There is something about fountain pens for beginners that I love. Generally, they come in cool colors, or funky designs. All have some type of molded grip to help you with the proper finger placement. And, almost without fail, the nibs prove to be excellent writers.
It makes me wonder sometimes why I spend hundreds of dollars on fountain pens given how well some of these entry level pens write.
The Pelikan Twist is clearly marketed towards children for their first fountain pen. The colors are bright, the grip is very well definied, it is a simple cartridge filler, and the plastic barrel is going to be able to handle getting beat up. Plus, it just flat-out looks cool. I can see kids enjoying learning the proper way to write with this pen.
Being a big kid myself, I found I enjoyed using it. The medium nib is dead smooth, and the output is clean with the provided Pelikan Royal Blue ink cartridge (it takes short and standard international.)
The one consideration for those who want to add this pen to their arsenal is how extreme the grip section really is. I have a traditional grip so I never mind molded grips, but there is no play with this one. The edges between each side of the section are sharp, locking you in to the preferred grip at all times. The Pilot Kakuno is much more subtle, and even the Lamy Safari feels tame in comparison.
Don't let that scare you away though. Learn how to grip a pen the right way! If nothing else, kids will appreciate how cool and fun this pen is to use, and they won't even know that you are creating muscle memory that will last them a lifetime.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
