Packaging

The Pilot Metropolitan comes in a simple black box with Pilot's logo on the bottom right. The housing of the pen itself is a black plastic container that contains a solid foam block with holes cut out of it. One hole holds the pen itself and the other holds the provided ink cartridge. The pen houses a squeeze converter upon opening it up. I personally prefer piston converters, so I also went ahead and purchased the Pilot piston converter with this pen, but the fact that this pen ships with a converter option at all is great.

Design

The design I've purchased is the Pilot Metropolitan Orange Flower. The pen has a sleek design; both ends are rounded and the cap fits snugly so there isn't that awkward gap between the pen and cap that can appear with some pens. The orange color is a nice shade, muted enough that it doesn't travel into highlighter orange territory and the matte finish provides a nice highlight to the coloring. I use my pens at work, so this matte orange with a bit of flower for ornamentation looks fun but professional.

Pen Build

The pen and cap are made of brass, giving it a bit more weight than other pens in this price point. Even though the material is hefty, the barrel without the cap is surprisingly light weight. The extra weight with the cap posted provides a bit of counterweight for those who prefer that in their writing experience. On the subject of the cap, the satisfying "thunk" of a proper fitting click cap is worth purchasing this pen alone.

Capped, this pen is about 5 and a quarter inches in length, without the cap the pen is about 4 and a half inches, and with the cap posted the pen is about 6 inches in length (though the curved ends of the pen are deceptive and make it look shorter).

I enjoy the grip on this pen; it's a comfortable shape and a good length. It's a sturdy plastic material, a little on the softer side which makes it comfortable to write with. The position of the grip doesn't force my fingers to rest on the rim where the cap snaps in, something I've found occurs in lots of pens and can be uncomfortable when writing for long periods of time. Though it should be taken into account that I grip my pens and pencils low, so for those with a high grip or larger fingers this pen may not be as comfortable for you.

The metal clip to this pen is incredibly tight so it's perfect for clipping it to a shirt pocket or a thin notebook cover, but is less ideal for those who would like to clip it to a thicker surface.

It's important to be aware of the fact that Pilot's cartridges are proprietary, though the provided converter provides an easy alternative if you are a bottled ink fan.

Writing Experience

The ink flow on this pen is smooth from the get-go. The nib I'm using on this pen is a fine nib, and I'd consider this a true fine nib. A fair amount of ink flows to the paper, so this is a consideration when using wet inks or thin paper with this pen. This stainless steel nib doesn't suffer from the curse of the scratch that most nibs in this price bracket suffer from. This nib is also the stiffest nib I've ever written with, something to keep in mind if you prefer flex nibs.

For this ink test I wrote in a limited edition Field Notes Starbucks edition, though for my every day writing I've been using my Three Missions books.

As said above, this nib tends to put down a lot of ink, so this paper saw a lot of ghost writing on the back of the page.

Starbucks Reserve Field Notes with the Pilot Metropolitan

A writing sample from the Pilot Metropolitan

Verdict

While this pen isn't without it's issues, it's a fantastic buy for the money. This pen clocks in at around $15. The design is simple but nice, the nib is a great writer. This price point makes it accessible for entry level fountain pen users, and I could not recommend this as an entry level purchase too. I've heard so many stories of folks wasting more money than they ever expected when beginning their path into fountain pens because they wanted to keep their first purchases cheap, and they wound up with cheap quality (and poorly functioning) pens. The Pilot Metropolitan does not suffer from being cheaply built, and is much more like a mid range fountain pen. It's a great writer for experienced fountain pen users and newbies alike.

Thanks for reading and happy writing!