[Pen/Pencil Review] The Pentel Tradio Apple Green Fountain Pen – Fine Point Nib
Today’s pen review is on the Pentel TRF91 Tradio Fountain Pen. This also arrived at Christmas from my JetPens wishlist. Of course, it’s the green body and fine point, which apparently is no longer available on JetPens.
This isn’t like the Stylo I’ve already reviewed. This is an honest to goodness fountain pen. It’s about 5.6†capped and 6.2†with the cap posted. It has a good taper to the point. The cap end is wider in diameter than the grip. The body is a matte and somewhat soft, rubberized plastic, but the grip around the nib is basic hard plastic with a iridium tipped nib.
This pen is designed for the long international ink cartridges, which is a point in its favor. I always feel like I’m just getting going with the small cartridges when they run out of ink. This lets me feel like I have more writing time. It comes with blue ink, which is a bit different, but the blue is pretty rich and dark. The cap as view ports, but I’m not sure why. I’d rather see how much ink I have left than the nib when I’m not using the pen.
It’s a lovely pen for a beginner fountain pen, or if you’re hard on pens. It’s not on the disposable pen price point level, but it’s affordable and – so far durable. It hasn’t leaked on me. It has a fairly smooth, consistent line. I rather like it. There is some ribbing on the grip that might dig in over long periods of time, but I’ve not found it to be an issue.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It’s decent a decent beginning fountain pen that doesn’t immediately leak, has a smooth nib, and doesn’t seem to skip much.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It’s a plastic grip. Nothing overly ergonomic. You might have some issues with the ribs near the nib. The barrel is rubberized plastic, but the grip isn’t. So the comfort of the barrel doesn’t quite extend to the grip – but it’s hitting the sweet spot between too wide and too narrow to be comfortable.
3. Material – 1 It is a plastic, beginner fountain pen. The fact the nib is iridium is a plus, but this isn’t supposed to be a high end pen and isn’t built like one
4. Overall Design – 1 -It’s a decent design. Comfortable size. Good nib. Good ink.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – It’s not an inexpensive pen. It is refillable and the construction is such that it will last quite a while. The current models on JetPens are running $26.50. I don’t remember if that’s what I wish listed it for. It’s not a disposable, but if you’re wanting a daily use fountain pen, it should work.
4 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
