The Pen Enthusiast

The Pelikan M200

Specifications:

Brand: Pelikan
Model: M200
Body Material: Resin (Plastic)

Colour: Green with black accents (also available in black, as a demonstrator, and in several limited edition colours)
Trim: 24k Gold
Length (capped): 126 mm (4.96 in)
Length (uncapped nib-end): 121 mm (4.76 in)
Length (posted): 149 mm (5.87 in)
Barrel Diameter: 12 mm (.47 in)
Nib type: German, available in EF, F, M, B, BB, OB, & Italic (The Italic nib is ten dollars more)
Nib material: Steel with Gold Plating
Overall Weight: 14g (.49 oz)

Body Weight: 9g (.32 oz)

Cap Weight: 5g (.18 oz)
Barrel design: Round
Fill type: Piston-Filler
Price: I paid $108 (€80/£64) for mine several months ago. MSRP is $165

Where to buy: I bought mine from Amazon. It's also available from Fahrney's Pens, Nibs.com (with a gold nib), The Writing Desk (for those in the UK), and La Couronne Du Comte (in Europe, but only as the limited-edition Cognac demonstrator).

Introduction:

I had $125 to spend on Amazon a while ago and picked up this pen on a whim. Several months later, I know that I made the right choice, and my M200 is one of my favorite fountain pens.This review contains my honest thoughts about the pen, and I was in no way compensated or paid for writing this review.

Packaging:

The Outer Box

The Box opens to reveal this inner box.

This is inside the inner box. You can see the faux-leather sleeve.

The sleeve that holds the pen. It can be used as carrying case.

The pen arrives packaged in a drab white cardboard box used for most Pelikan pens.
There is another box inside this one, and it slides open to reveal the warranty information and a nice faux-leather sleeve containing the pen. I actually prefer this practical packaging which can be reused to carry the pen over fancier packaging.

Score: 9/10 - Not very fancy but actually useful

Design:

This is one of my favorite designs for any pen.

The M200's design is a unique spin on the classic black with gold trim design seen in many pens. The green marble looks beautiful when complemented by the black resin and gold trim. This classic design makes it look like a much more expensive pen. The clip is the standard Pelikan beak clip, and it is springy but not spring-loaded. The cap screws off quickly in about one turn and does a very good job of preventing the pen from drying out. I left the pen inked for about two weeks without writing, and the nib wrote immediately with no hard starts or skips.

The clip in the shape of a pelican's beak

Score: 10/10- A fresh take on a classic design.

Size and Weight:

Comparison with Lamy safari capped

One of the few cons about this pen is its small size. If you have large hands or don't post your pens, this is not the pen for you. The pen is diminutive when unposted, but it grows to a much more reasonable size when posted. Another common complaint related to the size is the pen's weight. This pen is extremely light and may feel cheap to those who equate quality with weight. If you can deal with the pen's small size and light weight, this is one of the greatest pens of all time.

Comparison with Lamy Safari posted

Comparison with Lamy Safari uncapped

Filling System:

The pen is a piston filler- my favorite filling system because of its large capacity and ease of use. To fill the pen, you simply twist the turning knob to push the piston down and then twist the knob back to its original position. The pen holds ~1.5 ml of ink. That's a very large amount and over twice the capacity of a short standard international cartridge (~.7 ml). One disadvantage to this system in some pens (mostly Montblanc pens which cannot be disassembled) is that it takes a while to clean. This is not the case at all with the M200 because the nib unit unscrews easily allowing you to access the barrel and feed.

Score: 10/10 - Large capacity and easy cleaning

The Nib:

The nib that comes from the factory with these pens is a steel gold-plated nib. It's adorned with the Pelikan logo, the word "Pelikan," and the nib size. Something I must mention is that the nib sizes run a bit broader than typical nibs. If you like fine nibs, you might try an extra-fine with this pen. One advantage of this pen is that the nib is easily swappable. If you order it with a fine nib and don't like it, you can easily purchase a different nib for $30 from iSellPens. The pen is also compatible with the Pelikan M400's gold nib, so you can buy one of those nibs and have it customized to your liking by Richard Binder. This makes it a great pen for beginners who want to try a variety of nib sizes and materials.

The reason this pen is so wet

Score: 10/10- One of the nicest pens available with user-interchangeable nib units

Writing:

Don't be dissuaded by this pen's steel nib; it writes smoother than some pens with gold nibs. The pen never skips and has no hard-starting issues. This nib writes extremely wet and this may be a problem on extremely cheap paper, such as copier paper or looseleaf. To remedy this, I would recommend a drier ink like Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black.

Score: 8/10- Smooth but too wet for some paper

Writing Sample:

The scan is fairly accurate with the colors, but it makes the feathering seem more pronounced than it actually is. Ghosting is also much more apparent in the scan than in real life. You may notice some smearing of the ink in the sample due to the pen's wetness. I also apologize for my bad handwriting.

Ink: Noodler's Midnight Blue

Paper: Black 'n' Red Notebook

Pelikan M200 Writing Sample with Noodler's Midnight Blue

Writing Sample Front

Writing Sample Back

Pros:

A nice, professional design
Large ink capacity
Interchangeable nibs which are available in EF-BB, OB, Italic, and gold nib sizes
Useful ink window
Smooth, reliable nib that doesn't skip and starts immediately
Cleaning is quick because you can unscrew the nib and feed to access the barrel.

Cons:

Too wet for lefties and those who are forced to use cheap paper
Tiny and very light (These could also be pros if you're looking for a pocket pen or have small hands)
More expensive than similar steel-nib piston fillers like the TWSBI 580

Overall:

Despite owning more expensive pens, this is one of my favorites. Pelikan's M200 is a great second or third pen (or even a starter pen if you're willing to spend ~$100) which allows you to try a classic filling system and a wide variety of nibs.