Pelikan Pura P40 - A different kind of Pelikan for the Hub

All around the world, people will be gathering to celebrate their love of pens, maybe even with a Pelikan or two! I always ink up a bunch of Pelikans for the Hub and this year is no different, except I inked up a pen that, until earlier this year, I hadn’t really paid much attention to: the Pelikan Pura P40.

(Note: I am typing this after I hand wrote my notes so don’t try to decipher the handwritten content, lol).

The Pelikan Pura P40 is a cartridge fountain pen. The “P” designation in the model indicates that it is a cartridge fountain pen, while its more well-known siblings, like the M200, M400, M800, etc. have the “M” designation, for piston fillers. Side note: “K” is for ballpoint, “D” is for pencil).

Pelikan Pura P40, Bordeaux, inked with Visconti Bordeaux on 68 gsm Tomoe River Endless Recorder.

The Pura is a metal pen with a snap cap, and a steel nib (Extra Fine to Broad). It also snaps to post. The grip is smooth with a slight taper towards the nib. I didn’t have any problems with the grip section being slipper, but I also don’t generally have a problem with metal sections either. There is a slight “lip” where the nib starts but my fingers didn’t really make it down that far, so I don’t know if that would prevent one’s fingers from sliding.

You can see the metal grip, along with the “nib lip”, which my fingers never reached. The nib looks a bit like the Lamy Safari nib but it isn’t the same. To my knowledge, it also isn’t removable.

I think the pen looks very sleek though I wish that the metal stripe lined up with the nib when uncapped. Not a big deal unless I’m staring at it 🙂

You can see the reflection next to my thumb, even though the nib is face up.

It is a slightly heavy pen, compared to most of my pens which are acrylic, or lighter metal, like my Schon pens which are aluminum. This wasn’t an issue when writing because I don’t post my pens, but it really felt back-heavy when I tried to post. It takes a bit of effort to get the cap on and off the back end for posting, but it was definitely secure.

It was definitely too long and back-heavy for me when posted.

The nib is smooth and writes nicely. Having written with it at the Chicago Pen Show, where it was a pretty wet writer, I paired it with a drier ink which I picked for the color, before realizing that the name of the ink and the pen’s colorway were the same.

I don’t clip my pens to anything other than the elastic in pen cases, but the Pura seems to have very little room/clearance for thick fabric. That said, it worked pretty easily when I slid the clip over my Rickshaw pen roll, but you can see that it probably doesn’t love it. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily it slid over a single sheet of this paper.

The clip is pretty flush to the cap but it slides on surprisingly easily. It doesn’t look like it would like this thick fabric for long.

Aside from the grip, which might be slippery for some folks, my only other “gripe”, and it is a minor one at that, is that the polished metal is a fingerprint magnet. As I mentioned above, It takes a bit of force to snap the cap on, especially to post. Now that I think about it, the other thing is that converters don’t fit, so you have to use cartridges, which is not the end of the world but it adds a bit of hassle if you want to use bottled ink.

Comparison pens (L to R): Esterbrook Estie, Pilot Custom 823, Diplomat Aero, S T Dupont D-Initial, Pelikan Pura, Lamy Studio, Leonardo Momento Zero, TWSBI Eco, Sailor Pro Gear.

The Pura’s grip is the most similar to the Lamy Studio, which isn’t entirely surprising since both are German pens.

The Dupont doesn’t really post, so I didn’t force it.

The Pelikan Pura P40 is a solid pen and a good writer, especially if you prefer a slightly heavier pen. It’s not often you find pens with this heft in this price point - one of the few that come to mind would be the Diplomat Aero which is similar in both weight and price. The MSRP for the Pura P40 is around $190 USD, with a street price of around $150, making it pretty similar in price to the smaller and lighter M200 series. I’m enjoying the Pura but we shall see if it results in the “gotta catch ‘em all” vibe that I get from the other models, especially since there are new colors AND a pattern coming out later this year sneak peek on the Pura webpage. I can’t wait to find out what my fellow Hub attendees think about this pen!

(Disclaimer: The Pura was part of my payment for working at the Pelikan table at the 2024 Chicago Pen Show. All other pens are my own.)

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Zebra Pitan Gel Pen with Magnetic Holder Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

You can't deny the usefulness of a notebook that has a built-in pen loop or sleeve to keep a pen nearby at all times. Some notebooks come with this already attached, but you've long been able to buy add-on pen loops to attach to your favorite notebooks. If you're looking for something a bit easier to use and that has a slightly magical feel, then take a look at the Pitan from Zebra.

Magnets are magical, so you'll always get my attention if there are functional magnets involved in a product or design. The Pitan is a retractable gel ink pen that magnetically attaches to a small tray. The tray has a strong clip that attaches securely the back cover of thin notebook covers. It's an easy and convenient way to add a pen to a notebook, but it's just as easy to remove or move to another notebook.

Let's get the obvious out of the way: in most situations, a pen loop is more secure — especially if the pen clip goes over the elastic loop for more grip. But with that extra security, you lose convenience. Getting the pen out is a simple one-handed action, but putting it back in the loop is likely a two-handed operation. Even still, an elastic can also fail or lose the pen in the right circumstances.

The magnetic Pitan is a fantastic compromise of convenience and security. Despite how it looks and feels, it is surprisingly stable and strong. When the pen is attached to the magnetic tray, it rolls a bit and can slide up and down the length of the tray a few millimeters, but shaking the tray or notebook while the pen is attached isn't enough force to jostle the pen free of the magnets. I was apprehensive at first, but after more and more ridiculous shake and sling tests, I'm really happy and impressed with how well the magnetic tray holds the pen in place.

Where the strength of the magnets fails, though, is if another object forces the pen off the tray or rolls it away from the notebook. This isn't a big deal when the notebook/pen combo is on its own, but it becomes a problem when it's thrown into a collection of other objects, like a bag. The pen still manages to stay attached longer than I would expect, but it will likely get forced off the tray if there's enough motion inside the bag.

Adding to the strength of the magnets, the clip that secures the tray to the notebook is even stronger. It's painful trying to open the jaws of the clip with your fingers, and it takes concentrated effort to install it or remove it from a notebook cover. The marketing materials says there is some protective plastic in the clip, but you'll likely have permanent indentions and marks on the cover of the notebook after using this clip. When removing the clip from a soft cover or cardstock cover, there's a fairly high chance of tearing the cover if you aren't mindful. As long as you're gentle and patient, it works great! I have zero concerns about the clip coming loose.

Unfortunately, the clip is so tight that it only works on thinner materials. I wasn't able to install it on my hard cover Leuchtturm notebook no matter how hard I tried. It also did not want to cooperate when trying to slide it onto a soft leather cover. In practice, this should be limited to thin paper or plastic materials. This was a bummer to me because I love hard cover notebooks. I'm sure I'm not the only one, so just be aware if you want to pair a pen holder with a favorite hard cover notebook.

Finally getting to the actual pen, we have a minimal pen body with a retractable tip that uses Zebra's Sarasa multi-pen refill (the JK model). There are a handful of other options that will swap in easily for this refill, which is a 0.5 mm black refill out of the box. I'm not sure if it's just my refill or something more common to the Zebra Sarasa multi-pen refills, but it's noticeably scratchy compared to the full-size 0.5mm Sarasa pens I have on hand. Zebra is the only brand for which I don't already own several different multi-pens, so I don't have any other refills to compare against. I'll be picking up a few refills or a multi-pen soon to find out! The JK refill is much larger than the D1 refill, so that's not an option in this pen.

The pen is comfortable to use, and it's more than adequate for using as a scribbling pen for notes and short-form writing. The minimal and uniform body would make it difficult for me to use comfortably for long periods.

The click mechanism is nice and crisp, and there's also a cord loop attached to the top of the pen. It's a neat aesthetic choice, but I don't like how it feels on my thumb when operating the click mechanism. Functionally, you could attach this pen to other things using the loop, which would be handy if you're not around your notebook or if you want to tether the pen to the notebook as a secondary method of making sure it doesn't fall off and get lost.

Overall, this is a really fun pen to use and play with as a fidget toy. It's surprisingly strong, surpassing all my expectations in terms of being jostled or slung loose, but it still seems too easy to lose in a bag. The burnt orange color is pretty and would be a nice accent to a notebook cover.

At just under $15, the Zebra Pitan is something I would happily recommend for the utility and joy it provides. Obviously, this is a pen and notebook storage solution that locks you in to this one type of pen and refill. The writing experience and refill options just aren't quite enough to convince me to daily this combo, but it's still intriguing and fun enough to kick it around for more low key situations.

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

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White Bear Pens Echo Fountain 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 her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

Handmade pens? Yes. In beautiful, unique materials? Yes. From a woman-owned shop and new penmaker? Triple yes! Everything about this is good and the pen itself is the best part.

White Bear Pens is a new company founded in 2023 by Mikayla Jackson, who took the journey most of us take: straight down the fountain pen rabbit hole. And then she took it a step further and decided to learn how to make her own pens. She's been touring pen shows all year with a lovely selection of pens in two models: the Ursa and the Echo. I was extremely fortunate to receive an Echo for review. It also came with a custom Rickshaw pen sleeve with the White Bear logo and the softest plush interior to keep the pen safe and cozy.

Handmade pens in fun colors of acrylic are my personal kryptonite, so this was love at first sight. The acrylic is a sparkly blend of pinks, teals, blues, greens, gold, purple, and did I mention sparkle? This is unicorn perfection. There are even fuchsia rings set into the bottom finial and cap band that are so expertly fitted that you can't even feel them--it feels like one smooth piece, even though the construction of such a feature has to be a ton of extra work.

The cap is threaded and the grip section is lightly shaped and flared, giving it a comfortable shape for writing. The cap does not really post--you can put it on fairly shallowly, but I wouldn't want to scratch the material on the threads by trying to force it to post. It has a very nice silver, spring-loaded clip, though, so the cap won't roll away if you set it down. On the top of the cap is an inlay of the White Bear logo, which looks fantastic.

The pen takes either a standard international converter or cartridge, and it does come with a converter. It has a steel nib, this one in an extra fine, engraved with the White Bear logo. White Bear Pens does have their nibs professionally tuned, and it shows. This things writes like a dream. It is super smooth with perfect flow--an absolute pleasure to write with. I was just making lists at first, but I didn't want to stop writing! That's very useful for a gal on a deadline or three!

I am very excited to have experienced one of these early pens from White Bear Pens and I can't wait to see what Mikayla does next!

(This pen was purchased by Brad from White Bear Pens at the 2024 Atlanta Pen Show.)

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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!