Review: Pelikan Stola P16 III Fountain Pen @PenBoutique

The fountain pen with that gentle elegance: The new Pelikan Stola III Fountain pen offers a polished stainless steel nib, a multilayered lacquered barrel and an elegantly curved stainless steel clip. The fountain pen is an ideal companion in every situation – very dynamic and always up-to-date. With the Stola III Fountain pen, Pelikan has created a modern writing device as a basis for a successful start into the business world. This fountain pen comes with an international high-capacity royal blue ink cartridge and is delivered in an elegant silver-colored case that can hold up to two writing devices. (Pelikan)

Thank you to Pen Boutique for sending this pen over for review!

ABOUT

Body Material: Brass, lacquer
Trim: Metal
Cap: Snap
Posts: No
Length (capped): 134.3 mm/5.28"
Length (uncapped nib-end): 116.4 mm/4.58"
Length (posted): N/A
Barrel Diameter: 12.2 mm/0.48"
Section Diameter: 8.8 - 10.0 mm/0.34" - 0.39"
Weight (all): 32 g
Weight (cap): 12 g
Weight (body): 20 g
Nib material: Steel
Fill type: Pelikan Cartridge/converter
Price: $45.00USD - SALE $36.00USD
Where to buy: Pen Boutique
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PACKAGING

The Stola III comes in a nice slim box, and is consistent in appearance with its price. There is a white cardboard sleeve with the Pelikan logo on it. Inside, there is a matte silver-grey box with the logo on it again. The lid lifts, and the pen is in a plastic sleeve in a felt-lined plastic bed. No frills - just very straight forward packaging. Not all that interesting to me, but very appropriate presentation if you want to gift this pen to someone!

APPEARANCE

I am very much a fan of Pelikan pens, on all ends of the price spectrum (Pelikan Happy, Pelikan Twist, Pelikan M200/400/600/800/1000). The expensive ones are classy and beautiful, and the inexpensive ones tend to be really cute, and the mid-range pens are attractive and perform well, as all the others do. The Stola III is not a bad looking pen, though it is less 'cute' than some other Pelikans - such as the Pelikano and the Twist. It is also a little more expensive.

The pen is round in the cap and barrel and has slightly rounded off flat ends. The back of the barrel has a black end plug. The finial is flat with a black modern Pelikan logo on the silver top. Although it doesn't look bad, I do think Pelikan's finials are so recognizable on the M1XX/M2XX and up series that if this one had a similar design (with the raised crown idea), it would look even better. The glossy black metal clip is attached externally, wrapping around the top of the cap. It has the pelican bill shape I love, in a stylized way that suits the pen's look.

That fuzzy stuff is from the box.

The cap says Pelikan in black, in a small font near the lip. There is no center band on this pen, but a small black ring from the section separates the cap and barrel. Both the cap and barrel are a glossy silver. Combined with the black trim, I think it looks pretty good. Uncapped, the section is fairly short. It is smooth, shiny black plastic that tapers towards the nib and ends in a ring. There are no cap threads, which makes the section look simple yet tidy.

Overall, the Stola III is not a bad looking pen at all. The somewhat pearlescent silver finish is pretty, modern, and elegant, although it does start to show small dings pretty quickly. So far, none of the black trim has chipped so aside from the dings in the cap, the pen remains intact.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

This medium nib is a single tone stainless steel nib. It has a single slit, a round breather hole, and is engraved with the Pelikan logo, the nib grade (M), and some pretty, symmetrical flourishes. It is a nice looking nib, and the size suits the pen well.

The pen was flushed before inking it up. The nib is well adjusted and is a solid writer. It is smooth, but has fairly dry ink flow. Ink flow is sufficient for writing, but is definitely on the dry side for my preferences. Drying times lean to the fast side, so maybe those looking for an everyday writer will enjoy the quick drying times. The nib and feed tolerate long and/or fast writing sessions well - it does not dry out. The nib can tolerate a little bit of pressure, and offers some line variation. So, although it is a fairly stiff nib, it isn't completely unyielding.

As far as dependable, workhorse writers go, this is definitely up there. I really have been fortunate in my Pelikan nib experiences - for the vast majority, I have been thoroughly pleased. I would not say this nib offers a luxurious writing experience, but it is a pen/nib you can expect not to skip, hard start, run dry, or be finicky and a pain on you. Hard to argue with that!

IN HAND

The clip of the pen is snug but springy. I like the design of it, because it easily slides on to things, and has good tension. It's cute. The section does feel a little slippery to me, but there are no sharp ridges that are uncomfortable to grip. It is slightly thin but the pen is well balanced and that makes up for it.

Unposted, the pen is comfortable. The brass body makes the pen feel robust and solid in hand (although the body picks up dings more easily than I expected it would). The pen has a good weight and balance. I like it and I find it comfortable to use.

However! That darned cap cannot be posted - there is an inner sleeve in the cap that gets in the way... well. That's annoying. I think a nice, deep posting would perfect the length and balance of this pen for longer writing sessions. Inner caps that block posting drive me nuts.

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

Gentle elegance. That's what Pelikan says. Interesting! I'm not entirely sure what their explanation means, but as a user, I think the pen is pretty decent, but it's not my favorite Pelikan, and although it's robust, I wouldn't pick it over a Lamy Safari. I prefer the Safari just because it's cuter and more me, but there's nothing really wrong with the Stola III. This isn't a bad purchase for the price, and while I like Pelikan a lot, and although the nib performs well, I prefer the style of Lamy at this price more. If you want bang for your buck, get a TWSBI Eco. A less expensive metal pen that also performs well is the Pilot Metropolitan, and so far, none of mine got dented. The Stola III doesn't beat out those for me.

I received this pen free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. There are no affiliate links in this review.