LAMY safari umbra - Fountain Pen with ergonomic grip & black steel nib in size M - ideal for any Writing & Calligraphy - including LAMY T 10 blue cartridge - Right-Handed

Strong and solid fountain pen writes smoothly and fine. Very happy with product!!!

I have always used a fountain pen for writing, ever since I can remember. From the old school days when you're fingers would turn the colour of the ink - no matter where on the barrel you held the pen, to adult life where I was able to afford more expensive pens (and not suffer the painted fingers.)This is a cheap and cheerful fountain pen that is light, easy to hold and use, and works smoothly. It is not often that you find a budget pen that actually works without being beaten into submission, so it was a nice change to find this one which does.Inserting the ink cartridges can take a fair bit of pressure so you need to be careful when inserting one. Once in, the ink flows easily and smoothly to the nib, and I've not yet had any scattering or spotting when using this pen, even if it's sat for a day or two without being used. Cleaning similarly is easy and simple to complete, with a couple sharp shakes to clear the water and add a new cartridge. This doesn't need to be done too often, but once in a while it does the pen good to get a flush through.The majority of fountain pens are medium nib, offering thicker lines and lettering, this is fine under most circumstances, but sometimes you need something that offers a finer result.Construction is pretty solid and clean - no rough edges or burrs. The pen is completely transparent which is strange to begin with, but it does mean you can instantly see how much ink is remaining. It's quite a thick pen, so should be comfortable for people who can't close their fingers easily, and it's light weight means little to no fatigue from using it. The bottom of the barrel is shaped, a curved lower part that sits on the middle finger, and two carved 'flat' areas for thumb and forefinger. These appear to be designed to give a good grip and to ensure that the nib is correctly positioned so the nib is correctly positioned to guarantee smooth ink flow. It also discourages the habit of rotating the pen in the fingers while using it and thereby disconnecting or incorrectly aligning the nib.No cartridges are supplied with the pen, so you will need to buy those separately. Lamy do have a plunger converter that fits this pen, and allows you to use ink from a bottle rather than cartridges. I don't have an opinion either way as I use both bottle ink and cartridges in my pens. For young people, cartridges are probably the best way to go as they are least likely to have an accident with those. There's nothing worse than 50ml of ink getting spilled.I'm pleased with the item to be honest, it's a good pen for everyday general use. I was also quite surprised at the quality of this pen. I may be sceptical, but I really don't associate quality with low prices. But, this pen delivers on it's promise. A good quality, reliable fountain pen that writes well and is easy to use.Delivery was quick, and this arrived in excellent condition.

My first fountain pen as an adult! So far so good, I definitely prefer a broader nib and this fits the bill. Good price upgrade over scratchy ballpoints

I’m a fountain pen devotee.I was attracted by this Lamy for two reasons. Firstly, was the fun aspect of the transparent barrel so that the colour of the ink could be seen. Handy, for someone with a couple of handfuls of fountain pens, all with different coloured inks in them, as I’m a bit of a collector of the Diamine range of inks, and then play colour mix with the ones I have.Secondly is the fact that I’m a Southpaw, and the Lamy, unlike my absolutely favourite brand – Cross, specifically the thin and elegant Century Classic – has a Left Hand Nib option. Something I have not seen offered by Cross. Lefties, depending on their own particular pen wielding and, I guess, the degree of left handedness, can find that they don’t get on with fountain pens at all. Some lefties curl their whole hand almost above the line, so that the wet ink of a fountain pen is smeared across the line as they write. I am not one of those. I write from below, albeit with a slight leftward roll of the nib. I’ve never found that problematic with a good, fine, fountain pen nib, and don’t have smear and blot problems. I probably have no real need of a ‘lefty’ but was interested to tryThis IS a nice pen, though visually it lacks the refined and poised look of that super slim Cross Classic Century. And I have small, slender hands, so find fatter pens seem to sit in my hands less well than willowy ones.For sure, I can understand the appeal of the Lamy for younger, possibly training writers – the chunkier barrel probably useful for those still learning how to manoeuvre a pen. The grooves down the barrel also impose more of a standard way of gripping the pen, again, this might be useful for those learning, but perhaps older writers, having had a lifetime of adapting to their own best way of gripping, find the grooved barrel inhibits comfortable familiarity. Certainly – I don’t know whether this was the slight curve to the nib, or the influence of the barrel, but writing with this was easiest with the pen very much square on the paper, forming a right angle with the line. Not my normal angling at all, A bit more effortful for meA downside of ‘Lefty’ is that though you can choose from a range of nib widths with the standard Lamy, only one choice is available if you go left – the Left Nib is a medium. It’s not too thick, but I definitely prefer Fine nibs for my handwritingSo…I like this, but I don’t adore it. But it’s more modest price make it a pen I would take out of the house, whereas the beloved, and more expensive, Crosses which also have sentimental attachments, stay indoors. Far too refined to be rolling around at the bottom of a handbag,This comes with one Lamy cartridge on board. Lamy cartridges are brand specific, and you can’t use the international standard, as their housing doesn’t fit the piercing point within the Lamy nib section. So, if you want to ease back off plastic waste, save your pennies, and get creative with a range of ink colours or ink blend for yourself, you will need the Lamy specific converter. The one for the Vista is the Z28-Z24 ‘the successor to the Z24’ which is available on this site. I don’t know if the old Z24 fits the Vista. In theory I think it should, as both the Z28-Z24 and the Z24 say they fit the Safari, which the Vista is a transparent version of. I think the changes may purely be in the colour/visuals at the top of the filling chamber, which looks a little more refined in the pictures of the new version than the old. Again, Lamy have their own specific converters, other non specific generic converters won’t do!

Love these pens. Very light and easy on the wrists. I like the lightness because it helps me to write faster and with total ease. Doesn't feel flimsy for the lightness though. Ink quality of lovely. Only issues is you have to keep using or it dries out but this is the nature of fountain pens and not a fault of the product, just my use of it

I was afraid I will receive a counterfeit product after seeing a lot of folks on Reddit warning about fake Lamy products, there are even YT videos showing how to spot a fake Lamy. I followed all the instructions and my copy is original Lamy. I even compared it side to side to the copy of a friend who bought his from a reputable shop ,and they are identical in all details. Also the quality of writing is amazing, I wasn't expecting it to be so well made considering the price. It can cause issues to anyone not used to the triangle grip, but I personally adapted easily, you just need to keep it straight, it works best that way, and no side spinning as the models with rounded grip.

Beautiful pen! I bought it along with the ink converter z24, which fit perfectly and easily. Once I managed to find the right ink for sketching, it flowed smoothly across the paper. Very comfortable to hold and sturdy too. I particularly like the fine nib that it came with.

Lovely pen. I’ve had Lamy pens before. I like how they write. This one is no different. Ink flow is nice and even.