue Aquatic just sings to me. Maybe the darker grip on it? Who knows – but I love it!

  62. It’s anomalous for me given that in Kaweco world I am almost entirely devoted to models beginning with “AL”; but in Lamy-land I am a Safari all the way girl. I do mean all the way too. I have … ahem … a lot of pens, really a lot. To me a Safari is the tried and true steady worker bee of all fountain pens. I did an entire 5-book course of Spenserian using only a Safari. I edc a black one, always. The AL-Star always seems to me to be weighted awkwardly. I have small hands, so that is, I am sure, a factor.

    Of these new exciting offerings you are likely right that they are following their own Dark Lilac lead but I see nothing wrong with that. I am a complete and utter fan-girl of the black nibs too. Kaweco has them as well, as do several others. My theory being that given that you are dealing with a steel nib, why not make it more aesthetically pleasing? The Violet Blackberry model hits all of the right notes for me. Here’s to a future with more purple prose!

  65. This is difficult for me as I like one in each side. Sigh. But since I mostly have Safaris, I’ll stick with them and say I prefer the matte finish Safari. (But darn it, I also like the Fiery AL-Star…) As Safaris go, I always prefer the matte finish over the shiny ones. The shiny ones just look a little cheap to me, and they scratch more easily for a pen you’re supposed to be able to carry around with you.

  67. I would like to try the Lamy Aquatic. I’m new to the world of fountain pens so am just a beginner. Thank you for the giveaway!

  68. I think as a pair, the Al-Stars are stronger. I like the violet blackberry Safari body, but the section is a bit too much like a Barney purple for me. Both the Al-Stars, however, have harmonious color schemes and would work well for matching inks to pens. The Fiery one would work well for grading, but the Aquatic might see more use because I write with blue ink more often than I do with red.

  69. I like the way the transparent grips look for the Al-stars.

    Unrelated, I really enjoy your “100 inks” series – although I think 100 is pretty arbitrary. Whether you end up moving the goal post or not, I wish you great success!

  71. Love the Aquatic Al Star. I find myself wearing blue quite a bit at work. For whatever reason, none of the pens I use at work are blue. Honestly,I have never thought of color coordinating pens with clothes until I saw that lovely Aquatic blue!

  75. AL-Star Aquatic! It’s funny, I don’t think of myself as a big fan of blue — but that’s a pretty pen. Safari Pink Cliff comes in second.

  77. I gotta stick with Al-Star Always! Not that I have an abundance of Lamy pens (uh….one), but the shiny metal activates the magpie part of my brain. That Aquatic is nice, I’m a sucker for a steel blue.

    Fun fact: there are mockingbirds nesting at my work and yesterday I stood too close to the nest and got swooped at! They didn’t follow me, so I’m hoping they won’t hold a grudge.

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