Pen Boutique's Exclusive New Sailor Pro Gear
Bora Bora Waters
Specs
- Description- A standard pro gear with two tones of blue, opaque and clear meant to evoke different depths of the ocean near Bora Bora!
- Nib- 21k gold
- Material- injection molded plastic w. rhodium trims
- Filling Mechanism- cartridge or converter
- Weight- 21g
- Measurements- 128.5mm capped, 147.3mm 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 21 kt 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.
Packaging & Appearance
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 pen was inspired by the crystal clear waters around the island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia which are so clear that you can see fish swimming around you without having to put your head in the water.
The Finial, end cap and section are all a transparent blue resin which conveys the clarity of the shallow water.
The body and cap are made of a more solid blue resin which shows the beautiful color of the deeper waters where you can't see all the way down but still has beautiful color. The trims on this pen are rhodium plated and the nib is plated to match. Now that we've taken a closer look, lets see how it writes!
Nib & Performance
Like most other standard pro gear models, this pen comes equipped with Sailor's beautiful 21k gold nib that they make in house and writes exceptionally, my favorite nib choice is the zoom because it lays down a really thick wet line that shows off ink extremely well. I also like the choice of going with an all rhodium nib as opposed to the two tone nibs that feature heavily on special edition models, the all silver look goes with the theme better and to me can symbolize the glimmer of the ocean in the sun when it reflects light.
Sailor nibs tend to be on the stiffer side but I really wouldn't classify them as nails, on my 2 sailors I find that the nib on my pro gear has a little bounce that adds a small amount of line variation and on my king of pen it is even more bouncy but neither pen should be treated as a flex or even semi flex, they will adjust to your natural writing. Ink flow can be quite dry the finer nib you get and will get progressively wetter as you go up in size (in my experience) so keep that in mind depending on what you like your pens to feel like, and of course you can stop by PB and test these nibs out for yourself!
Pros
- Beautiful summery feeling color combo to keep you feeling tropical in the coming winter
- 21k in house Sailor nibs
- Pen Boutique exclusive
Cons
- Relatively small ink capacity with converter but many good Sailor cartridge options
Price & Conclusion
This is the second exclusive that Sailor and Pen Boutique have made together and the only pro-gear with the color palettes being completely different to match the models. The Bora Bora comes in at the regular price of standard pro-gears which is $392, a fair price for a beautiful and well writing pen! by purchasing this pen you are not only receiving a beautiful new high quality pen but also supporting a family owned business, relax with your favorite tropical drink and the new Bora Bora waters Sailor.
-Kyle
