Lamy Tipo Turmaline Special Edition Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Lamy Tipo has been around for quite a while and is well known as an affordable and unique rollerball pen that uses Lamy's own M66 refill. Even better, the Tipo also accepts any Pilot G2 size refill, opening up the customization options quite a bit. What's new this year, though, is the custom color for 2020: Turmaline.

The blue-green aluminum body looks fantastic on this limited edition Tipo. It's meant to mimic the semi-precious tourmaline gemstone. This is a little confusing to me since tourmaline is known to occur in many colors, but this blue-green is beautiful nonetheless.

If you've ever used a Tipo before, this pen is no different. To cover the basics, the rollerball pen is encased with an aluminum body and plastic grip section. The grip section is textured with soft rings that make the pen easy to hold. The clip also functions as the nock on this pen, which is a unique and fun design. As a perk of the clip/nock design, it automatically retracts the refill if you open the clip to secure it onto something else, like a pocket or bag. This prevents you from accidentally stowing the pen with the rollerball refill extended, which would probably result in some sort of unwanted ink blobs on your clothes or bag. It's a really nifty system for extending/retracting the refill, but it's also really satisfying to play with.

One thing to keep in mind when using this clip mechanism is that you have to push straight down ("straight down" meaning from the back of the pen down toward the tip, as opposed to pushing the clip perpendicularly toward the body of the pen) on the clip in order for it to extend properly. If you put too much force on the back of the clip in the perpendicular direction, the clip doesn't slot into the little hole that keeps the refill extended. It's not a big deal because you quickly learn after a few tries and it becomes muscle memory after that. I'm more than happy to deal with this little caveat if it means I can't accidentally clip the pen to something while the refill is extended!

Writing with the pen is really comfortable thanks to the grip and the overall light weight of the pen. On top of that, the Lamy M66 refill is incredibly smooth and dark, making the pen a great writing tool. The medium tip is a bit wet for my tastes, but it's exactly what I expect for a rollerball of this size. I have had some issues with the line being a little thin in some cases, but it's not a big problem. I definitely prefer the Schmidt P8126 as my rollerball refill of choice, but that won't fit in this particular pen.

And that's okay, because this pen allows a multitude of different refill options. Basically, anything that follows the Pilot G2 size refill will fit in this pen. That opens you up to literally hundreds of different colors, tip sizes, and brands if you don't prefer the included Lamy rollerball refill.

The Lamy Tipo is a fantastic rollerball pen that also makes a great gift. It's affordable enough to buy as an impulse, but nice enough to carry with you or use at the office for taking notes and making signatures. The limited edition Turmaline version is a gorgeous pen, so if it's something you want to pick up, make sure you do soon before they're gone!

(Brad purchased this pen from Stilo & Stile at full retail.)

---

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.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Lamy Tipo Coffee Body Rollerball Review

When reviewing products, there is sometimes a disconnect between products I like and products I would recommend. The Lamy Tipo is the embodiment of this. I personally love the Tipo. The design is a Lamy masterpiece in my opinion, but there is a long list of issues I bring up when actually recommending this pen.

First of all, the clip design takes some getting used to. When clicking it down to engage the refill, the ball on the tip of the clip lands in a circular cut out on the barrel. Most of the time anyway. There are times when it takes two or three clicks, or a little push down to get the clip to sit correctly. And on occasion, it will bounce out randomly and retract the refill, like when putting the pen down on the table.

The end of the clip sticks out far above the barrel too. That has no impact on writing, but it may get in the way depending on how and where you carry the pen.

Grip-wise, it can be slick. The plastic ridges help, but it’s not a smooth plastic where your fingers will stick. Rather, it’s lightly textured, almost matte-like. If your fingers have a little moisture its fine, but if they are dry they slide around a bit.

The Lamy M66 rollerball refill it ships with is decent, but it’s not as good as the Schmidt P8127. It is both wetter and wider, making for a line that is not as clean.

And did I mention the sticker rage? That too.

All that being said, you think I would hate this pen. Fortunately there is one redeeming thing that makes me love it: It fits Pilot G2 refills. For me, that means it fits my favorite Pilot Juice 0.38 mm Blue Black refill. #winning

Swapping in the Juice refill changes everything about this pen. I find it comfortable to hold and use, and the writing experience is excellent. My grip settles in after a couple of lines, and the ridges are no longer slick. Maybe I still have to click the knock two or three times to engage it, but look how cool this pen looks! I genuinely love it.

I buy the Lamy Tipo for gifts frequently because it is unique looking and decently priced. The plastic barrel models are $12.50 at JetPens (look at that orange!), and the aluminum are only $2 more. I’m always sure to include a Pilot Juice pen as well, plus a note on swapping out the refill. It’s fun turning an average pen into a very good one.

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

Lamy Tipo Review

The Lamy Tipo is one of Lamy's more unique takes on the rollerball refill version of their products. There are rollerball models of the Safari, Vista, and even the 2000, but I think the Tipo looks the most unique of all of them. And, it's also the most affordable. At less than $11, you have to wonder how it compares to the Retro 51 and Schmidt refills.

Well, the Tipo doesn't beat the Retro 51 and Schmidt refills, but it's still a great, quirky pen with a decent refill.

Simple design

The Tipo doesn't have a knock like most retractable pens. Like the Retro 51, it uses an alternate system to extend and retract the refill. The Retro 51 uses a twist mechanism, which lots of other pens also use. They're smooth and sure.

I'm guessing that the typical rollerball refills don't work well with a clicky knock system, but I really don't know. In Lamy's case, they went with a unique catch system that uses the clip and barrel to keep the refill extended. There's a small hole in the body, and an inversely shaped knob on the end of the clip that fits perfectly into the hole when the clip is pressed down.

It's novel, but it needs work in my opinion. It feels cheap and it doesn't breed confidence in me when I use it. Many, many times I've wondered if it's going to stay when I start writing, and I've also missed the catch several times if I'm trying to click it quickly. When extending the refill with this pen, you have to be slow and deliberate to be sure it catches. I'm being a bit dramatic to make a point. In all honesty, it catches perfectly about 95% of the time. But it just doesn't make me feel sure most of the time.

The grip on the pen is fantastic for me. It's textured with shallow grooves and has a nice width. The pen is light, with more of the weight gathering toward the tip, which makes for a pleasant writing experience.

One of the most unique aspects of the Tipo is the variety of barrel colors available. White, black, pink, orange, and turquoise. They all look vibrant in the photos, and the white one I have is no let-down. On all colors, the grip, tip section, and clip are all black.

There's a small, tasteful Lamy logo on the top of the barrel parallel to the clip. It's a nice way to brand an otherwise mysterious looking pen.

Another gripe I have with the pen is the design of the top (butt?) of the pen. It looks unfinished. There are two small holes and nothing else. It looks like some decorative piece was once attached, but fell off at some point. It would be cool to see a plastic screw on the top, similar to the Safari and Vista caps. But, that's not really a big deal. The pen still has a really clean, pleasing design. Besides, at $11 I can't really complain too much about it missing decorative elements. Get a Safari already, right? I know.

An additional delightful little detail is the packaging of the pen. It's futuristic and difficult to explain, so check out the picture:

Writing experience

Ah, the refill. Possibly the most important aspect of the pen. Short story: it does a good job of writing. It's smooth, dark, and mostly consistent. And that's the reason it doesn't get a perfect score. It tends to skip or go a little faint every now and then. Not enough to cause any frustration, but enough to knock it down a little.

Seriously, it's a good refill and I'd like to try some more just to make sure I didn't get a one off skippy refill. The refill is half the cost of the pen, so I'd expect the quality assurance to be fairly high, but that's probably a little too optimistic.

On the plus side, you have a choice of 4 colors: black, blue, red, and green.

The line is a tiny, tiny bit thicker than the default Schmidt refill that comes with the Retro 51. So, a 0.7mm refill that seems to contain a good amount of ink in the reservoir.

A point that really makes the Tipo an even greater value is the fact that it can take G2 size refills. That opens up another world of possibilities if you aren't happy with the refill that ships with the pen. Of course, you can also trim other refills that are similar to the G2. I personally use the Pilot Juice refills instead of the G2, and the Tipo body is a lot more interesting and attractive than the Juice body. Score.

Wrap up

The Lamy Tipo is a great little pen with a unique, quirky personality. It doesn't make waves with the refill, but it provides a compelling value and looks great while doing it. If you're like me and have an urge to try every rollerball out there, don't leave this one out.

(You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution, Twitter, and App.net.)