This is the first non Indian pen I am going to review and i hope you all like the review and please leave the comments if you like. This pen actually took almost 4 months to come into my hand. Even though I have TWSBI 580 Al Orange but i was more excited about the ECO. This pen was bought from Frank of FONTOPLUMO. It was booked as soon as it was launched and Frank was kind enough to hold the pen for more than a month and he was even kind enough to hand over the order to a visiting friend (Kapil Apashankar) in Netherlands and i must also mention this that the pen was on hold despite me not making the payment. And in the end I bought not just Eco but lot more pens for myself which will be reviewed here slowly.
Also let me take this opportunity to thank Kapil for taking all the pain of collecting the pens and sending it across to me from Pune.
So this is review about TWSBI ECO.

DESIGN AND BUILT : 04/05
The pen came in a no nonsense plastic box and the pen and the accessories were well packed. I took the white color model. The pen currently comes in two colors: Black and White. However there are certain other colors being proposed by TWSBI on their blog.
It’s a well designed elegant pen and even though it looks chunky when capped. It’s a beautiful pen when inked.

The barrel is clear acrylic which is again of good quality and is circular instead of faceted design of TWSBI 580 or VAC. The grip section is also clear acrylic and you can see the ink flowing to the feed from barrel to section and feed. I kind of love the demonstrators. They actually take the color of the ink you put in. Looks lovely.

The pen is actually one piece from grip section to barrel, only knob being different.
Some people have not like the cap design but for me it’s just okay and carries the design cues from the faceted design of 580 or Vac. The cap and piston knob both have faceted design. All the trims are chrome silver finish and the centre band of the cap has TWSBI and ECO imprinted on the band.




The best thing about the pen is the rubberized O ring at the joint of piston knob and barrel which really helps in secure posting of the Cap. One thing to be noticed here is that apart from the nib and cap clip there is no metal part in the pen. Also like the O ring at the bottom there is one more O ring at the front of barrel which ensures the Cap doesn’t slip of and is securely closed.
Below image shows the pen capped and uncapped for comparison. The pen is just tad smaller than TWSBI 580 when it is capped.

I love the pen and I believe there is no good quality piston filler demonstrator in this price range.
Below are the few images showing the comparison of the pen with others.


The pen is similarly prized as Lamy Safari and I believe this is better bet.
BALANCE : 05/05
The pen is very well balanced whether the cap is posted at back or not. Its a sizable pen and it is just a tad bit longer than 580 when posted.
The pen posts really well and securely but for me its amazing when writing with cap not posted at back, but thats my personal preference.
The pen is 139 mm when capped and 168 when cap is posted at back.
Below are the images showing the comparison of writing with cap posted and cap unposted.


NIB & INK FILLING MECHANISM: 05/05
The pen I am reviewing comes with friction fit 1.1 Stub nib and boy it writes so amazing. Loved the nib and the ink flow. 1.1 Stub gives you a crisp writing with lovely welcome feedback. I love it.
Yes the nib is friction fit and is easily removable. Nib is #5 steel nib and option of EF, F, M, B and 1.1 Stub is available on ECO.



The ink filling mechanism is via Piston which is the best considered ink filling mechanism. The pen holds almost just less than 2 ml of ink.

The piston knob is easily removable via plastic wrench that is supplied with the pen. There is also silicone grease supplied with the pen.
Below are the images of my handwritten review and the writing sample:



CONCLUSION:
I am totally in love with this pen and the my iroshizuku ink looks stunning with this pen. The pen actually takes any color you want with the ink you put in the pen.
Buy it – thats my advice.
Beautiful quality product at surprisingly low price (25 Euros) with TWSBI lifetime warranty.
[…] There is an awesome deal in the market at the moment which is being offered by Ravi of Pens Point on TWSBI Eco. […]
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Hi
Have you tried the Vac Mini yet – sounds interesting though may have some small issues.
Whats the best place to get one in India? Online would mean intnl shipping costs and customs (sometimes its difficult to ask seller to label it as gift).
List price is $60
Thanks
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Fontoplumo will oblige …. buy from them… for more PM me… on my email address
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My vac mini has just arrived
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Is 3600 a good price for this pen ???
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No….. Buy it from fontoplumo.nl.. They are quite cheap..
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Thank you !!!!
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But they are adding 17Euro for shipping now. Have you not encountered this?
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Orders above 125 euro so have free shipping
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Not a big fan of stubs, but I love the demonstrators. Looks like a lovely pen. Also I cannot stop seeing at that beautiful color of ink. Also quality pictures is something I’ve seen for all your posts (I’m saying why not do some photography stuff too ? 😉 )
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Also one more thing, and I’m trying to as sarcastic as possible.. “Do Jinhao & Hero qualify as Indian pens?” Else how is this your first non-Indian pen? (Mwahaha.. got you!)
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Ha ha ha ha… Thank you for pointing that out…
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Thank you for going through post.. Even the medium nib is nice… Nib is same as nib on twsbi classic… I have not tried fine though… And well thank you for liking the pics.. I wanna definitely try my hand at photography…. Accumulating money to buy good camera
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Wonderful review Vaibhav. Would you know if this pen is available in India?
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This pen is available in India… At pensavenue.. But sadly at double the price… I would request you to please goto fontoplumo.nl and also apply code sbrebrown at checkout to get 10 % discount… They ship worldwide
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Beautiful review. Thank you. The Eco is maybe my favorite TWSBI. For me, the M nib is already wonderfully smooth and generous but you are making me wish for a stub!
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And actually I am going to buy medium also in black
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Great review, very informative. I do just want to mention that the Vac 700 also had a circular barrel, not faceted. But that’s a minor point. Well done!
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Ohhh… I missed that
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Lovely review as always brother ! Superb pictures.
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Thank you… Iam glad you liked the review
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Great review, going to see if I can pick one up.
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Thank you for going through the review and liking the review
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Wonderful review as always Vaibhav and truly mesmerising pictures!!
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Thank you brother…
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Thank you for this very thorough review, Sanjay, complete with excellent photos. I am particularly interested in the smoothness of the writing experience. Your statement of “crisp writing with lovely welcome feedback” makes me a tad worried that it didn’t feel very smooth, especially with a stub. For crisp writing with feedback, I turn to italic nibs.
Another concern is the weight. Would you compare the weight of the pen (with ink in it) to the weight of Lamy Safari?
Thank you again for your review,
Erin
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Hi.. I am Vaibhav… Crisp with welcome feedback means the pen writes smoothly with feedback like you are writing on piece of paper.. It doesn’t glide through.. Like all stubs… But it is not at all scratchy… I am actually a stub and italic user… And this is one of the smoothest stub I have… With Italics you have sweet spot.. Not in this case.. As far as weight is concerned.. Please give me some time to do that comparison
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Hi Vaibhav, Please excuse my confusing your name. Your reply is appreciated; I will probably give the TWSBI Eco a try.
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Do test it before you buy. YMMV
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The ink is a wow indeed
Pictures and review are top shelf Vaibhav
Good review with nice pics and great read too. Congrats on the buy. Wishing u much more in days ahead. All the best
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Thank you sanjay for the review
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