Review: Lamy Aion Fountain Pen - Black & Olive Silver @AppelboomLaren

Thanks to Appelboom for sending these Lamy Aions for a review! I was really interested in spending some time with them as it's been quite some time since I have used a new Lamy model.

ABOUT

Body material: Aluminum
Trim: Aluminum
Cap: Slip cap
Posts: Yes, friction
Nib material: Steel (14kt gold optional)
Filling system: Lamy proprietary cartridge/converter
Length (capped): 142.92 mm/5.63"
Length (uncapped): 136.72 mm/5.38"
Length (posted): 162.46 mm/6.40"
Length (section): 37.51 mm/1.47"
Diameter (barrel): 11.17 - 12.93 mm/0.44" - 0.51"
Diameter (section): 9.88 - 13.08 mm/0.39" - 0.52"
Weight (all): 35 g
Weight (cap): 12 g
Weight (body): 23 g
Price: $ 50.00 USD
Where to buy: Appelboom

Discount code for 10% off: friend

PACKAGING

The Aion is presented in a solid grey box. There is a matte grey Lamy plaque on the top. The lid lifts open to reveal a felted grey slotted bed. The pen is wrapped in a plastic sleeve and is accompanied by a Lamy pamphlet. It is a simple box that can be used to house two pens in the slotted tray and it doesn't take up too much space. Not bad.

APPEARANCE

The Aion is an intriguing pen. It is actually quite large compared to other Lamy pens I have used (Safari, AL-Star, 2000, Studio, Logo). The Aion is round with a blunt, slightly tapered back end and a blocky flat top. The finial is unmarked. The end of the cap on both colors has a shiny metal band. Otherwise, the cap and barrel are somewhat matte - both colors look brushed. The clip is attached through a clean cut out in the cap. It is plain, shiny, and is shaped like a plain, long rectangle. LAMY is engraved on the side of the clip. It is a rather featureless clip that I don't care for. I don't dislike it... but I don't really like it either.

The long cap covers the long section. Uncapped, there is still a lot of barrel behind the section. The barrel connects to the section smoothly - except it unscrews to ink right at the joint. The section is smooth, matte silver or black, and tapers towards the nib. The pens have a modern look and design that I'm still confused about. It looks like a cross between the Lamy 2000 and the Lamy Dialog. Even after several months, I haven't decided if I truly like it or not. I know a lot of others love it, but maybe it's just not for me.

The Olive Silver is a nice silver with a slightly olive-green-yellow tint. It's hard to describe but it brings the brightness down a notch and I really like that. The black is just a regular blasted-finish black. It's nice but doesn't excite me like the Olive Silver. 

NIB & PERFORMANCE

The nib is Lamy's steel but gold nibs are also an available upgrade. The nibs here are medium and broad. They have a single slit, a round breather hole, and they are laser engraved with the nib size and LAMY. Why on earth are Lamy's nibs laser engraved? Anyway. The nibs are similar to the Safari/AL-Star/Studio nibs but they have a rounded tine shape.

The regular Lamy steel and gold nibs do fit on the Aion. The nibs perform well - fairly smooth, medium ink flow, no skips or hard starts. They are pleasant writers that offer a firm writing experience, but a reliable one as well. I've always had a positive experience with Lamy nibs - they may be slightly inconsistent in their grading (i.e some fines are mediums and some fines are extra-fine), but I find them overall to be pretty solid writers.

The Aion did not come with a converter, which I think is unfortunate, but I have plenty of supply here in my stash. No issues with the cartridge/converter function.

IN HAND

This is the part I'm stuck on. There is so much to think about that I just cannot decide if I like these pens or not. The clip is spring-loaded and super easy to operate, and it's quite pleasant.  It isn't a super snug clip and for such a large pen, I find it a bit wobbly when it is clipped to things. It does not slide on things easily - lifting the clip makes it better.

The section feels too girthy for me, and slightly slippery because it is so smooth and featureless. Combined with the length of the pen, I find it a bit uncomfortable to hold for long writing sessions. Short notes are ok.

Unposted, the pen fills my grip so it feels too large somehow. It is not too heavy or unbalanced, just full. The cap posts deeply, snugly, and securely by friction. The barrel is so long and the cap posts so far down on the barrel that it isn't as long as I expected when posted. It is too heavy, however, and I find it a bit unbalanced. I prefer to use the Aion unposted but either way, I only found it comfortable for shorter writing sessions.

Top to bottom: Lamy Safari, Montblanc Muses Marilyn Monroe, Pelikan M200 Smoky Quartz, Montblanc M Ultra Black, Lamy Aion Olive Silver, Lamy Aion Black, Lamy Studio Racing Green, Lamy Studio Piano Black, Sailor 1911 Fude.

Another thing I don't care for is there are so many threads to unscrew the section from the barrel. Not a deal breaker but just another thing I am not crazy about.

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

I was really torn about writing this review. I just don't know how I feel about this one. At $50 or so, it wouldn't be the worst thing to take a chance on it and if you really don't like it, pass it on or sell it, but you may just love it like many others do. There's nothing really terribly wrong with the pen. It works well, it's robust and solid, it's fairly affordable, and it's decent all around. It just doesn't do much for me. My favorite thing between both pens and all their features is the Olive Silver color. It's bright but not too shiny and I think it's more unique than the black, which I usually prefer. It doesn't come with a converter, it's too large for me to really use comfortably, I find it slippery... I don't know. I don't hate it but I don't really care for it either. I like the Lamy Safari better so I'll stick to those.






I received this item 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.