About two months ago, Feburary of 2019 for the future-dwellers, Kaweco released a new colour scheme for their versatile Sport lineup: the Frosted Sport. Of course, beyond how the pen looks, not much has changed: the design and the writing experience are practically the same as other sport models. But options are great and I’ve decided to look at all the schemes and see which ones are my favorites and which I can leave. But considering that I just did a review of the Kaweco Skyline Sport a month ago and that I didn’t want to spend three weeks, I’ve decided to do a shootout of the four options for Kaweco’s Sport fountain pens.
Basics first: Kaweco’s Sports are a pocket-sized pen that are made to be small, compact and sturdy. They are all resin-bodied, lightweight (only around 10 grams) and available with ballpoint, roller-ball and fountain pen options, of which I’ve opted for the later. Stylistically, it is very much form equals function, its design is geared towards being small and easy to carry around, but with the cap posted, becomes a close to full-length fountain pen.
Speaking of the cap, it’s a secure, screw-cap design which is octogonal to prevent the pen from rolling. When snug, it holds really well, but attention should be paid to this detail, just so it doesn’t uncap in your pocket. It also bears the majority of the trim accents, with a bit at the top and “Kaweco Sport” debossed on the side in the colour of the pen nib.
It loads standard international ink cartridges or a Kaweco piston converter. For the majority of my test for this shootout, I’ve used different inks in the converters, but also am using the Kaweco Pearl Black ink in a standard international cartridge in my Skyline. All these pen use a steel German nib from the JoWo company, and I have all mine in extra-fine. The performance is great, fairly smooth with some feedback, and it lays down a dark but thin line, ideal for my writing style.
Overall, I’m really fond of the Kaweco Sport lines. I love the function and versatility of a pocket pen, I enjoy how it writes and the look of this pen is great. While it’s not my favorite, the sheer convenience of it makes it the most-used pen I have, and you can always find one in my pocket. I go into more detail in the aforementioned Kaweco Skyline Sport Review, so check that out for a more in depth look at this pen. But for now: a look at aesthetics.
Sport Classic
The Sport Classic can be easily recognized for the fact that it is the only one of these pens that has a gold trim. That is to say, gold-coloured steel nib, gold debossment and gold logo at the top. Beyond that, the general colour scheme is focused on deep, rich colours, such as the bordeaux and green that I have. And, I’m surprised to say that I like them. I’m not typically a fan of gold trim, but there is something undeniably classy about it and I find that aspect quite appealing. I think that the trim works well with the colours chosen in this scheme. My only reservation is the clear option, but after the surprise that was my like for this pen, I’m open to being surprised again.
Skyline Sport
The Skyline Sport is the direct counterpart to the Sport Classic, with the same opaque resin body, but a silver trim. The colours in this series are bright, some of the being rich and deep, and others being almost pastel. While the Sport Classic feels classy, this pen feels distinctly modern. There’s not much to say here, other than that I really like this series. It’s plain but super nice.
Ice Sport
This is where things get a bit strange. The Kaweco Ice Sport is a demonstrator style pen with sliver trim. The body is clear to allow sight into the ink cartridge and gauge how much ink is left. The cap and grip are coloured with a choice of bright and rich colours, which are translucent to match the theme of the pen, though strangely enough, there is no clear option. In this sense, it reminds me of the TWSBI Eco, with a clear body and coloured cap. And if me liking the Sport Classic is a surprise, this was a drop-dead shock. I like this a whole lot more than I thought. My TWSBI Eco review had be revealed that I’m not keen on the aesthetics of demonstrator style pens, but I think that there is just enough colour on this pen to distract my from the visible internals of the pen.
Frosted Sport
And now we come to the pen that started this whole thing. The Frosted Sport is identifiable by it’s bright pastel colours on a semi-transparent (almost opaque) resin and sliver trim. They look really fun on paper, but I’m shockingly unimpressed. I really wanted to like this series, but the pastel colours and barely translucent resin don’t hold much appeal to me. Maybe it’s just that lime green just doesn’t work, and it’s almost certainly a personal thing, but the Frosted Sport is not for me.
Conclusion
Overall, Kaweco has done really well with the entire Sport lineup. The greatest surprise to me was just how much I liked the Ice Sport and the biggest disappointment had to be, unfortunately, the Frosted Sport. I’m sure I’m in the minority of the pen community when I say that the colours don’t suit me, but there it is.
My one-two is the Skyline Sport and Sport Classic. Both are very standard and suit my tastes very well. I expected the Skyline Sport to run away with this, but the Sport Classic makes a very good case for itself. My third place is the Ice Sport and bringing up the rear is the Frosted Sport. But that said, there is something here for everyone, and with the versatility of this pen, its well worth check out all of them find finding one that appeals to you.
The Pen Lover's Nook 