Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pen Review

The Pilot Metropolitan was the second fountain pen that I tested and I can’t say it was love at first sight. There were a few issues that really bothered me at the time and I left it alone for a while. But boy did it catch my attention the second time around. Same pen, but presenting one undeniable fact: this pen rocks.

The Pilot Metropolitan is one of Pilot’s budget offerings. It’s a hefty brass barrel, weighing in at 25 grams. It’s not heavy to the point that it is uncomfortable to use for long periods of time. But the both the weight and the metal feels nice in the hand. Everything about it screams quality.

The body is torpedo-shaped, tapering at both ends. It’s available is several different colours, including plain black, plain silver, and a wide variety of bright colours with patterned mid-section, such as my Retro-pop Orange. All of these come with sliver furniture. And al of these are really nice. I love the way my Retro-pop Orange looks with it’s patterning and the colour is a very appealing shade. My black Metropolitan isn’t a slouch either; I think it looks sleek and understated, which is my preferred look.

The cap is a snap-cap with works just fine. It holds the cap securely to the pen with no fear of it falling off in transit, and it doesn’t take too much force in uncap or recap it. It is postable, and while the writing experiences are different between posted and unposted, both are good and I use my Metropolitans either way.

The grip section is a bit more problematic for me, and was honestly my biggest concern the first time I tried this pen. The grip is made of black resin, which looks alright and is functional. However, I find this grip to be small, both in diameter and portion of the pen it covers. Now, I have slightly larger than average hands, so this might be less of problem for others, but for me, it forces my fingers into an uncomfortably small area and I often rest my thumb on the ridge between grip and body, which also isn’t the most comfortable. It’s not the worst grip that I’ve had to deal with, but I can honestly say that I like Lamy’s moulded grip better.

However, the writing experience is were the Metropolitan truly shines. It comes with Pilot steel nibs, which I’ve written about previously in my Pilot Explorer Fountain Pen review. But to recap, it is ridiculously smooth, no ink flow issues and, in the case of my fine nib, lays down a thin line, perfect for my writing style. I tested this is my Rhodia webnotebook with a cartridge of Pilot Namiki black ink like the one included with the pen. It’s easily my favourite writing experience.

I also tested Pilot’s 1.0mm stub nib, which is in my Retro-pop Orange. Again, it was in my Rhodia webnotebook, but with J. Herbin’s 1798 special edition Cornaline d’Egypte. The ink itself deserved it’s own review, so I won’t comment too much on its properties. I have a bottle of this ink, so a converter system is needed to use it in the the Metropolitan. Pilot includes a squeeze converter, shipped inside the pen, but I recommend getting Pilot’s CON40 piston-filling converter for an easier experience. The stub nib gives some stunning line variation with nice broad strokes going into thinner lines. My writing samples don’t do it justice, in part because my handwriting is messy and that I’m left-handed, which makes stub nibs a bit more difficult for me in general. However, I’ve seen other people use this pen and the effect is so wonderful.

Overall, I can’t say enough about its pen. Despite my personal issues with the grip section, I can easily see past them for the writing experience. It looks great, it’s weight feels great and it writes phenomenally. I’d highly recommend it for anyone. It’s a great beginner’s fountain pen, duelling for top spot with the Lamy Safari, and I think everyone should own one because it’s that good. The Pilot Metropolitan’s MSRP is around $30.00, but for my money, it’s my favourite pen in my collection, bar none.