Kaweco Skyline Sport Fountain Pen Review

There is something to be said about versatility. Bottled inks are wonderful, vibrant and good value and I’m constantly toting around pen cases full of my favorite pens. But sometimes I need to pull a pen while I’m on the bus or need to take a quick note, and digging through my bag and pen cases is just too much work. Enter the Kaweco Skyline Sport.

The Kaweco Skyline Sport is meant to be a compact pen that can easily be stored in a pocket. It’s shorter than most pens, and super light-weight, coming in at 10 grams. The pen is made from resin and is available in several different colours. The pen body itself is a cylinder and doesn’t stand out very much. Honestly, this pen doesn’t pay much attention to how it looks and is based very much on function. It’s meant to be small and easy to carry around, and the Skyline Sport accomplishes both brilliantly.

It is worth noting that this pen looks almost exactly the same as the Kaweco Classic Sport with the exception of gold accents over silver ones. I like the sliver better, but that really is a matter of personal preference.

The cap is octagonal, which prevents the pen from rolling away or off your desk. On one of the side, the words “Kaweco Sport” are embossed on the side in metallic silver and a bit of trim on the tip in the same colour. When the pen is capped, it covers over half of the pen, which gives the pen an odd profile, but it’s super functional for when it’s posted. It’s a friction-fit, but doesn’t quite cover half of the pen, which takes a compact pen and turns it into a full-sized pen. The actually posting of this pen is easy and secure and there’s no worry of it falling off. However, unposting takes a bit more force and I’d recommending making sure there’s no threat of hitting anything when doing so. This pen is one that I would recommend always using when posted because it lends the comfort of using a full-sized pen. I can’t empathize enough the benefit of having a light, compact pen and the fact that you can use is like a full-size pen makes it so much better. The pen is a screw cap and it’s alright. One needs to make sure that the cap is snug before putting it away. I carry this pen in my pocket, an on occasion I’ve found it uncapped.

This grip section isn’t anything to write home about. It takes up very little of the pen and flares out towards the nib to keep fingers in place. However, I don’t ever actually use it. It’s just too small to be effective as a grip and I use the whole pen body as a grip.

As for how it writes, it’s decent. It’s comes with a German steel nib from JoWo and I’ve opted for an extra fine here. The pen takes standard international cartridges with one including with the pen, and Kaweco makes their own piston-filling converter for bottled inks. I’ve used both methods and while the piston-filler is easy to use, I wouldn’t recommend filling it all the way. I’ve tested this pen with the included cartridge of Kaweco Pearl Black ink, and I’m alright with it. The line is fairly thin, on par with other German extra-fine nibs I own and I didn’t experience any ink flow issues. The nib is a bit scratchy and there is a small amount of feedback off the page. It’s not a massive issue for me, but it’s not my favorite writing experience.

Overall, I do like this pen. Is it the best looking pen I have? No. Is it the best writing pen I have? Definitely not. My Favorite? Still no. But it is the pen that I use most consistently and often and always have on me. The Kaweco Skyline Sport doesn’t stick out as the best pen in the world, but it easily makes it into my top 5 lists and the fact that it is compact and easy to carry makes it so useful to have. The Kaweco Skyline Sport goes for around $25.00, and I highly recommend grabbing it.

This pen was purchased at full price with my own funds.