Lamy Vista
Here is my review of the Lamy Vista. I have two of these pens, one just over a month old and the other several years old. I have reviewed the fine nib.
1. Appearance & Design (1-10) – 8/10
Lamy is one of the famous pen brands for people starting into fountain pens. The Lamy Vista is a transparent pen and it stands out from the regular coloured pens used by most school going kids. When I saw this pen among the Lamy Safaris (which are coloured) I was immediately attracted to it. It is made of plastic but feels very solid. The cap of the pen has a completely round cross-section while the barrel is circular with flat top and bottom making it slightly oval. The gripping section of the pen has two flat indents so that pen can be held comfortably for long periods of time. This however has a slight disadvantage; the indents force you to grip the pen in a particular way. (Picture to be attached of both positions). The end of the gripping section towards the nib is slightly lifted so that your fingers may not come in contact with the nib. Though the gripping section has no groves or other measures to prevent slipping during writing but it is designed in such a way that there is no such problem. You can write for long periods of time with this pen.
2. Construction & Quality (1-10) – 9/10
The pen is made out of ABS plastic and feels sturdy, better than the normal plastic pens. The cap has a chrome plated top and the clip is also chrome plated. These apart from the nib are the only non-plastic parts of the pen. The plastic is not prone to major scratches but a new pen can be easily distinguished from an old one. With use the pen loses its shine and the glow of the new plastic. See the pictures to see what I mean. The end of the barrel has 'LAMY' written in chrome. This can be perfectly aligned with the nib if you close the barrel with lamy stamp facing the back of the nib. (again pictures will help)
3. Weight & Dimensions (1-10) – 8/10
The pen is of a length that is suitable for all people. It has the same dimensions as that of any other common pen you might find in the market. It is slightly thicker if you are moving on from a ordinary ball or gel pen. The thickness is not perceived because the gripping section is thinner that the barrel. The weight of the pen is good. The weight of this pen is such that normally you would not reflect upon it (when you pick it up you will not get thoughts like “oh this is light/heavy”). I find the balance of the pen a bit off when posted. The cap of this pen has some weight at the tip because of the chrome plating and when posted I find it a heavy for my liking and therefore I don’t post my Vistas. Without posting the pen the balance is very good and you don’t feel it.
4. Nib & Performance (1-10) – 8/10
I got a Fine nib with the pen. Lamy nibs are interchangeable so you can change the nib any time you want. The pen comes in EF, F, M, B nibs as standard. Other Lamy nibs also fit the pen. My nib is a steel one. I am happy with the feedback from the nib. Like all new fountain pens the nib was initially very scratchy but some pages of writing it improved and now it is a very smooth nib. The nib is consistent with most inks that I have used and does not skip while writing. Being a fine nib you can get faster writing speeds out of it which is of special importance to students. The line laid down by the pen is slightly broader than the fine laid down by the likes of Waterman. I haven’t tried the Lamy gold nibs so I cannot compare this nib with those. There is however one problem with the nib. If you like your nibs to be spotless and clean with no ink deposits on them then you are in for a tough time. Any ink colour shines on the chrome finished nib and is almost impossible to completely get rid of. I got used to using dirty nibs but you can get around it by filing the ink directly into the converter and then inserting the converter into the body, thereby avoiding the nib going into the bottle. However this is not advisable because filling the ink through the feed clears it of any deposits and helps keep the pen in good shape.
5. Filling System & Maintenance (1-10) – 10/10
The Lamy Vista uses the cartridge converter filling system that is it can take Lamy cartridges as well as their Z24 converter. The converter operates on the twist action where you have to twist the top to make the plunger go up or down. For my usual needs the converter lasts long enough. The top of the Z24 converter is red in colour stands out in the otherwise transparent body of the pen. Usually a converter gives you more freedom with the choice of inks so I mostly use converters and am yet to face any problem with them. The nib of the Lamy Vista can be easily removed without the need of any tools. There are also tutorials on removing the feed but that is not advisable. So if you try to split the pen into its components you can get the following: the cap, the grip/feed section, the converter, the outer barrel and the nib. There is not much I cannot expect more from the filling and maintenance point of view from a pen. It is said that this pen also takes in the Parker converter. This is partly true, I have three of these pen and only in one of these is the parker converter a snug fit. In the other two pens it seems that it might just fall off. I have not tried using any other converters or cartridges with my Vista.
6. Cost & Value (1-10) – 5/10
In my opinion this pen is expensive in India. It sells for Rs 1690 at most places without a converter with costs Rs 325. So if you plan to buy this pen in India with the converter you will have to pay $38 for it. For this price you are lured to try out the low end Watermans or Sheaffers with are made of metal and appear to be more expensive. It is difficult for a school going person to justify the purchase of a $38 pen which is completely made of plastic. Few years ago these pens were very reasonable. In 2007 I had purchased a Vista with a converter and it cost me Rs 699. Yes almost a third of the price. I don’t know what happened that they increased the price so much. Maybe because they hired a local distributor in the form of Linc Pens and Co. , but that should have further brought down the price and not made it thrice as expensive. This hike is so recent that you still get these pens for around Rs 1400 ($25) with converter on eBay India.
7. Conclusion (Final score [SUM/6]: X) – 7.6/10
It is a good pen. I recommend it. If you are just starting out with fountain pens then I would suggest you start with the medium nib. If you already are into fountain pens then you must have already used this pen.
PICTURES :
This is my first review and I would like to improve so please feel free to give any suggestions you have. Also please share your experiences if you already own the pen.
The link for the pen on the Lamy website is : http://www.lamy.com/eng/b2c/vista/012
All the photographs in this post have been clicked by me.
1. Appearance & Design (1-10) – 8/10
Lamy is one of the famous pen brands for people starting into fountain pens. The Lamy Vista is a transparent pen and it stands out from the regular coloured pens used by most school going kids. When I saw this pen among the Lamy Safaris (which are coloured) I was immediately attracted to it. It is made of plastic but feels very solid. The cap of the pen has a completely round cross-section while the barrel is circular with flat top and bottom making it slightly oval. The gripping section of the pen has two flat indents so that pen can be held comfortably for long periods of time. This however has a slight disadvantage; the indents force you to grip the pen in a particular way. (Picture to be attached of both positions). The end of the gripping section towards the nib is slightly lifted so that your fingers may not come in contact with the nib. Though the gripping section has no groves or other measures to prevent slipping during writing but it is designed in such a way that there is no such problem. You can write for long periods of time with this pen.
2. Construction & Quality (1-10) – 9/10
The pen is made out of ABS plastic and feels sturdy, better than the normal plastic pens. The cap has a chrome plated top and the clip is also chrome plated. These apart from the nib are the only non-plastic parts of the pen. The plastic is not prone to major scratches but a new pen can be easily distinguished from an old one. With use the pen loses its shine and the glow of the new plastic. See the pictures to see what I mean. The end of the barrel has 'LAMY' written in chrome. This can be perfectly aligned with the nib if you close the barrel with lamy stamp facing the back of the nib. (again pictures will help)
3. Weight & Dimensions (1-10) – 8/10
The pen is of a length that is suitable for all people. It has the same dimensions as that of any other common pen you might find in the market. It is slightly thicker if you are moving on from a ordinary ball or gel pen. The thickness is not perceived because the gripping section is thinner that the barrel. The weight of the pen is good. The weight of this pen is such that normally you would not reflect upon it (when you pick it up you will not get thoughts like “oh this is light/heavy”). I find the balance of the pen a bit off when posted. The cap of this pen has some weight at the tip because of the chrome plating and when posted I find it a heavy for my liking and therefore I don’t post my Vistas. Without posting the pen the balance is very good and you don’t feel it.
4. Nib & Performance (1-10) – 8/10
I got a Fine nib with the pen. Lamy nibs are interchangeable so you can change the nib any time you want. The pen comes in EF, F, M, B nibs as standard. Other Lamy nibs also fit the pen. My nib is a steel one. I am happy with the feedback from the nib. Like all new fountain pens the nib was initially very scratchy but some pages of writing it improved and now it is a very smooth nib. The nib is consistent with most inks that I have used and does not skip while writing. Being a fine nib you can get faster writing speeds out of it which is of special importance to students. The line laid down by the pen is slightly broader than the fine laid down by the likes of Waterman. I haven’t tried the Lamy gold nibs so I cannot compare this nib with those. There is however one problem with the nib. If you like your nibs to be spotless and clean with no ink deposits on them then you are in for a tough time. Any ink colour shines on the chrome finished nib and is almost impossible to completely get rid of. I got used to using dirty nibs but you can get around it by filing the ink directly into the converter and then inserting the converter into the body, thereby avoiding the nib going into the bottle. However this is not advisable because filling the ink through the feed clears it of any deposits and helps keep the pen in good shape.
5. Filling System & Maintenance (1-10) – 10/10
The Lamy Vista uses the cartridge converter filling system that is it can take Lamy cartridges as well as their Z24 converter. The converter operates on the twist action where you have to twist the top to make the plunger go up or down. For my usual needs the converter lasts long enough. The top of the Z24 converter is red in colour stands out in the otherwise transparent body of the pen. Usually a converter gives you more freedom with the choice of inks so I mostly use converters and am yet to face any problem with them. The nib of the Lamy Vista can be easily removed without the need of any tools. There are also tutorials on removing the feed but that is not advisable. So if you try to split the pen into its components you can get the following: the cap, the grip/feed section, the converter, the outer barrel and the nib. There is not much I cannot expect more from the filling and maintenance point of view from a pen. It is said that this pen also takes in the Parker converter. This is partly true, I have three of these pen and only in one of these is the parker converter a snug fit. In the other two pens it seems that it might just fall off. I have not tried using any other converters or cartridges with my Vista.
6. Cost & Value (1-10) – 5/10
In my opinion this pen is expensive in India. It sells for Rs 1690 at most places without a converter with costs Rs 325. So if you plan to buy this pen in India with the converter you will have to pay $38 for it. For this price you are lured to try out the low end Watermans or Sheaffers with are made of metal and appear to be more expensive. It is difficult for a school going person to justify the purchase of a $38 pen which is completely made of plastic. Few years ago these pens were very reasonable. In 2007 I had purchased a Vista with a converter and it cost me Rs 699. Yes almost a third of the price. I don’t know what happened that they increased the price so much. Maybe because they hired a local distributor in the form of Linc Pens and Co. , but that should have further brought down the price and not made it thrice as expensive. This hike is so recent that you still get these pens for around Rs 1400 ($25) with converter on eBay India.
7. Conclusion (Final score [SUM/6]: X) – 7.6/10
It is a good pen. I recommend it. If you are just starting out with fountain pens then I would suggest you start with the medium nib. If you already are into fountain pens then you must have already used this pen.
PICTURES :
This is my first review and I would like to improve so please feel free to give any suggestions you have. Also please share your experiences if you already own the pen.
The link for the pen on the Lamy website is : http://www.lamy.com/eng/b2c/vista/012
All the photographs in this post have been clicked by me.
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