Review: Lamy Safari Vista Fountain Pen - Demonstrator Clear
Finally bought myself a Lamy Safari fountain pen after reading so many reviews on Amazon.
I actually bought two, the version with the transparent body, also known as the Demonstrator. The body is shiny but after months of use, scratches have appeared on the body, but it's still transparent enough to see through.
It looks great. You can see the ink inside the system behind the nib, so you can know how much ink remains in the cartridge.
The back body has two big holes that also enables you to see the cartridge inside. This is more useful for the other Lamy Safari fountain pens that are not transparent.
This is a moderately priced fountain pen. Its construction is made of plastic except for the nib and clip. It's lightweight, but some might consider it to feel a bit cheap because of the weight. The design isn't very fanciful but it gets the job done.
The silver clip on the cap is like a huge paper clip.
The grip is indented for placement for the thumb and index. It's relatively comfortable for writing. The pen handles very well, and is well balanced to hold. I'm using the Noodler's black ink with it and it writes very smoothly.
The nibs come in various sizes, which are extra-fine, fine and medium. Fine is something like a Copic 0.8 and extra fine is about 0.5. I recommend getting the extra-fine if you're getting just one pen. You can easily swap the nibs.
The fountain pen comes with one disposable ink cartridge. So it's more economical to get the Lamy Safari Converter which is the recyclable ink cartridge (the red one you see in the picture above).
There's are two small protruding parts on the converter. The protruding part will actually slide into the groove of the pen so it actually prevents you from pushing the converter too far in. I don't see this in other fountain pens and I think it's a pretty cool feature.
The nib is not a flex nib so it's only capable of producing consistent lines, pretty much like a technical pen. Take note of this if you're thinking of drawing with this pen.
It's a great entry level fountain pen at a very affordable price. It's very functional and feels durable enough.
Below are some sketches I drew with the pen. You might note that the strokes feather slightly because the paper used was quite lousy.
Availability:
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Comments
Hey
Hey
I bought those lamy fountain pens and noodler's inks after your recommendations. And it appeared to fail all my expectations. What I wanted is to get a waterproof black ink to work with aquarella. Not sure on that now... Guess I should just let the paper dry over some period (an hour / night?). Waiting for a couple of minutes didn't help. The ink smudged over the paper and stayed on my finger. How am I supposed to paint over it?
And about Lamy pens the Vista one. I took F and it's a disaster. It scratches the paper, the ink is bleeding through the nib and all over it. Drawing on plain office paper is ok, but on watercolour paper - is hardly bearable.
@Did you get the correct
In reply to Hey by Elena (not verified)
@Did you get the correct Noodler's ink? There are many variations but only the bulletproof one is waterproof.
I had a similar issue using a
In reply to Hey by Elena (not verified)
I had a similar issue using a Lamy Safari (which I enjoy) with Noodler's Black ink (which is great for writing, but not for drawing). When I would ink a picture and then erase the pencil, the Noodler's black ink would smudge on the page. I now use Platinum Carbon ink in my Lamy Safari for drawing and have not had any issues with this waterproof ink. I still use the Noodler's for writing, but not for drawing.
Nice review.
Nice review.
Can you tell me about the converter. Does it have the twist and turn mechanism or is there a lever to scroll up and down (like in Parker Vectors)?
The converter that I just got
The converter that I just got is a twist and turn.
Hi Teoh,
Hi Teoh,
I brought two of these and both are rather scratchy. My friend reported the same issue. What do you do to check that its not scratch before buying?
Thanks
The Extra Fine one may be
In reply to Hi Teoh, by Tina (not verified)
The Extra Fine one may be slightly scratchy but that's because EF nibs are sharp and are not usual to be scratchy. However, they should not feel like they will pull off the paper fiber. They should still write well.
For Lamy pens, if you buy at stores, I suppose you can try. If you buy online then there's no way to try them. If you really consider yours to be scratchy, you can contact Lamy, I believe they have lifetime warranty to for their nibs.
I brought a medium. While it
In reply to The Extra Fine one may be by Teoh Yi Chie
I brought a medium. While it doesn't feel like it will pull the paper fiber off, its not as smooth as say a uniball Impact. I haven't used another fountain pen before so I maybe my expectation of them are not right. I brought it after seeing your blog and decided to pick up on pen and watercolour drawings.
Also what is the best way of storing a fountain pen when not using? Flat horizontal, upright - nib pointing to the sky or downright, nib pointing down?
Thanks
@Tina
In reply to I brought a medium. While it by Tina (not verified)
@Tina
Fountain pens are not going to be as smooth as the Uniball Impact, which is a rollerball and is extremely slippery. So I guess your pen should be alright. Look at the nib and see if the two tines are misaligned. If not then your pen is okay for writing. As for storage, the only way I don't store it is with the nib pointing upright. I like to have the ink supply feed the nib at all times, so that the nib does not dry out and I can use the pen instantly when uncapped.
I have 2 Lamy Safari: one EF
I have 2 Lamy Safari: one EF and one M nib. I enjoy both of them even if the EF is pretty sharp.
I’ve heard about counterfeit Lamy Safari, I doubt those work as fine as official ones, so be careful when buying them ...
I have 2 of these, a fine and
I have 2 of these, a fine and medium. I use Noodlers bullet proof black ink. I am really enjoying these pens. The only issue I get is ink flow is inconsistent when I use the side of the nib to get an extra thin line.
I've had no problems with the ink itself, and find it great for line and wash. You should leave it to dry a bit longer before you erase any pencil lines though.
For the price of these pens, I would definitely recommend them.
I have a few (around 7 Safari
I have a few (around 7 Safari's) with all nib sizes, including calligraphy (flat) ones. U have other fpens as well. Ballpoints dont get as smooth as fpens, not the either way around. However, the writing experience is dependant not only on nib size, but also the feeder/fins, the type of ink, the angle of your hold, the paper's tendency to bleed. The B nib works great on rhodia/oxford but tends to bleed on less glossy paper, whereas I prefer the F/EF for Moleskine and similar.
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