Pilot Prera Medium-Nib Fountain Pen, Slate Gray Body (FPR-3SR-SGY-M)

I have used a $1,000 platinum and resin Mont Blanc as my “good pen” for many years— until now. I can’t believe how much I love this Pilot Prera, which I bought after reading on whim about fountain pens. I was skeptical, admitting now I was wrong! Positives: I love the feel of the pen on paper. It glides beautifully, without feeling scratchy annd ink flow consistent. The medium nib is perfect, giving excellent feedback and control, while writing beautifully smooth. I have put this pen through its paces, writing Christmas cards and gift labels all week, making the task fun and with ZERO leakage. The design is simple and elegant, finished a gorgeous gray. Negatives: Very few— however I wish the pen had a bit more heft. Certainly well-constructed, a bit of weight would make it feel far more premium. Still, it punches far above its class, but this is nitpicking. My only other complaint is size; which is no fault of the pen, but the model I chose. It’s convenient to put in your pocket, however I personally prefer a longer barrel. Seriously, I’m amazed and plan to buy more Pilots in other fountain models.

What you get with this fountain pen is the fountain pen itself, along with one (1) plastic cartridge containing black ink. One of the most important decisions in purchasing a fountain pen is selecting the right nib size (broad, medium, fine, extra fine, etc.). Once this decision has been made, you can then confidently select the color and the size of the nib for this particular instrument. When the product is delivered, it will not come in a box, but instead, it will be inside a cellophane silver colored small envelope within the standard Amazon exterior package (which will most likely be one of those white bubble type large parcel envelopes). Once you have inserted the cartridge properly, you have to very carefully while looking at the nib to gently squeeze the cartridge to initially introduce the black ink into the nib assembly. Once you have done this sufficiently, you should be able to write with this excellent fountain pen. The most pleasure you will get in writing with this fountain pen is with every day normal paper, such as copy paper. There will be a little bleed through, but the writing will be sufficiently dark to read very well, and this will also make great copies. I have experimented with Moleskine, Midori, and Leuchtturm and there is no bleed through in the paper of these notebooks and the end result is a much smoother type of writing. Should you decide to not opt for replacement cartridges, and instead use ink from an approved bottle of fountain pen ink, Pilot offers a plethora of three different types of converters as follows: 1) Plate press type (this is the standard converter that used to be in the older fountain pens that had an internal rubber bladder), 2) Rotation type (this is a very common standard with other manufactures, where you use a twisting mechanism to fill the converter, and 3) Piston type (I don't believe there is any other manufacturer out there besides Pilot that has this type of ink converter). At the end of the day, I like writing with this fountain pen because it is quite a bit lighter than other types of fountain pens out there, and when I am done writing and put the cap back onto the pen, it makes a satisfying snap sound as I put the cap back on, which gives me reassurance that there will be minimal risk of leakage from everyday use.

I've seen a lot of people compare the Pilot Prera to the Lamy Safari for both quality of construction and smoothness of line. The Lamy has been my go-to pen since I purchased it last summer, and I was skeptical that the Prera would measure up. I purchased a fine nib Prera because my usual preference is for a Western medium (fairly wide line), but I needed some variation in my options. I was a little concerned that a Japanese fine would be too fine and that I would find it scratchy to write with. I have been very pleasantly surprised. The nib on the Prera is smooth and effortless, and I enjoy writing with it immensely. It is constructed of plastic, but the design is very good and the materials are high quality. It is a very lightweight pen as a result, but not unpleasantly so. It is a very small pen--not a mini, but quite short, especially compared to the Lamy which is on the larger side. I find it uncomfortable to write with the Prera unposted as the body is so short. However, the cap posts very nicely, and the length of the pen when posted it quite adequate. I could imagine, though, that someone with large hands might find this a difficult pen to use. I love the lime green color, and the silver trim bands make what could be a childish-looking pen into a very classy and eye-catching one. I really do love this pen. It's a joy to use and it's edging out the Lamy as a favorite daily-use instrument.

Pilot makes quality fountain pens and this little Prera is one of my favorites. Because I use it so often, this is the pen I keep filled with black ink. It has a round barrel, so you do have to make sure it doesn’t roll off your desk. Feels good in your hand and is a smooth writer consistently. I bought a second one in a <F> nib in another color. This is pretty close to an EDC (every day carry ) for me. Definitely recommend.

Great pens to write. Smooth and light. Good price point. I deduct one star because the color is totally different from the item description. I received a medium grey. But the description photo is black.

I liked Pilot Varsity so I decided to try Pilot Prera. I initially wanted to purchase this pen due how it looked. I liked the classic look with creamy color that will go well with my journal case. It glides on my tomoe river paper very well. However, the ink cartridges that came with the pen wasn't that great in my opinion. Ink flow was good but it wasn't dark enough when I first started to write. It eventually did get darker but still not dark enough in my opinion. I wish it comes with an ink converter and but I'll get one once I am done with my current ink cartridge. The pen is super light weight buy it feels good inside your hand. I would recommend this pen for anyone who want to purchase a good fountain pen that doesn't cost an arm and leg.

It's a pocket sized pen meant to be used when the cap is posted on the end of the pen to get the feel of a regular size fountain pen. Feels decent in the hand, albeit extremely cheap. Especially given that it came in a plain plastic sleeve with no packaging protection or written instructions. The issue comes when the pen is filled or a pre-filled cartridge is installed; it just cannot keep ink in the converter, within 5 minutes of filling the pen up for first use and putting the cap back on, a good third of the of the pen's ink was inside the cap. Even mild shaking, comparable to jostling from storage in a pocket caused multiple ink drops to come out of the nib tip where none of my other fountain pens do this. Similar results occurred when using official Pilot pre-filled ink cartridges. Save your money and just get a Lamy Safari. Overall not a good pen worth $25 + the cost of the CON-40 converter or pre-filled ink cartridges. Would only recommend if you hate yourself absolutely have to have ink stained clothing.

My liking of fountain pens has turned me into a collector. I am interested in the quality of the pen, i.e., does it hold a reasonable amount of ink, does it write smoothly, and does the ink in the pen dry out too easily. Part of liking pens is encouraging the use of pens by making that a gift item (at Christmas, birthdays, and the like). A starter pen (especially for someone very young) should be sturdy and inexpensive enough that breaking it does not turn the user away from pens. The pen under review is not a starter pen. Platinum makes my favorite starter pen ( Platinum Fountain Pen, Preppy, Fine Nib, Black ), a solid pen, which is very inexpensive, though it costs a significant amount more than it did last year. The Pilot Prera is a great pen for those that are beyond stater pens. It is elegant and solid, and of better quality than the price alone suggests it should be. Indeed, it has the look and feel of pens of the next level, e.g., to the Pelikan Tradition Series 150 GT Fine Point Fountain Pen, Black , which is identical in size to the Prera, but costs almost three times the cost of the Prera equipped with a Pilot Fountain Pen Converter (CON-50) . The Prera has a good cap with an inner plastic seal that prevents drying out. It writes smoothly, though not as smoothly as the Pelikan 150 GT or one of the higher quality Pilot pens, e.g., a Pilot Namiki Falcon Collection Fountain Pen, Black with Gold Accents, Soft Medium Nib . It is certainly better than the pens I used in college and for a few years beyond that. As several people have noted Japanese pens have finer nibs for the same rating as German or American pens. (I have a fine tip Prera I bought before I knew about this!).

The smaller compact size of this model makes it a good pocket or handbag pen. Nice ivory finish let's it stand out a bit in the sea of clear or black pens. Writes like a classic Pilot, smooth and trouble-free out of the box. Cap snaps shut in a very smooth and positive way.

MI E' PIACIUTA PERCHE': leggera, elegante, rifinita (è sempre una penna stilografica giapponese....), scrive magnificamente. NON MI E' PIACIUTA PERCHE': un po' cara (ma solo un po'); il tratto è un po' troppo sottile per un pennino classificato "Medium" (ma questa è una caratteristica tipica di PILOT, cui manca un vero pennino così ed anche un pennino "Broad", ossia grosso per scelta di produzione: quello disponibile è più un pennino calligrafico che altro e non va neanche molto bene). PERCHE' HO ACQUISTATO LA PENNA: per il piacere della scrittura stilografica, che Pilot garantisce magnificamente (salvo il tratto un po' troppo sottile per i miei gusti, ma va bene lo stesso per la scorrevolezza e la precisione della scrittura Pilot). Gl'inchiostri PILOT sono fra i migliori al mondo: rigorosamente da usare sempre, con questa penna (ma anche con tutte le altre) !!!! Imperdibile per chi ama gli strumenti di scrittura di qualità.

Con la calidad propia de la marca, no decepciona, si bien se siente ligera en peso (preferencia personal) no merma la buena experiencia, en cuanto a escritura es suave y fluida, mas que punto medio la linea tiende a ser bastante fina, probablemente preferiria una plumilla mas humeda y flexible pero nuevamente esto es preferencia personal. En resumen altamente recomendable y al precio actual (+/- $500MXN) probablemente sea insuperable en relacion costo-beneficio

wie sein durchsichtiger Kollege, aber das ist ja Geschmacksache. Sieht in dem gewählten Grau etwas seriöser aus ;) Ansonsten genauso gut, bemerken sollte man vielleicht, dass bei diesem Füller kein Konverter dabei ist ( der passende Konverter Pilot Fountain Pen CON-50 Converter kann durchaus um die 10,- € kosten ). Die M-Feder schreibt sehr schön weich und ist verglichen mit dt. Federn der gleichen Stärke immer noch wesentlich feiner. Für mich genau richtig.

Dicen que una estilogràfica es un buen plumìn con unas partes màs o menos lujosas que lo complementan. Bueno, no es una expresiòn muy acertada, en general. Si la calidad del plumìn es importante, el de la Prera cumple y lo comparte con varios modelos de Pilot. Es francamente bueno en mi experiencia. Pero a eso hay que sumar la ligereza de la pluma, su contenido tamaño y en el caso de ésta, que he comprado por la mejorìa en materiales del barril y capuchòn que la 'privilegian' en la serie. Si la que ya tenìa en resina plàstica de un color marròn muy sobrio siempre me pareciò excelente para el uso diario, esta me ha sorprendido en la calidad material que destaca pero sin desdecir de su sobriedad. Prera me parece una gran serie de Pilot. Y a un precio muy aquilatado para lo que ofrece. No lo duden, acertaràn.