Aurora 88 Large Black Resin Fountain Pen
Is the Aurora 88 Large Fountain Pen the best fountain pen for you? This detailed review will help you find out.
In my ever-elusive search of finding the BEST overall fountain pen, I’m adding another review to my list. This pen gave me high hopes when I first saw it, it’s styling, graceful rounded lines and proportion. It’s a pen I’m looking forward to reviewing. BUT..
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Aurora 88 Large Performance
The Aurora 88 Fountain Pen in black resin with gold trim is a gorgeous fountain pen. Before you even pick it up, you respect the traditional styling with elegant touches like the ink window, bulbous end of the pen clip, and light engraving of the brand name.
This is an oversized fountain pen (I love large pens, so this appeals to me,) and it’s cigar shaped, tapering to rounded ends on either side. The gold plated pen clip is a smooth and tasteful Y shaped that terminates in a bulbous drop at the end.
This is a piston-fill fountain pen only, no cartridges or converters. I’ve learned to love piston fills despite the extra time cleaning, you just cannot beat their ink capacity. I write a lot and love that I don’t have to refill piston-fills nearly as often.
The cap ring is wide and has two raised edges that surround a lightly engraved “Aurora” in script writing right under the end of the clip. The engraving is painted black to match the black resin body. There are two very lightly engraved, very thin lines that are above and below the brand name which are also painted black.
When you remove the cap, there is an ink window surrounded by two gold rings on either size of the transparent window. The body tapers after the ink window and there’s a flared end at the end of the section to keep your fingers from falling onto the nib.
The nib itself is stamped 14K and the nib is big, long and gorgeous. It appears to be the same nib used on their Aurora Optima one of the smoothest writers I’ve used. The feed has fins that cover the entire thing until it tapers into the underside of the tines.
This fountain pen makes you feel a little like royalty just holding it. After using a lot of fountain pens, you get a “feel” for them and the craftsmanship. The Aurora 88 a great pen before you even write with it. It’s balanced and beautiful.
Aurora 88: At 23g, with only 7 of those in the cap, the cap rides very well on the back of the pen with no hand fatigue.
Specs:
- 134mm Capped
- 8.5mm Cap Band
- 154mm Posted
- 10mm Grip Point
- 23mm Long Nib
- 9mm Wide Nib (at nib shoulders)
Cap & Balance
I mentioned the cap and the fact that it posts on the pen exceptionally well. Well I didn’t go into detail there, but the 88 not only posts, but it feels like it was designed to.
The cap is at home on the back of the pen and it stays put. There’s no chatter, no wriggling off, no issues with top-heaviness as in some other pens.
Some fountain pens just feel like they’re made for writers, not just for collectors to admire. This fountain pen is made to use, it’s a daily writer if I’ve ever used one. It has everything you’d look for in a writer’s pen.
After using another Aurora, the TU, this was a welcome relief from a bad experience. This pen delivered ink to page right out of the box without cleaning or adjusting.
When I’d uncap it after a few days of sitting to write again, it didn’t skip or otherwise need a “warm up” as some fountains do. This wrote immediately and every time.
One thing I LOVE about this pen is it changed my mind on piston fills. I didn’t used to care for them because of what felt like extra time spent cleaning between changing inks. Well, yes, it takes a little longer to flush a piston fill because you can’t just yank out the converter to flush it.
The trade off for a longer cleaning time is the incredible ink capacity in piston fills. I don’t change colors a lot (I have a few different fountains loaded with different colors so I just change pens,) so flushing and filling aren’t a daily ritual or anything. Being able to use the 88 for days without needing to refill the ink was a blessing and this pen helped me come to appreciate that.
How’s that? A pen that helped me grow. I can’t ask for more in a fountain pen. Okay I asked the Sailor to do some laundry, but that’s another review.
The Fine nib is a more like a Medium
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Aurora 88 Large Fountain Pen Overall Value
Do I think the Aurora 88 is a great value? Yes. It’s an expensive pen, over $400 at the time I’m writing this, but it’s one of the smoothest writers I’ve used yet. It feels a lot like an Aurora Optima but has a more classic look.
Yes it could be called a traditionalist’s pen and I’m not much of a traditionalist. But, this fountain pen has all of the elegant touches I appreciate in them and makes me happy when I write with it. I can’t put a value on that.
This is a pen I will own. For those of you who’ve read many of my reviews, i’m holding off on buying more expensive fountain pens until I hit my 100th review at which point I will buy my top 3 (at least) favorite fountain pens to own. So far, the Aurora 88 fountain pen is near the top of my list. A wonderful fountain.
Check the current price on the Aurora 88 on Amazon.
-OR- if you prefer a thinner pen, check out the 88 Small
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