Pilot Explorer Fountain Pen Review

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

After almost 6 years in this rabbit hole, it may come as a surprise that I still enjoy “entry-level” or budget-friendly pens very much. I still use a Pilot Metropolitan every day to write the day/date in my bullet journal, while Platinum Preppies, Lamy Al-Stars (Team #AlStarAlways), and others are also in regular rotation. I’ve asked the Bossman to keep me in mind whenever these kinds of pens come up for review. And when Pen Chalet sent us the Pilot Explorer for review, I jumped at the opportunity.

Released in 2019, the Pilot Explorer enters a fairly crowded budget-friendly steel nibbed fountain pen field, especially since several of the pens in that field are also made by Pilot. Other Pilot pens in this range include the Kakuno, Plumix/Pluminix/Penmanship and of course, the Metropolitan (the Prera is just on the cusp of budget-friendliness).

The Pilot Explorer that I am reviewing today is the clear one, but it also comes in a total of 12 colors (hmm, is Clear a color?) ranging from Black Matte to Blue, Silver or Turquoise, etc. which are metallic finishes. All of them come with a black clip and black finials. The snap cap has an embossed Pilot brand and logo and inside is a black inner liner - which is very obvious with the Clear model - which prevents ink from drying out in the cap. After inking it and writing with it on/off for several weeks, I deliberately left this pen untouched for over a month - thank you, Fountain Pen Companion for keeping track of this - and it wrote up right away without any issue.

Hard to tell but the logo is the same color as the cap, which in this case, is clear.

The Pilot Explorer comes in a metal tin and depending on where you buy it, may or may not include a Con-B squeeze converter. (Tip: if it does include the Con-B, do yourself a favor and use anything else but that converter because you can’t see if there’s any ink in it, can’t tell if it’s clean, etc.) It can also fit the Con-40, Con-50 and is also long enough to use the Con-70 if you wish to do so (it’s my second least favorite converter). Resist the urge to eyedropper this pen because there are small holes/gaps at the base of the barrel which will leak - I’m glad I tested this with water over my dump cup because the leak was immediate and messy, lol.

It comes in Fine and Medium nib sizes and is the same size steel nib as the Pilot Metropolitan, Plumix/Pluminix, Penmanship, Prera; and Kakuno (though the Kakuno has irresistibly cute faces on it), and they are interchangeable if you wanted to swap nibs. Just gently pull the nib/feed straight out to remove them. This means that the writing experience will be the same as with the other models if you’ve already tried them before. This one is a Fine and writes just like my Metropolitan Fine which I use every day. I inked the Explorer up with a Pilot Mixable Blue Black cartridge and it wrote right away without any issue. As expected, the writing experience is good - the nib is firm, no flex, and the nib lays down a fine line without being scratchy.

Yup, writes just like a Pilot steel nib fountain pen should.

The Pilot Explorer and Kakuno are the two pens in the steel lineup that are the most similar to each other. The Explorer weighs in at 0.42 ounces (11.9g), with the cap weighing 0.20 oz (5.39g) and the rest without converter or cartridge is 0.22 oz (6.24g). The Kakuno is 0.39 oz (11g), cap 0.13 oz (3.69g) and the pen 0.26 oz (7.37g). The Metro is almost double the weight.

Left to Right: Pilot Kakuno, Explorer, Metropolitan - you can see that the Kakuno’s grip section is a little girthier than the other two.

The Explorer and Metropolitan have more similar grips. Both are flared near the nib to prevent your fingers from sliding forward. The Explorer does not have the step near the barrel that the Metro does - this step is one of the things that some users don’t like about the Metro. The Kakuno, Metro and Explorer all have snap caps.

Comparison L to R: Pilot Metropolitan, Pilota Kakuno, Pilot Prera, Pilot Explorer, Pilot Pluminix, Pilot Plumix, Pilot Penmanship, Platinum Preppy, Platinum Prefounte, TWSBI Eco.

The Pilot Explorer retails for $25, and whether a Con-20 or Con-B is included is up to the retailer, so be sure to check what is/is not included with your purchase. The Kakuno, on the other hand, sells for around $15. The Kakuno doesn’t have a clip, doesn’t include a converter and its color combinations may not look and feel as “professional” as the Explorer but I’m not sure that either of those things justify the near double price tag. I will admit that comparing two Clear pens doesn’t help the Explorer because the metallic finish does look and feel nicer than the plastic versions. The Explorer is priced about the same as the Metropolitan, which feels much more substantial and has a more traditional style, and also the TWSBI Swipe or Eco, both of which have a much larger ink capacity.

All in all, the Pilot Explorer is a good pen, but at its price point, it really doesn’t compete with the Pilot Metropolitan in looks and heft or with the TWSBI Eco in function and ink capacity. Nor does it compete in price with its cuter sibling, the Kakuno or with the Platinum Preppy or Prefounte. But if you like how the Metro writes, but don’t like the step or the weight (or both), the Explorer might be the pen for you.

(Pen Chalet provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Pairings Party: Onoto Scholar Highland, Ferris Wheel Press Central Park Greens

We stationery lovers love picking out perfect product matches. Whether that is a wooden pencil paired with a textured paper, or a fountain pen inked with a complimentary color, we all spend way too much time and effort getting things just right. It’s our nature, and we love it!

One thing I am going to start doing is sharing some of the pairings I make, especially when testing new fountain pens and inks. I have plenty of both that come across my desk, and do consider how products work together, even if it is mostly aesthetic.

I went matchy-matchy with this pairing of the Onoto Scholar Highland Fountain Pen, inked with Ferris Wheel Press Central Park Greens. The greens of both work well together, with the ink color bringing out the subtle shades of green in the acrylic pen barrel.

This is my first experience with the Onoto Scholar, from the classic British pen maker. Onoto’s original run as a manufacturer ran from 1905 to 1958, with the Onoto we know today re-launching in 2005, restoring these British-made pens back to their former glory.

As great as Onoto packaging is, I’m not sure I need two pen sleeves. The leather option is beautiful, but removing that and dropping the total price to under $250 might be an easier sell.

Modern Onoto pens are classically-styled, and feature amazing craftsmanship at many different price points. Up until the release of the Scholar, there wasn’t a dedicated introduction product lineup to the brand. To jump into an Onoto at a base-level would cost you somewhere in the $400-$500 range, but the Scholar brought that down to a more reasonable $270 price point, while keeping the high quality they are known for. Yes, that is still pricey, but is a far better solution for those wanting to test out the brand for the first time.

That’s what I’m doing with the Scholar, and it has been great in every way. This gold trim model (silver trim is also available) features a uniquely-patterend green and grey polished acrylic barrel and cap material, with a polished black grip section and top finial. The Fine Steel two-tone gold-plated Onoto #7 nib is rock-solid, with a firm feel and a smooth line. It works perfectly with the overall size and feel of the pen, which checks in at a mid-range 25 grams in total. It uses a cartridge/converter filling system.

This is a Fine nib, and was a wet writer out of the box.

As a fan of classic designs for modern times, I would be remiss if I didn’t call out the beauty of the Onoto chevron clip. That, in conjunction with one of the best logos in the business on the top finial, completes this British design wonderfully.

To match the Highland, I went with another first-time test in Central Park Greens. Despite being around for years, this is my first Ferris Wheel Press experience. This is a standard ink, with good flow, average shading, no sheen, and a moderate dry time. The green ink leans slightly yellow, but is more than legible on most pages. In short, it is an excellent writing ink, and a great choice for putting words on the page.

The Onoto Scholar comes in many classic solid barrel colors including the vintage-styled Mandarin, and Rosso-both of which harken back to classic fountain pen barrel colors found in the early 1900’s. Along with Highland, Onoto has done a fantastic job bridging design philosophies of old and new, and now price points as well.

I stuck the converter directly into the bottle to fill due to the small opening, and unbalanced bottle.

As for Ferris Wheel Press, the choice is endless. I will say, as great as the ink is, and as beautiful as the bottles are, they are some of the least functional from a pen filling perspective. Syringes or pipettes may be required for wider-barreled pens, and a more solid bottle base maybe be required, less you end up with an inky mess on your hands-or counter top.

This pairing was a party, and a fun way to look at two products together-especially when both products are new to me. I’ll be looking for ways to work in more pairings posts into future reviews.

(Vanness Pens loaned this product to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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CW&T Pen Type-B Brass Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

I have wanted to try CW&T Pen Type-B ever since I heard Brad annoy Myke with it on the podcast, many years ago. The POP it makes when you open it is endlessly satisfying, and the machined precision that causes it to float back into place when capped is absolutely magical. I'm unabashedly obsessed with this slightly ridiculous pen.

The version of the Pen Type-B that I have here is a stainless steel body with a brass tube cap that extends almost the full length of the body. Both are plain cylinders, except that the cap has one flattened side that keeps the pen from rolling away. There's no lettering, no grip section--just two metal tubes living together in perfect harmony. The brass cap is meant to take on character as it is used, though I've used it almost daily for weeks and it hasn't started to patina yet. It did take on some character where I dropped it in my driveway, but that's just a wee scratch, and the pen itself appears indestructible.

The precision tolerance of the machining is what creates the air-tight seal between the body and cap, resulting in that glorious POP when you open it, and the slow piston closure. If you open the pen partway, it will slowly sink back into the cap from the suction generated by the airtight seal. This trick only works if the pen is machined absolutely perfectly, and CW&T inspect every pen to make sure they are indeed perfect. The fidget factor here is off the charts. I had to attend two all-day professional training seminars last month, and I have a weekly 3-hour zoom class. This pen is responsible for keeping me in my seat, appearing somewhat sane (that's as good as it gets, for me. Fully sane is unattainable).

The pen body has no seams or interruptions. The access to the refill is through the back end of the pen, where there is a small bolt that unscrews. It's easy to do--I was able to unscrew it with my fingernail, though a coin or key would also work. When the small bolt is removed, the refill simply slides out.

The pen body can be used by itself for writing, or the cap-sleeve can be posted if you want a thicker, heavier pen. This isn't a light pen, as one can probably guess from the materials. It's 90 grams altogether. I haven't used it for long writing sessions, though I think I could if it were unposted, and I continuously reach for it to jot down quick notes or sign something.

The included refill is fantastic. It's the Pilot Hi-Tec C, and it comes with a black 0.3 mm insert. I love the ultra-fine point on this refill, and it writes like a dream. It's smooth and has a nice flow, with no scratching or skipping. The ink is dark enough to be visible even with fine writing. It's perfect for writing very small notes, or in the wee squares of a pocket calendar.

But what if you don't like the Pilot Hi-Tec C? There are a variety of spacer inserts available, from 2mm to 27mm, that allow this pen to take just about any refill you can imagine.

It's quite a feat for a pen to be so minimal and yet so EXTRA at the same time, and I am totally here for it. I'm about to sit down to my last 3-hour lecture of my grad school career, and I've got it right here on my desk, ready for notes--and fidgets.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!