Parker Ingenuity 5th Technology
Is the Parker Ingenuity even related to a fountain pen? Discover the new trend in pens and whether it’s really worth $130…Let’s review the 5th technology and answer your questions.
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Video – Parker 5th Technology |
Design
The Parker Ingenuity 5TH Technology Pen is made of soft-touch rubber on the barrel and cap trimmed in gold and finished with a fiber tip peeking out of the end of a gold nib-like hood. When you first open the parker gift box and see the Ingenuity, impressive is all that comes to mind. This is a stylish and classy pen.
5th technology was created as the next evolution of the fountain pen, ballpoint, rollerball and mechanical pencil. The felt tip is housed in a faux metal nib and notched plastic section strikingly similar to a fountain pen. What makes it look a little different are the widely spaced tines and fiber tip protruding out from the end of the tines.
Branding
This pen has the symbolic arrow clip and the cap has the parker oval pierced by an arrow engraved into the rose gold as well. This oval and arrow symbol and Parker name are engraved several times around the metal band on the barrel. Parker is also engraved on the nib-like cover.
Cap Fit
The cap pushes on and off of the body easily. Because of the elegant design, it’s easy to mistake this for a screw-on lid but it pulls right off to write. The cap is quite heavy, along with the pen in general. I enjoy a heftier pen than most and this one has enough heft to feel expensive. The cap posts without wiggling off and stays without issue for long stretches of writing.
Parker Ingenuity 5th Technology weighs in at .85 ounces |
Parker Ingenuity cap weighs in at .45 ounces, making the total weight 1.15 ounces, a hefty pen! |
Performance
It took a few minutes for me to get used to the 5th technology pen. I use a lot of fountain pens, so I instinctively held the Ingenuity at a lower angle like I do fountain pens and that position doesn’t allow the round, tapered tip enough contact with paper to produce a consistent line.
When I repositioned the pen to a more upright position similar to writing with a ballpoint or rollerball pen, it responded immediately and wrote like a champ. The difference in feel from a ballpoint or rollerball is first the sheer weight of the Ingenuity. This is a much nicer pen than any ballpoint or rollerball I’ve used and it just feels better to write with.
The notched plastic “feed” is supposed to interact with the metal hood and allow some flexibility in the nib for more character and line variation with pressure changes as you write. The pen didn’t flex as I wrote, so I put my fingernail on the metal band surrounding the fiber tip and pushed it to see it interact with the metal hood. It does flex when you apply pressure with a fingernail, but it requires so much pressure I’d be afraid of destroying the tip if I were to push that hard while writing.
Parker Ingenuity tip and nib-like cover |
The refill and underside of nib-like metal cover |
The fiber tip provides a much smoother and consistent line than a typical fountain pen, similar to an ultra-fine point marker. It struck me how similar the character of my writing was using this pen to a Bic Mark It which also has a felt or fiber tip, I added a photo of writing samples above, the Ingenuity first, Bic second so you can see.
What the 5th technology does that my fiber-tip marker can’t do is produce a saturated line without bleeding through the paper and drying immediately without smudging. It writes similarly to an ultra-fine point marker, with a striking line. I used the Parker on many sheets of notebook paper without any bleed through which is great for a fiber tipped pen. My Bic Mark It stinks and bleeds through heavily.
Maintenance
Parker Ingenuity 5th Technology Nib showing the fiber tip.
Parker Ingenuity 5th Technology, the “business end” of this pen.
The underside appears to be built to flex, but not without A LOT of pressure.
Replacing the cartridge in the Parker Ingenuity 5th technology is extremely simple. Just unscrew the body and pull out the refill which is a long barrel full of ink with the notched plastic section and integrated fiber tip and insert the new one.
Replacing the refill on the Parker Ingenuity is clean and easy, without the risk of ink spills that you have with bottled fountain pen ink.
Overall Value – Who Is This Pen Best For?
This is a stylish pen, the design is striking and unlike a fountain pen, you can loan it to someone for a quick signature and they won’t need a lesson on how to use it. At the roughly $125 -150 price-point, you will watch it like a hawk when someone borrows it until you get it back!
The Parker Ingenuity 5th is a beautiful pen with style and class that is great for anyone that enjoys writing with fiber-tip pens. It is a good transition pen for someone who enjoys writing with felt-tipped pens that wants to own an elegant pen without the hassle of bottled ink and converters.
Fountain pen purists will not like this pen because it doesn’t function at all like a fountain pen, but fiber-tipped pen lovers, rejoice… you’ve finally found an elegant version of your favorite pen to buy!
Price: Get a price on the Parker Ingenuity from Amazon.
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