(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!)
Ridiculous or ridiculously fun? Both? Sure, the Wancher PuChiCo Mini Fountain Pen is more novelty than practical, but as a lover of pocket pens, I had to try it anyway. Besides, almost none of my pocket pens can fit in my girl-pants pockets--but this one can!
At only 6.5cm capped, this is the tiniest pen I've ever used. And it's not super easy to use, even with my small hands. It certainly wouldn't be comfortable to use for long writing sessions, but for jotting a quick note, I definitely see a purpose for it.
There are plenty of times when I'm minimally traveling or limiting the amount of stuff that I'm hauling, but I still want a fountain pen with me. Sometimes I just don't feel complete without one, yaknow? If I'm going on a beach walk and don't want to be burdened with a big bag, but there's a definite danger of poetry happening, this is the perfect wee pen to bring along.
What surprised me the most about this pen wasn't how tiny it was, it was how well-made it was, despite being so tiny. I guess I didn't expect it to be a real pen. After all, it's a pen for ants! But it actually feels very well constructed. The resin is machined smooth, the threads are sturdy, the clip works, and the nib writes surprisingly well.
Because this wee tank is eyedropper-filled, it holds a decent amount of ink. It holds .5 ml, which is the same as a standard fountain pen converter. That's going to write for a while. I carried this pen in my purse for several weeks and the ink chamber never leaked.
I ordered this as something cute, probably just to be used as decor, and for that sweet hit of dopamine I get when I see something cute and tiny. I did not expect to get a decent pen, so it's safe to say my expectations were well exceeded. At $33, it was way too much to spend on a silly novelty, but it's more than fair for the handy writer that arrived. I'll be taking this pen on my next beach adventure trip in exactly 26 days (not that I'm counting.)
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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