PilotMR3 Retro Pop Fountain Pen (Retail Boxed) -Dots Light Blue, Single Pen

I'm no expert on fountain pens, or pens in general, but after reading reviews and comparisons online, and watching some videos, I decided to try this out. It comes supplied with one ink cartridge and a small metal tin. I wanted something which would make me want to get back to writing / practicing languages, and this is just right.MR3 is called the Retro Pop in the US, and is the same as the Metropolitan, MR, and MR2 variants, just in different colours. It apparently accepts standard international cartridges and convertors, instead of the Pilot proprietary fitting which the US version uses. Keep this in mind when ordering cartridges or a convertor, to make sure you buy the correct fit.For £12, this is a great deal. About £3 cheaper than the Lamy Safari, this feels better quality, with a nicer shape and a sturdy and smart metal body. The colours are also great, and it writes smoothly. The medium nib is a Japanese medium, which equates to a western fine. A fine MR3 / Metropolitan nib would therefore be about an extra fine for other manufacturers.Just as a side note to the review: I have ordered a Pilot Kakuno from eBay (a slightly cheaper model, £10, with a plastic body) with a fine (extra fine western) nib, which is apparently interchangeable with this. The Kakuno has a different cartridge / convertor fitting, so I ordered a Pilot Con-40 off eBay for that pen.

My sweet wife loves, loves, loves this pen along with the blue one I got her for Valentines Day. She loves the colors, the looks, the style, and the feel. I got them from England so she loves (points for me) that these pens are supplied using standard international cartridges. That means she can select from a huge number of inks rather than be stuck with having to use the limited selection of poprietary Pilot cartridges that Pilot pens marketed in USA require. They are a little more expensive, but she is worth it! After I tuned the nibs, she found them very smooth -- almost as smooth as the Lamy Al Star she had been using for years. She also likes the Lamy grip, but interestingly now her EDC pen is one of the two Pilot Metropolitain MR3 Retro Pop pens! The Pilot Metropolitain and Lamy Al Star are considered by experts the best high quality entry level pens -- she now has the best of all worlds. I'm the pen collector in the family (have hundreds) and am envious of her new Pilot pens! Maybe she'll read this before my birthday, hint, hint!

I bought this pen with a gift voucher I was given as I wanted something I would use everyday for a long time. This is my first fountain pen and I'm a convert! It looks stylish and feels great in the hand - like it should be a lot more expensive. I also like the tin and store it in there when not in use. Used it everyday since I bought it and had no issues. Installed a pelikan converter really easily too

Nice pen with to write with and came with a pretty box! Have bought standard converter for it - K5/Diplomat international converter will fit, just need to push hard to secure it!

I was looking for a starter fountain pen when I saw this one I ordered it and absolutely love it, it writes perfectly and I use it every day as if it were a ballpoint pen. The metal box it lovely too.

I love this pen! It writes beautifully and is a steal at under £20.My only criticism is that the US strain of the Pilot MR/Metropolitan comes with a converter. Although this listing didn't claim to include a converter, it was a slight disappointment when I opened the pen up.So buy this if you want a budget (but certainly not budget-quality pen) that you can put standard cartridges in. You can buy the converter separately but this item does NOT include one.

Just had a reply from Pilot. This version is now discontinued. It was only designed to accept "standard size" cartridges, their words not mine. So only try to force a converter to fit at your own risk of damaging the pen. What a stupid design, no wonder they have discontinued it.!

The pen itself is really, really nice. It writes well and feels good in the hand. But be warned that this pen is not the metropolitan it is the European version which uses a different (non-proprietary) converter. The page claims that it will use any standard international ink converter but from my own experience (Pelikan) and research I can say this is not true. Overall I am impressed with the pen but really let down about the converter situation hence why I am giving it a 3.