Throughout my lifetime of Lamy love, there is one model in their lineup that I had no interest in: The Lamy Safari Ballpoint. I didn’t think it looked terrible, I thought it looked unnecessary. Why would I choose this ballpoint over a litany of other better looking - and probably better performing - pens?
The 2019 Lamy Safari Pastel limited edition colors forced my hand. “Forced” definitely belongs in quotes. There are three colors - Blue Macaron, Mint Glaze, and Powder Rose - and three pen types - ballpoint, fountain, and rollerball. It only makes sense to buy one pen of each type, each in a different color, right?
My intention with these three pens on the way was to take the Mint Glaze Lamy Safari for myself, and ship out the Blue Macaron Ballpoint and Powder Rose Rollerball to the review crew to test out and review. Then the pens arrived.
I did a JetPens unboxing of these pens, and more, last week and ended up enamored with the Safari ballpoint.
One of the ways Lamy has always gotten me with their pens is with their feel. Especially the initial feeling of the pen when picking it up for the first time. It feels substantial but comfortable. Not heavy, but solid. It feels well made and workhorse-like. Lamy nails that feeling almost across the board in their product lineup.
Based on my previous Lamy experience, I should have expected that, but I didn’t. I was more concerned how much I would be weirded out by the rubber accordion-style knock and the molded grip on a pen that doesn’t need it. Those things ended up being non-factors. Heck, they both land in the plus column on a pen that has a lot of them already. The knock is exceptionally sturdy and has a robust and satisfying click.
My main hesitancy with any ballpoint pen in the non-Jetstream category is the writing experience. We have all been burned by bad ballpoints, but this is not one of them. The Lamy M16 ballpoint pen refill is spectacular. Shockingly so. The Safari ballpoint ships with a medium black refill that glides across the page and leaves a solid, consistent line in its wake. My mind is boggled that it is so good. The only downside is that there are not many Lamy-issued colors of ink, but the Monteverde Soft Roll Ballpoint Refill gives you ten other options. I’ll be picking up a set or two in the new future.
I’ll be picking up another Lamy Safari Ballpoint in the future as well. They are that good. They are priced fairly, too - currently $16.50 at JetPens. This is one of those pens that surprised me, and now I want it within arms reach at all times so I can keep on enjoying it.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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