The
new Pelikan M320 might look nothing special from pictures.... Bright,
to be sure, with a vivid marbled orange-yellow color scheme, but otherwise,
just your basic Pelikan Souveran. It's only when you get a look at it
in scale that you realize the difference.
The M320, like the M300 model of a few years ago, is tiny.
Very tiny. Measuring only 4 3/8 inches long closed, and a mere 3/8 of an inch width in the barrel, this is the definitive diminutive Bird!
The
M320 is a great little pen, even if you don't particularly like small
pens. It's small enough to be appreciated just in and of itself. If at
the same time you also happen toreally need a small pen, you'll
be in heaven. The 320 is sized to fit easily in most small daytimers,
planners, and the like. In either the ballpen or fountain pen version,
it is an easy pen to fit in, whether "in" is a pocket or purse.
With the cap posted, it's of usable length, although with that slim width through the section, it's not an easy pen for the thick fingered to write with for extended periods of time. I think of it as the perfect "checkbook" pen, it's great for being out of the way until you require it for a short note or filling out a check.
And in use, it still fulfills the mosty important requirement of all: It's a Pelikan! That means a wonderful nib in this case, 14K and available in everything from an extra fine through a paintbrush of an oblique double broad. It also means a piston filler, instead of the more common cartridge converter fill. While cartridge converter pens can be every bit as reliable, and maybe even a bit more convenient than a self filling pen, the fact that a manufacturer goes to the extra effort of producing a filling mechanism built into the pen itself leaves me personally feeling that the pen ranks just that little bit higher on the overall scale of things.
It may be tiny, but the M320 is still every bit a Pelikan. Wonderful quality, and (dare I say it?) it's "cute". But putting cuteness aside, it's also very handy, and I've found it to be one of the more useful pens I've come across lately. Given that I normally prefer massive huge pens, this came as quite a shock to me!
copyright 2004 William Riepl