Asvine V200 Titanium Fountain Pen Vacuum Filling, Matte Black Medium Nib Clear Demonstrator Acrylic with Pen Case and Wrench

Excellent packaging. Comes with a wrench to disassemble; already pre-lubricated and ready to fill and use.Built quality: When filled, this pen has some heft. When posted, it may be a little too back heavy. Balance is perfect when not posted. Grip is excellent. No noticeably sharp edges in the transition from metal to acrylic near the grip. The cap threads are not uncomfortable for someone that would like to hold the pen a little further back. Grip is comfortable and not too slippery. It has a satin finish; this will probably help with those with sweaty or greasy fingers during long writing sessions, and is much better than a "piano smooth" surface. The rear cap screws securely with only a slight wobble when loosened to let the ink flow. The two rings you see near the back are rubberized and help hold the cap when posting the pen; I wonder how long they will last and if they're replaceable. There are no visible seems on the acrylic portion of the body and cap. My only complaint is the top corners of the spring clip on the cap had some sharp corners. They weren't burrs, just sharp... nothing that can't be sanded down slightly with some sandpaper. The spring clip itself has some nice spring to it that holds the pen secure when clipped to a pocket or organizer. The nib appears to be a Jowo type unit with some proprietary modifications; specifically, when unscrewed, there is a thick rubber o-ring at the base of the feed housing that probably helps to seal the pen. Otherwise, the nib and feed pull easily from the nib housing, which is what probably should be done if attempting to replace the nib with something else... though I don't think you have to!Filling was quick and easy without drama. As mentioned, the piston in the pen I received seemed to be already pre-lubricated, though no lube was included in the packaging, just a wrench. I was easily able to do a "super-fill" without spilling ink everywhere.Writing experience. This is smooth. There's a moderate amount of flow that feels just right. It lasts a while with the vacuum mechanism sealed completely, which works well for jotting down a few quick notes; you'll be able to write at least half an A5-sized page before the ink starts to dry up slightly, in turn increasing the amount of feedback you feel. Speaking of which, it's not buttery smooth like a Pilot nib, or pencil-like in feel like a Sailor, but there is enough feedback to feel the texture of the paper you're writing on. It's a steel nib, but there is some slight bounce to it; you can vary ink flow by the amount of pressure you apply when writing; useful when writing with a shimmer or glitter ink.Overall experience: I am pleasantly surprised by this pen. It's well worth its price; you definitely get more for your money than what you pay for with this one.

First of all, this is a very well made pen. It's heavy. It feels precise like a machinist's tool. (Mine is the black frosted version.) I've been into fountain pens for about 10 years and have had probably a couple dozen pens up to the $200 mark. I'm especially into flex nibs for handwriting and fine art. I tend to like large ink capacities of piston fill, vac fill, eyedropper, bulk fill etc. The V200 is a vac filler with a key feature, a shut off valve. If you screw the back-end cap all the way down, ink flow from the reservoir to the section and nib is shut off. I've learned this is a far better design on any pen with such a large ink capacity, as this when shut off can absolutely prevent most burping, and prevent leaking while traveling as well. Honestly I will only eye-dropper fill this pen, which I find easier than the vacuum party trick, but the shut-off valve is what is key.While the nib that comes with this pen is just fine, I like to replace stock nibs with some kind of modern flex nib. My favorites are the FPR Ultraflex, and the Bluedew nib which is basically a stainless steel version of a Zebra G dip pen nib, intended for fountain pens. As it happens, the Bluedew nib unit, including the nib, feed, and plastic cylinder, will screw directly into the V200 nib section, the o-ring even seals up nicely. It's practically like they were designed to work together. (The plastic threads of the nib units I believe don't exactly match but it doesn't seem to matter.) This is definitely the easiest pen I've had for converting to a first-rate flex nib.Other similar pens I've had are the Opus 88 demonstrator and various Twsbi. Also Majohn, Jinhao, Pilot, FPR, Noodlers, Hongdian, Moonman, Duke, a bunch of Lamy's, etc. I would put the V200 at the top of the heap.The black frosted version in particular is aesthetically just wonderful. Perhaps the Opus 88 is slightly more premium feeling and looking, though that pen is twice the price and has its own drawbacks, like requiring way too many turns to uncap, and not being able to post. Also not at all easy to fit alternate flex nibs to the Opus. The V200 takes only 1-1/4 turns to uncap, posts very well.For these reasons, the V200 is my new number 1. For my admittedly particular purposes, it's practically perfect. I already want to get a couple more.