PEN REVIEW: PELIKAN FUTURE
I first saw this pen on the official German Pelikan site. I'm a notorious
sucker for cheap pens of modern design, and I knew when I saw the pictures
that I had to have one. While the other well known modern Pelikan, the
Level, has a sober look, the Future is much more colorful and lively,
befitting a pen aimed primarily at kids. The pen comes in red, blue, green,
and yellow. The interchangeability of the parts to create a multiplicity of
different colored pens is used as a selling point. The German Pelikan site
also shows a very smooth looking "silver" model. Whether or not this is
silver colored plastic, or aluminum, I'm not sure. I'd love to find one
though.
I was unable to find one on the net, except a couple for sale on Ebay. I
was sure If I waited, I could pick some up in Europe. But not so. There
were simply none to be found, and only one employee in a pen shop had ever
even heard of it. When I couldn't find one at Akkerman in Amsterdam, I knew
it wasn't going to happen. So I hit E-bay when I got home, and bought one
from the PenGallery in Malaysia.
My Future is red, with a broad nib. The pen is very light in weight, and
medium sized. The section features three oval shaped soft black "elastomer"
inserts, designed to cushion the grip. The oval theme is repeated in two
beveled ink-vue windows positioned on the top and bottom, rather than the
sides of the pen. There is additional soft plastic added to the top of the
clip for decoration, and to the top of the cap, which sports a printed
Pelikan logo.
The nib is completely flat, and sits in a semi-inset configuration within a
contrasting colored plastic holder. The feed appears to be identical to the
one on my Level 5.
So how does it write? Better than you'd expect for a $15 dollar pen. At
first, I found it balky, but with an ink change and a little use, it became
a very good writer. The nib is extremely smooth, and ink flow is more than
adequate. The inserts provide a good grip. It's actually become one of my
favorites lately, and I bring it back and forth to work every day (along
with others!).
Few seem to share my love for bizarre looking, inexpensive pens, but if you
do, or just want a fun pen, or a pen for a budding young nibster, I
recommend this pen. If you can find it...
