Released earlier this year, the Benu Pixie has been the perfect addition to the the ever-expanding Benu Fountain Pen lineup. Kimberly reviewed hers back in April, and I have the Royal Blue model with a Fine Steel Nib to give away this week. Read the rules below and get to entering!
Posts filed under Benu Pen
Benu Pixie 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][0] because there really are many, many hobbies!.)
When I heard that Benu Pens was coming out with a pocket pen, I was 100% sign me up, unless it’s too blingy/colorful, you know, “too much”, and even if it is, I probably still want it. When I saw pictures of the pens, I was surprised at how many of the colorful ones I was tempted by! It was so difficult to pick that I had to ask Instagram which one I should get at the Baltimore Pen Show (too many people said “all of them”, lol).
The Benu Pixie, as you can guess from the name, is a very small pen. It comes with a cartridge but it cannot fit a standard international converter.
After much deliberation, I ended up picking the Aurora Gold Pixie with a Medium nib and inked it up with Vinta Heritage Brown Pamana (one of my fave brown inks cuz of the subtle green sheen). It wrote with no issues and is a smooth writer. It’s my first Medium nib Benu (I have Euphoria’s in Fine and Broad) and it gave me a medium line, as I expected. Benu’s have a reputation for working well with shimmer but I haven’t yet tried it with such a small nib/feed (maybe next inking!), so your mileage may vary.
Benu Pixie, Aurora Gold, Medium, inked with Vinta Heritage Brown Pamana.
It’s really hard to tell how small the Pixie is, so I decided to compare it with one of the more popular pocket pens, the Kaweco Sport - I happened to have an AL Sport inked up, which is pretty much the same size as the plastic Sport. I am also using a Col-O-Ring card for scale.
Uncapped, you can see that the Pixie is quite a bit shorter than the Kaweco.
I unscrewed the barrel so you can see that a regular standard international cartridge fits in the Pixie. The AL Sport has the Kaweco foldable converter (which is pretty flippin’ awesome, btw). The foldable converter fits just fine in the Pixie. No pics because it’s not that interesting. 🙂
I wanted to check if the regular Kaweco mini piston converter would fit in the Pixie and you can see that this is how far down the piston would be, once you screwed the barrel back on. Needless to say, that’s not a lot of ink.
I suppose one could eyedropper it if you silicone-greased the nib threads and barrel threads, but I didn’t try that.
Unposted, the Pixie is barely usable for me, whereas I routinely use my Sports (and almost all other pens) unposted.
The Pixie can be posted (friction fit) and it is more comfortable to write with. The posted Kaweco feels too long by comparison, lol.
Capped pocket pens: Kaweco AL Sport, Benu Pixie, Schon Pocket 6, TWSBI Mini AL.
Uncapped - the Pixie and Schon are very similar in size, buth the former has a very small nib, while the Schon has a Jowo 6 nib.
Adding a couple “regular sized” pens to the mix - Platinum 3776 far left and Benu Euphoria (far right.)
Once you post the Pixie (as well as the other pocket pens), you can see that it is much more comparable in size to “regular” pens like the unposted 3776.
You can also refer to the Pocket Pen Roundup article to see how the Pixie might compare to other pocket pens not shown above.
The Pixie comes in EF-Broad nibs and is available in the following colorways: Aqua Glow, Aurora Gold, Emerald Sea, Honey Bronze, Icy Violet, Plum Cream, Stardust Pink, Twilight Lagoon, Coffee Brown, Royal Blue, and Smoky Black (the last 3 are the most “solid” colors available). MSRP ranges from $59-$72 (the sparkly, colorful ones cost more). As of this writing, Benu has come out with 3-pen Pixie sets, in different colors than the ones above, for $186. They are offered in 3 different sets and are only available on the Benu website.
A couple other Pixies (Royal Blue and Stardust Pink) headed to the Bossman for a giveaway! The Aurora Gold is MINE!
(Disclaimer: Thank you to Luxury Brands of America for providing the Benu Pixie in Royal Blue and Stardust Pink for giveaway. I got the Aurora Gold at the BWI pen show.)
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BENU Euphoria Collection Bourbon Fountain Pen Review
(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
Christmas will be here before you know it, and if you're looking for any gift ideas for folks that appreciate a good pen, this product from BENU is a great option to consider.
The BENU Euphoria Collection is a classy pen design that looks great no matter which colorway you choose, but I'm smitten with this Bourbon variant. It reflects a lot of sparkly light, which attracts a lot of attention. The gold and red tones feel warm and cozy, and I just can't get enough of this material.
Before going into more detail about the material, let's look at the common traits that you'll find in any of the Euphoria Collection pens. The body and cap are faceted, with 10 small facets going around the diameter of the pen. These facets add a lot of visual interest to the pen, but also changes how the pen feels in your hand and how it behaves on flat surfaces (meaning it doesn't roll easily). Regardless of the colorway, every Euphoria pen has a broad, bold black band at the base of the cap that features a BENU logo debossed on the faceted side that also houses the clip.
These pens also share the same nib options — a Schmidt #6 with silver-colored plating and minimal scroll work. The grip is substantial and provides plenty of space to grip it however you like while remaining comfortable.
The overall size of the pen is similar to a Lamy Safari. While the cap only has a small taper from the opening of the cap to the top of the cap, the body has a more noticeable taper toward the tail of the pen body. This makes the pen body very comfortable to hold since most of the weight is concentrated toward the nib end. You can post the cap on the back of the pen if you want, but I prefer the balance of the unposted pen for writing.
The pen can house a full size international cartridge, but it also comes with a standard cartridge converter so you can pick the right ink to match or compliment such a bold pen material. I went with Robert Oster Whiskey even though I know it's some form of sacrilege to combine bourbon and whiskey. In this case, I make no apologies because I love the ink and pen pairing here.
Getting back to the real star of the show, this acrylic material is something I have yet to tire of seeing on my desk. The main acrylic is a translucent amber, but there are hundreds (thousands?) of small gold and amber metallic flakes suspended in the material that make it look like it's moving. Depending on the color of the light in the room, the pen can take on different colors from bronze, red, gold, orange, and even yellow. Regardless of the color of light, this pen reflects light like crazy and draws attention from whoever is nearby. Be prepared for conversations that start with, "Whoa; what is that?" when this pen is visible.
Writing with the fine nib on this pen has been a great experience. The balance of the pen is perfect without the cap posted, and the grip section provides a great area to hold and control the pen. Ink flow has been great, and I didn't need to tune the Schmidt nib at all out of the box. When it's time to pack up, the silver clip does a great job of securing the pen to a pocket or bag. The cap screws on to the pen with about two and a half rotations, so it's really secure when closed.
Overall, I've been so impressed and pleased with this BENU. The fit and finish are great, and the quality of materials are fantastic. Any pen from the Euphoria Collection would make a great gift, but I'm really partial to this Bourbon option. You can choose from fine or medium nibs at the moment, though it would be trivial to swap the nib out with another of the same standard size. At $157, this is a good value for the quality and artistry on display. I'd happily recommend this to anyone that looks at it and has a remotely positive reaction to the color.
(Vanness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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.
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