• Description- A hot new take on a classic Sailor model

• Nib- 14k or 21k gold depending on size

• Material- Resin

• Filling Mechanism- Proprietary converter/cartridge

• Weight- 22 Grams

• Measurements- 5.06" capped, 5.80" posted

• Ink Capacity- .68ml converter, 1.19ml cartridge

History & Origin:

 

    The Sailor brand started when its founder, Kyugoro Sakata, was first introduced to fountain pens in 1911 by one of his sailor friend's who showed him a pen from Europe. Inspired by what he saw, he quickly became determined to craft a pen of superior quality and decided on the name Sailor in hopes that the brand would expand all over the world much like a sailor on a sea voyage. Mr. Sakata was a pioneer of the Japanese fountain pen with his brand being the first to produce fountain pens in Japan and currently one of the longest running brands in the industry. The Pro Gear is the bigger version of the Pro Gear slim and has a 21kt gold nib with the slim having a 14kt nib. The pen is offered in seven different nib sizes including Extra Fine, Fine, Medium-Fine, Medium, Broad, Zoom, and Music.

    This pen comes in the standard clamshell box that most other regular sized Sailor's come in and that box is lined with a soft satin like material to keep the pen free from scratches. Inside the box you'll not only find the pen but also a converter and 2 cartridges so you can get writing right away. The pro gear is a very similar pen to the 1911 which is Sailor's other main pen body and the main difference between the two is that the Pro Gear has flat ends while the 1911 is a more traditional cigar shape. This special edition reminds me of some of the cocktail series pens that Sailor makes each year due to the mixing of both opaque and transparent resins, this breaks the pen up visually and gives it an interesting look. The finial of this pen is also unique and sports the image of a chili pepper instead of the usual Sailor anchor logo which is a fun little touch that sets this pen apart. The demonstrator body doesn't just look nice but also allows the user to keep and eye on ink level because regular opaque versions of the Pro Gear don't have ink windows so its nice to see on this LE. My only gripe, and this is completely a matter of personal opinion, is that I can't help but think gold colored trim would match the warm orange colors of the pen more but the silver looks good too. Now that we've taken a closer look at appearance, how does it write?

    If the rich history of Sailor wasn't enough to convince you about the brands uniqueness their nibs sure will. Sailor makes all of their nibs in house which means they have complete control over the entire production process which allows them to fine tune each nib to their exact standards which in turn yields a superior product. I find that both their #5 (14k) and their #6 (21k) tend to be rather stiff with some feedback akin to writing with a sharpened pencil and is by no means a bad feeling but one that Sailor has grown to be known for. The nibs on their oversized king of pen models tend to have a little more give and offer a tad more line expression than the regular sized nibs. Ink flow is medium until you go up to the zoom and music nibs, both of which can be pretty wet and in turn, show off the intricacies of the ink in use. Sailor knows how to make pens and they know how to make them well, I've never had a problem with the two that I own performance or nib wise.

• Eye-catching
• unique finial
• NA exclusive

Cons:

• Increased price from regular PG models
• relatively small ink capacity

Price & Conclusion: