Wednesday, November 25, 2020

REVIEW: MONTEGRAPPA ZERO CARAMEL FOUNTAIN PEN

REVIEW: MONTEGRAPPA ZERO CARAMEL FOUNTAIN PEN
If you recall my review of the Montegrappa Zero a couple weeks ago, you'll know that I'm quite a big fan of this new(er) model. Even more so, I think it's one of the better pens Montegrappa has released in recent years, despite looking pretty nondescript and maybe plain from a distance. Perhaps the Zero's apparent normalcy is Montegrappa's biggest achievement of all - It certainly is quite a departure from the eccentricity and bling you'd usually expect from them!
REVIEW: MONTEGRAPPA ZERO CARAMEL FOUNTAIN PEN
A short recap of the Zero: A straight, modern design with bulky and prominent bronze trims, beveled edges all around, contrasting and crisp brushed finishes, and as the - almost literal - cherry on top a sapphire-glass inlay in the cap finial that holds the Montegrappa logo. It's basically a watch but reincarnated in pen-shape, and yet all these unique details are hidden in plain sight - nothing feels excessive, out of place, or try-hard. 
REVIEW: MONTEGRAPPA ZERO CARAMEL FOUNTAIN PEN
Today we're looking at a different version of the Zero, this is the Montegrappa Zero Caramel, a US regional exclusive designed by US distributor Kenro. Luckily they were kind enough to send one across the pond for me to check out! 

Let's start with the elephant in the room: While the black/ruthenium version of the Zero fell straight under the 'modern and sleek' category, the Zero Caramel is an attention-grabber, to say the least. In watch equivalents, I think it would be a solid-gold Rolex. A bit gaudy, but you kinda want it anyway. That being said, while I certainly wouldn't ever actually buy a gold watch, the Caramel speaks to me in a way not too many flashy pens do. 
REVIEW: MONTEGRAPPA ZERO CARAMEL FOUNTAIN PEN
The Caramel gets its name from the unique Montegrappite resin used for this particular pen, and it's befitting for sure: streaks of white, yellow and golden, caramel brown run along the length of the pen, and create a sense of depth and texture (a bit of transparency, too) that I simply haven't seen very often before on an acrylic pen (I think it's best compared to Jonathon Brooks' Primary Manipulation, but more linear and with much finer and more delicate 'texture' inside the cast). I already was a fan of Montegrappite with the MIA Meteor Shower (review HERE), and the Caramel manages to live up to the expectation again. Personally, I find the Meteor Storm has a slightly more striking color palate (I tend to like darker, more muted colorways of course), but this Caramel certainly is nothing to scoff at!
REVIEW: MONTEGRAPPA ZERO CARAMEL FOUNTAIN PEN
For me, more so than caramel candy, the Zero Caramel reminds me of Mille-Feuille pastry. Both in color and the texture of the many layers of pastry goodness. Especially in the finials of the Zero, where the material is displayed at its best, you can clearly see the many thin streaks of colored resin that make up the Montegrappite.
REVIEW: MONTEGRAPPA ZERO CARAMEL FOUNTAIN PEN
Completely off-topic, but one of the major reasons why I especially like to deal with Kenro (and their daughter-brand Esterbrook) for reviews like this one, is their incredibly friendly and professional attitude, and not in the least their openness to criticism. As you can imagine, creating content involves a lot of back and forth with brands and pen stores, and there's an immense variation in the type of interactions you come across. Brands like Kenro are the kind of PR interactions I want to see, I think they reflect quite strongly their customer service and engagement in the community. Case-in-point: the Caramel pen they sent me had a crack in the cap upon arrival. Barely noticeable to the naked eye (and my camera), but it cracked right at the clip fixture, the thinnest, most fragile part of the cap. Kenro dealt with this swiftly though, and exchanged the pen straight away. 
REVIEW: MONTEGRAPPA ZERO CARAMEL FOUNTAIN PEN
REVIEW: MONTEGRAPPA ZERO CARAMEL FOUNTAIN PEN
Platinum #3776, Montegrappa MIA, Montegrappa Zero, Montegrappa Zero Caramel, Lamy Safari, Lamy 2000
For the full specs and size comparison of the Montegrappa Zero, I'd like to redirect you to my review of the regular Montegrappa Zero (HERE). You'll find all the technical information over there. For now, I'll just keep it at this: the Zero is a very comfortable pick for an everyday writer.
REVIEW: MONTEGRAPPA ZERO CARAMEL FOUNTAIN PEN
Still one of the best nib designs out there?
The nib is again, of course, a JoWo-made slab of steel, but gold-plated for the occasion. A solid 14k gold nib (with identical design) is also available. The gold nib adds a healthy premium over the already steep base price of the Zero - more on that later - and I find the steel JoWo nibs to perform just fine. The medium nib on my particular pen is downright excellent. It lays down a fairly wet, true-to-size western medium line, and writes consistently as I expect from JoWo. I can't help but feel like Montegrappa's JoWo nibs always tend to have a slight hint of - pleasant! - feedback to them, more so than other JoWo nibs... but it could also be my brain playing tricks with me, associating it with the old writing feel of Montegrappa's steel nibs?
REVIEW: MONTEGRAPPA ZERO CARAMEL FOUNTAIN PEN
Pricing... Well, I knew the Montegrappa Zero isn't a cheap pen, but I was still caught a bit off guard when I checked the Kenro website: the Montegrappa Zero Caramel has an MSRP of 495$ (695$ with the gold nib)! While retail prices vary (quite strongly) between 400 and 475$. Especially around the 400$ mark, that's more or less in line with what these pens cost in Europe. But even at that low-end of what the prices seem to fluctuate between, it's still without a doubt a very hefty price for a pen with a steel nib. 

I've praised the Zero before, and I'll do that again here. I still think it's a fantastic, and different design from Montegrappa. And especially this Caramel exclusive edition from Kenro is another fantastic showcase of Montegrappite resin! But to say that this is not an impulse buy... would be an understatement for sure. 

NOTE: This product was provided by Kenro, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post contains affiliate links.
REVIEW: MONTEGRAPPA ZERO CARAMEL FOUNTAIN PEN

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