Laban Mento- Review

First Impressions

I saw this pen on the internet; I wondered how big this pen really is?? I stumbled on to different websites and each of them gave a different measurements. The only way I would say I am a pen snob is that I almost NEVER buy pens that have steel nibs. I like gold, I like the Bling Bling, If you know what I mean!!! I found a few people that could order me this pen with a gold nib, and that’s what I did!! When this pen arrived, Whooaaa, what a goliath of a pen!! Everything about it looked very impressive. I don’t want to give this review away in the first section; you will need to read it for yourself!!!

Appearance/ Finish 5 out of 5

Good Lord, this pen is HUGE!!! I bought this p[en with what they call the Pumpkinseed Finish/color. It is kind of a tortoise shell color with a bit of a confetti look to it. Color wise, there were lots of orange, black and brown to it. This pen was buffed to a mirror polish; this is something I wish most pen makers would do, depending on the pen. In all, the pen its self is very beautiful and unique. No two pens are the same!!
The box was a standard pen box with papers that are really reminiscent of Mont Blanc papers. Included were a few ink cartridges (short type) and one converter. The pen was covered in a cellophane bag that was loosely fit over the pen to prevent damage during shipping. So far, things have been done right!! I have no complaints!!



Design/Size/Weight 4.5 out of 5

This is the LARGEST pen I have ever seen and used!! I compared this pen with my Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149 and my Pelikan M1000. Believe it or not, the Laban Mento is longer than both the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149 and the Pelikan M1000. The diameter is also larger on the Mento than on the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149 but only by a very small margin. The pen is slightly tapered at the ends.



If you were to compare the weight of the Laban Mento to that of the Mont Blanc Meisterstuck 149 and the Pelikan M1000, the Laban Mento is a bit lighter. I account that for the use of a cartridge/converter filling system opposed to the heavier piston filler with metal components. I will get into this a bit later.
The Laban seems pretty well balanced and writing with or without the cap posted doesn’t change the way the pen writes or feels since this pen is very light for its size. So it was designed for both the person who has a huge gorilla hands and someone who’s hands a bit on the smaller size.



One design feature that I was irked with is that the pen dries out very quickly. There is no inner plastic sleeve inside the cap to assist in the slowdown of ink evaporation. If the pen is stored nib up, I find that this only exaggerates the problem with evaporation. So to curb this problem, I find that if I store the pen flat whenever possible and not leave unused for any length of time. This seems to help, who knows, maybe Laban will listen a do something about it. If you do run into this predicament then do the usual, twist of the converter to inject the ink to the proper location, Bingo!! Problem solved!!

Nib Design and Performance 4.75 out of 5

Since this pen comes stock with a steel nib, I cannot rate the performance on it. I bought mine with the optional 18kt Gold nib and that’s what my review will be based on. As a buyer, you can buy one of 3 nibs. You can buy the stock steel nib OR you can have a dealer order it for you with a 14KT or 18KT gold nib. The gold plated steel nibs are available in the standard sizes of Fine, Medium or Broad. The 14KT gold nibs are only available in the Medium size while the 18KT are available in the Medium and Broad. Ok, now that you wrote all that down and memorized it, here is the important stuff. The Laban nibs are made in the Factory of Peter Bock, for those of you who do not know, they are the ones who make nibs for Pelikan, Omas, Bexley and up to 30 different brands of fountain pens. (Thanks www.nibs.com)



So now knowing who makes the nibs, I am sure you will like the way the pen writes. I don’t know about you but I know that this is one of the smoothest nibs that I have used. It performed flawlessly right out of the package. The nib flow is a bit on the drier side but definitely NOT DRY!!! There were no modifications needed for this nib and the flex was pleasant. Do not confuse Flex with flexible because this nib is NOT Flexible but then again, it is not a gold nail either. It is a very pleasant writing experience but one think I did note was that the nib seems very small in comparison to the size of the pen. The performance does not suffer though but it does look a little funny to have a goliath of a pen and a small nib. If they were to put a nib on the Laban the size of a Pelikan M1000 nib or a M800 nib, then I feel it would closely match the body of the pen. But this is only my opinion and regardless, we were talking about the performance and the performance superb.



The Filling System 4 out of 5

Ok, ok!!! Anyone who has read any of my reviews knows that I am very harsh on filling systems that are not integrated. I wont get into the reasons because you can find them in my other pen reviews and I don’t like to write about the same thing over and over again. I can agree that I am glad they decided to go with a cheaper filling system because that is one thing less they have to pass on to the consumer. It is a standard cartridge/converter system that seems to work well. There are no problems with ink flow and complications with filling the pen.

Cost 5 out of 5

This is my favorite part of the review!!! This pen is cheap cheap cheap!!! Depending on what kind of nib you want is what you will pay. Pens with a Gold Plated Steel nib will run you around 59.00 to 69.00. Pen with 14KT Gold nibs run roughly $119.00 while the pens with 18KT Gold Nibs run around $124.00. This is all depending on where you buy them from. I bought mine from Wood N’ Dreams http://www.wndpens.com/ and Ray, who owns they company will be willing to assist you in any way that he can to order the pen that you want. Good guy and good prices. I don’t think you can touch this pen from any other larger pen company for under $200.00. And some how Laban does it and maybe they get away with it because they are an up and coming Pen Company started in Taiwan. I am sure that production in Taiwan is much cheaper than in Japan, USA or Europe.



Conclusion

This Pen is the best bang for the buck and I say that without hesitation. Not only can you buy a pen based on your choice of nibs but later on if you decided that you want to replace your gold plated nib with a gold nib, it is easy and won’t break the bank!! This is a great writer and the largest pen I have ever seen. If you want a budget Over Sized pen then this is your pen. The pen is well made and well priced and that is something that is not normally said about the same pen or in the same sentence. You will not be disappointed in your purchase of a wonderful writer like this. Nuff said!!!