Fountain Pen Review: Opus 88 Picnic Purple (Fine nib)

Review by Laura Cameron

When I first saw the Opus 88 Picnic in Purple ($99), I really wanted one.  So I was delighted when Vanness Pen Shop asked if we wanted to review it.  Ana already reviewed the Picnic in Green, so she suggested I try the Purple.

The Opus 88 Picnic is a resin pen with chrome accents that comes in a variety of bright colors.  The cap is a screw cap, and is postable, though that makes the pen quite long.  The Picnic is an eye-dropper filled pen, with a piston and blind cap that allow for undisturbed ink flow.  To keep the pen from leaking, it is sealed with two small black o rings, one where the nib and section meet, and one where the section and barrel meet.  The instructions don’t call for silicon grease, but I used a dab anyway and had zero problems with leakage.


The nib is a steel Jowo #5, and is available in Fine, Medium or Broad. I chose to test drive a Fine Nib.


The Picnic is a bit bigger than I’m used to.  It isn’t so much heavier than the other pens I use, but it is a bit longer, and the grip is a bit larger in diameter.

 

L to R: Sailor Pro Gear Slim, Kara’s Fountain K, Opus 88 Picnic, Pilot Metro Pop

As you can see, it does indeed come in a bit bigger and longer than most of my other pens.  It’s a bit closer to the Metro Pop uncapped, but that section is definitely still bigger.


Overall I found the Opus 88 Picnic to be an enjoyable writer, but it really was a bit on the big side for my hand. I did fine in testing the pen in short bursts, but I have a feeling if I were to take notes for a meeting or use it for a longer length of time, my hand might feel fatigued.

That said, if my hand was bigger this would probably be jumping to the top of my buy list.  I love that it holds lots of ink, is easily refillable and the bright colors just sing to me.  The ink flow quite smooth, and the piston and blind cap made it easy to start writing right away.  I didn’t experience any leaking or any burps of ink; just smooth clean lines.  I tried to match my ink and I think I didn’t do too badly with Diamine Purple Dream.  I feel like the price point for the Picnic is quite reasonable, and it’s a nice pen if you don’t have small hands like me!


DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were loaned free of charge by Vanness Pen Shop for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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1 comment / Add your comment below

  1. I find Opus 88 a good brand and i have always appreciated their pens. For you hands probably the Koloro would suit. What i like about this pen is the little line variation created by the nib, that seems a kind of “micro-stub “

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