LAMY Ocean Blue Fountain Pen with Medium Nib and Blue Ink (L28M)

I bought this pen about 7 months ago, and it works perfectly for me: The blue color is exactly my favorite shade, the contour of the grip is great, it writes smoothly, and the weight of it is relatively light for it being mostly metal. For me, this pen has become an everyday carry pen.About two-and-a-half weeks ago though, I lost mine. Having checked all my usual spots, I realized the one place I hadn't checked was the site of a small picnic I had been on beside a local through-town trail. I went back there, and with the grass there being relatively recently cut, I was expecting to find the pen in multiple pieces, especially with a couple of the larger plastic components. Imagine my surprise when I find it in just two: The cap and the pen itself! Other than a few fresh scuffs on the ends, the finish remained basically perfect all along the barrel and the cap. And with just light cleaning and a fresh ink cartridge, it's functioning just as good as new.Granted, I got lucky. I do not recommend leaving a pen like this out in the open for that long, likely letting it be run over by a lawnmower, and having the cartridge dry out. Your mileage, after all, may vary.For someone who just likes using a fountain pen on a more casual basis, Lamy's pens are perfect. And for someone who prefers a more substantive weight to their pen (or is prone to accidentally losing it), the cost to go up to the Al-Star line from their plastic-build Safari line is well worth it!

This pen writes well out of the box and seems to be of a good quality construction. It is much lighter weight than i expected. I normally carry a kaweco al-sport which is a considerably heavier pen. The Lamy al-star features a thin aluminum body (unlike my kaweco - this pen doesn't feel cold and metalic to the touch. I'm sure this is due to it being constructed out of thinner aluminum than a kaweco). The pen also has black plastic caps on the ends and a clear plastic grip.It writes well and the ink supplied (blue) is a nice vibrant color.It uses a proprietary lamy ink cartridge that has an extension on the end which allows the pen to self insert/pierce the cartridge when it is screwed together. I ordered a couple of packs of ink refills with the pen, but am planning on refilling them with a blunt syringe or using a cartridge convertor when they run dry.The pen feeds well out of the box and didn't require any tweaking or tuning of the nib. The chrome clip seems sturdy. This looks to be a nice casual pen. If the end caps were aluminum instead of black plastic i would consider it a bit more classy.Overall, I am quite pleased with the visual design of the pen and happy with its performance. I would not hesitate to carry it daily when I was in rougher situations that I would be concerned about damaging a more expensive pen (I work a lot in a wood and metal shop).

I really enjoy writing with this pen! It writes smoothly and without skipping. It’s comfortable in my hand. And I love the rich blue color of the plastic.No complaints. Great pen for the price.

Right out of the box this pen writes very smooth. I prefer medium nib fountain pens as I have found fine tips to be a bit scratchy. Pilot's medium nib is more like a fine which lead me to find Lamy pens. This Lamy is fits my preferences to the tee at an affordable price. Not having owned one before, the smoothness of this fountain pen makes it my go to pen now. The lightweight aluminum is just that; very light weight and balanced. I also like the ink well viewing panel.

You have to push the cartridge with some force to get the ink to run.... but lovely pens to write with!Bought a few more and spare catridges.. great gift idea I think.

Good pen with good ink flow from the included cartridge. Medium nib writes a bit wide for my taste. Good for drawing. The ink is a bright royal blue. Pen is well balanced without the cap on the end. Not too heavy.

This pen has a great shape and thickness. Has a contoured section that helps you to grip it at the right angle. Ink changes are easy, and appear to not be messy. Only “negative” is how quickly I went through the first ink cartridge; about two weeks, but mainly because once I started using this pen I found myself using it as my go-to writing instrument. Really lovely, and puts down nice ink. I also bought a Parker, which is nice, but is much thinner in profile and also shorter. This is a really decent, inexpensive fountain pen.

I absolutely love this pen. I would say that if you are torn between the Safari, Vista and Al-Star, go for the Al-Star. It is worth the money and it is a very nice looking and writing pen. I have been incredibly pleased with this pen. It falls in between weights of my Pilot Metro (that is a heavier pen that I absolutely adore) and my Nemosine Singularity. It is slightly lighter than the TWSBI Eco and balances perfectly when posted. As I had said, if you are on the fence about this pen, purchase it. I am a fan of the medium nib. It does write a little bit on the wet side; however, I just used a "dryer" ink and it writes perfect.