Asvine V126 Vacuum Filling Fountain Pen, Matte Black Acrylic Fine Nib, Large-Capacity Pen with Gift Case

I am fairly new to the fountain pen world, having only owned a platinum preppy. This pen is a “step up” for me and does not disappoint. The ink flows smoothly for an effortless writing experience. I barely have to touch the paper, which has actually helped my penmanship! I have medium to large hands and the pen feels nicely in my hand, even when posted. While I have not had an extensive writing session with it yet, I am not concerned about writing fatigue with hand. If you are thinking about this pen, go ahead and get it.For disclosure, I purchased ink by the same parent company for consistency, and am very happy with my purchase.

I had been eyeing this pen for a while now unable to pick a nib size 😅. I finally told myself to get the Fine knowing I had plenty of EF pens. I will say it’s definitely more of a western nib sizing and it is a wet writer. This nib glides like an ice rink with Diamine ink and it gave me a sold 0.5mm line width. It’s been awhile since I’ve used something this smooth so I am still undecided on if I like it or not. My overall impression of the pen itself is that it’s great for its value. The matte black color is stunning and the black trim makes it such a sleek pen! When I first opened the pen I did give the nib a wash as I noted that the coating was preventing ink to flow properly for a dip test. After the nib was cleaned it wrote wonderfully smooth. The tines were not tight on this particular model as I’ve experienced in past Asvine nibs. I was happily surprised though that you can get some line variation with this nib if it’s something you care for but I wouldn’t push the nib for it. The vacuum filler is a breeze to use and it does allow for a full fill. The standard first fill only filled about half way so I opted for a full fill to test the functionality of the pen. No leaks noted but I do question the durability of the end cap piece being plastic up against metal threads how long that will last. I guess only time will tell to determine how truly durable it can be. Overnight the nib stayed wet with no hard starts when attempting to write with it which I do like especially since it doesn’t seem to have a seal in the pen cap. I would recommend this pen to someone wanting to try a Vac filler on a lower budget.

This fountain pen looks great! The frosted body is a first for me…..looks classy. I ordered the medium nib which flows and writes like a medium / broad, it's kinda heavy and wet. After writing for about an hour I can say that it's slow meaning that it doesn't glide smoothly across the paper. Perhaps I need to use it a bit more to smooth out the tips. Overall I like the pen!

So we own various pens that might be considered, depending on your specific criteria, competitors - PenBBS 355, various Opus 88 models like the mini and demonstrator, basic Nahvalurs , Jaipur V2, Kanwrite Heritage, Conklin, etc. And at this point these are my preferred pocket pen. (Note that I don't consider many of the previous pocket pens: pretty much anything that doesn't allow for closure of the ink chamber like Opus 88 models, the 355, and this pen do, doesn't really count as a proper pocket pen in my view, and even then some pens are too big for the pocket.) That said, of the above pens what I find is that the Kanwrite Heritage is an excellent host for desk usage involving nib unit changes or flex nibs, while Asvine 126 pens are great for daily pocket usage.These are good nib hosts. I have a Franklin Christoph SIG Fine nib on the stock Asvine feed + unit. I've not had this particular nib behave well in the Opus or PenBBS despite trying different feeds and units. it's been prone to random blotting and other inkflow issues. For the 355 I also had to sand down the finial thread for fit. On this pen, it just writes, with reasonable and safe ink flow.I do regard the factory "extra fine" as more of a fine-plus than an extra fine, but that's pretty much the case on most stock extra fine nibs in my view - they're often barely different than factory fine, and often mean factory fine is closer to medium. It's fine for writing with so long as you don't prefer writing extremely small. It write perfectly well, and perhaps slightly on the wetter side of things.I have noticed that once in a while the feed will stop for a moment for no clear reason (NOT skipping) - I think this happens when I forget to open the main chamber until after I've written extensively with it closed or have pocketed it cap-up without closing the main chamber. I assume that means both behaviors somehow lead to an occasional air pocket interacting with the feed. That said, it's not a frequent issue *at all* and solves itself in a couple seconds most of the time. A blip because I forgot to open or close the main chamber is much preferable to blotting or variable ink flow, so I don't mind this at all.I hate fountain pens that use ink cartridges - ink cartridges always leak, break, dry out, or otherwise cause problems, so IMO this is far and away preferable to anything that uses cartridges. I also tend to view regular piston fill pens as too prone to leaking for pocket use. Which makes this easily the best pen for regular everyday use under $100 IMO.It does post, though a bit loosely. I find the size to be slightly shorter than I care for unposted, and slightly taller than I care for posted, but that's not bad by any means - it's a more comfortable size than the Opus pens all round, though I think the length of the 355 unposted is slightly preferable compared to the Asvine V126.Have two of these and may get one more just to have another nib available for pocket use. Do wish they cam in more colors, especially more non-gold metal finishes.