Posts filed under Pen Reviews

Caran d'Ache 849 Germanier Ballpoint 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 Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

Having lived in Switzerland, I have a soft spot in my heart for Caran d'Ache. As a Swiss brand, it dominated the stationery store, and I had no complaints about it. I've admired their special editions a lot--they're all gorgeous--so I was very excited to try out this lovely 849 Germanier Ballpoint.

Caran d'Ache 849 Germanier Ballpoint Pen

The pen comes in an aluminum presentation box with the colorful pearl pattern on it. The box has a hinged lid and the pen sits in a cardstock cubby inside. The pen itself is also aluminum. It is an eye-searing neon green color decorated all over with the signature pearl design of Swiss fashion designer Kevin Germanier. The collaboration has a number of exciting designs (designer-bedazzled pencil sharpener, anyone? Um, yes), with this ballpoint as one of the more accessible features.

The lilac pearls on the bright green background highlight the blend of natural and futuristic elements in Germanier's aesthetic. The overall effect, for me, reminds me of eco-horror science fiction like Jeff Vandermeer's Area X series, which is one of my all-time favorite reads. It's like space lichen. I mean that in the most complimentary way.

As an art object, it's fantastic. As a pen, it's decent. The body has the hexagonal shape of all Caran d'Ache pens, with its angular metal clip and silent click-nock. The refill is the medium black Goliath cartridge. It writes like a typical ballpoint. The ink is not a deep black, but the charcoal grey of most ballpoint black inks. It also does that glob-smudge thing when the ball shifts directions. The globs have a tendency to smear. But the ballpoint ink writes on darn near everything and never bleeds, so it's perfect for coated papers like receipts or sticky notes, or on thin or fibrous papers that would be incompatible with liquid inks.

While the writing experience runs more practical than fun, the pen design is way more fun than practical. It's a good balance, in the end. The Caran d'Ache 849 Germanier Ballpoint pen sells for $70 at Dromgoole's, which is more than twice what the standard Caran d'Ache 849 ballpoints cost. That's a pretty steep premium for the limited edition, even if it is a fabulous design. It's definitely eye-catching. I've had it clipped to my shirt collar at work, and it gets lots of comments! It's a great design on a good pen, though it is a bit overpriced. The blinged-out pencil sharpener doesn't even have a price listed on it. It's priceless.

(This product was purchased from Dromgoole’s at regular price.)

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Posted on February 5, 2026 by Sarah Read and filed under Caran d'Ache, Ballpoint, Pen Reviews.

What is the LAMY CP1, and why do I like it so much?

One of my favorite review categories is products that are great, but not great for everyone. The LAMY CP1 is a perfect example of this type of product. I love it, it has its super fans, and it flat-out won’t work for many people. Let’s dig in.

Starting with me: why do I like the Cylindric Pen 1 so much? It is a long, skinny fountain pen, with a lightweight metal barrel and a Stainless Steel clip. LAMY’s classic Bauhaus fingerprints are all over the design, making the CP1 look like a mini LAMY 2000 - ok, maybe if you squint a little.

My enjoyment of this pen comes primarily from the narrow barrel, with everything else tied for second. (Second, until they released the Aquamarine model, which made me throw money right through my computer screen.) Having a narrow barrel fountain pen is convenient for sliding it into notebook loops, clipping it to notebook covers, or stashing it into any type of pocket. Yes, it is long, but the narrowness comes in more handy than I ever thought.

LAMY CP1 Fountain Pen Converter — *The CP1 hits the price point where a converter is included. I think all fountain pens should ship with a converter.*

I’m also a fan of LAMY’s Steel nibs, primarily Extra Fine. You may notice that I ordered a Fine for this pen, and that is for good reason: I don’t own a Fine, and this nib is swappable with other LAMY nibs found in some of their most popular pens, like the Safari and AL-Star. I have plenty of stock EF nibs I can swap into the CP1, plus their unique Cursive and A nibs (found in the LAMY ABC,) and I have a few grinds at the ready if I’m feeling frisky. I ordered something I didn’t have, and if it’s too wide for regular use, I can swap it easily.

To my surprise, the line and flow of the Fine LAMY nib in this CP1 is close to many of my Extra Fine favorites. I’m not compelled to change it anytime soon, but the option is always there.

LAMY CP1 Fountain Pen Fine Nib — *A very controllable LAMY Fine Steel nib.*

Given that I like the CP1, who won’t like it? Those who don’t like narrow pens, for starters. Obvious, right? The diameter is a negative for users who need, or simply prefer, wider barrels.

LAMY CP1 Fountain Pen Comparison — *The LAMY Safari could eat the CP1 for dinner, and still have room for dessert.*

Secondly, the grip section isn’t great. For some reason, LAMY loooooves slippery metal grip sections, and the CP1 grip is no exception, even with grooves that provide absolutely no bonus grippability. My fingers will slide when I first pick it up, but once a little natural temperature and moisture cranks up when writing, it’s fine. If you have dry hands, this grip will frustrate you, especially since it is straight-sided. There is no concave here to help.

LAMY CP1 Fountain Pen Posted — *Posting is a mistake.*

Up next, the aforementioned nib. They can be wide and wet even in relatively fine sizes, so if you are looking for a narrow pen with a needlepoint-adjacent nib to match, I’m not sure even the Extra Fine would be an option for you.

LAMY CP1 Fountain Pen Grip — *The grip is slick.*

Finally, the price. For $60 I think it is fairly priced, but that is too expensive to take a random chance on because there are downsides to the CP1. If this price point is within your budget but the style isn’t, take a look at the recently discussed Pilot Prera, which is an easier recommendation to make to a wider audience.

Remember, there is a pen out there for everyone, but not every pen is for everyone. The LAMY CP1 is a perfect example of that.

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

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LAMY CP1 Fountain Pen Box — *It even ships in a nice box, not a perforated sleeve.*

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Lamy, Fountain Pens, Pen Reviews.

Fresh Thoughts On The Pilot Prera

I’ve always loved the Pilot Prera Fountain Pen, but it hasn’t always been an easy recommendation due to its price relative to the competition. With the prices of Gold nibs skyrocketing, does this Steel nib fountain pen look like a better value, even though its price has stayed in the same range? I think so.

The state of the union in the sub-$100 fountain pen category is that there are some great pens to be had in the lower and middle parts of the price bracket, with the upper limit (over $75 let’s say,) a bit weaker in comparison. Pens from the Platinum Preppy at $7, to the TWSBI ECO at $37, and up to the $64 Prera all provide good value and good options, depending on what you are looking for in a pen. And there are dozens of other good choices in this bracket, too.

The Prera was one of my first fountain pens, and I loved it from the start. It’s a simple plastic barrel pen with a fantastic nib, it posts well for a small and light pen, and has a satisfying ‘click’ when you cap it. The problem over the past few years is that it had become too expensive.

The launch of the Pilot Metropolitan in the early 2010’s - which was around $15 at the time - took a hacksaw to any value the Prera offered - even as a $30 pen at the time. Mix in other companies doing good work in this area, and Prera pricing being all over the place (regional pricing is fun!) it fell out of favor. It never stopped being a good pen, though.

Pilot Prera CON-40 — The only negative of the Prera is the inclusion of the CON-40 converter. It was created by Pilot to be a more universal option for more of their pens, but it is worse than the CON-50 in pens where it was replaced. I guess corporate is happy, though.

I’m on record multiple times saying that the $64 price tag of the Prera is too high, mainly because of other options. Those options included the Platinum 3776 14K Gold Nib fountain pen, which at the time of my statement ran about $180. That’s around three times the price of a Prera, making it a good choice to save up for if you wanted to purchase your first gold nib fountain pen.

You can guess what happens next.

As you may have noticed, I’m pretty fired up about the escalation of precious materials prices driving the up the cost of fountain pens. What were recently aspirational pen purchases have been pushed into the realm of the impossible for many buyers. That stinks, but what can we do? Well, we can look differently at less expensive Steel nib pens like the Prera, and understand how nice the experience of a pen like this can be.

For beginners, the Prera might represent an upgraded purchase from starter pens like the Preppy or LAMY Safari. For experienced users, it could be a playground for nibs, which are hot swappable in Pilot’s Steel lineup, especially from cheap pens like the Pilot Penmanship - where you can grab an Extra Fine nib for $10 and have a second writing option. It could even be the endgame for many users because the Gold nib upgrade jump has gone from a short hop over a puddle, to requiring an appearance from Mondo Duplantis.

I’m not saying that the Pilot Prera is the end all, be all pen - even in its own price bracket where it costs more than pens you may find superior. What I am saying is that the context has changed, and I need to be willing to change along with it. I’m looking forward to even more change along these lines in 2026, especially when I plant a flag on the Pilot Kakuno as being better than the entirety of this price range! 🤪

(This Pilot Prera was gifted to me by a friend.)

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