Pen Review: Pelikan M605 White Transparent

Today I'll be reviewing one of my favorite pens (and manufacturers): the Pelikan M605 White-Transparent Limited Edition. This was released back in 2017 ; I was lucky to find one off of fpgeeks.com. This pen is aptly christened "605" as it has a silver color trim. Pens which end in "0" (i.e, 200, 600, 800) are gold-trimmed. The "stripe" variant comes in three other colors--blue, purple, and pink.

Pelikan is one of the "big brands" that come to mind when I think about fountain pens. This German company was established in 1838 in Hanover. They were the first to pilot the unique piston-filling mechanism, a design which has been emulated in recent years (see TWSBI Ecos). Their pen lines include affordable (M200, 400) to luxury ($$$ ; M800).

Design (4/5): This pen is pleasing to the eye. The design is smooth and seamless. However, the pen is a little too long (124 mm/4.88 in unposted) for my liking. I tend to use my pens unposted, but prefer the shorter M400 variant for long periods of writing.

Color(5/5): Pelikan nailed the color with this one. At first, I was let down because the off-white seemed so..plain. The stripes on the barrel are slightly sparkly and allow you to see the ink level. I quickly realized that this pen is perfect for ink, no matter the season. I affectionately refer to this as a "wedding pen", since the design is simple yet tasteful. It definitely holds a special place in my heart (and collection!).

Nib (5/5): The nib on this pen is a 14k rhodinized gold nib. I give this a 5/5 because the nib units are interchangeable. Instead of having several pens, you could have one pen with several nibs! Additionally, if you prefer a thinner line, I recommend Pablo at fpnibs.com. The extra-fine is definitely not "fine" compared to Japanese equivalents. I would say this is closer to a Lamy Fine.

Ink Capacity (5/5): The piston filler allows for 1.65 mL of ink. A bit about the piston mechanism: the end of the pen "twists" and lifts a plunger inside the barrel. This allows the pen to draw up ink and provides a larger ink capacity than a standard cartridge converter. I especially like that you can see the ink level through the stripes, so you know when you have to refill the pen.

Overall: I would give this pen a 4.5/5! It could be a little shorter for my liking, but this is a solid pen. The color is certainly unique amongst Pelikans as these pens are typically gold-trimmed.

Disclaimer: This pen was purchased by me and all opinions/photos are my own. This post was not sponsored.