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There is one repeating situation in the modern fountain pen community. Fads and hype. We see a brand become the ‘in pen’ or ‘in model’ with many buying just ‘because’ followed by many much reduced second hand pens going on sale when the new owners find what works for one does not necessarily for them. Nakaya and the Platinum 3776 have both fallen in to this bracket, as arguably would have Conid if the brand had not suddenly been put on hold in the early days of Covid.
So where does Ultem® come in with all this. Well go back three years and no one had heard of it then Kasama released a few pens in the material, but then one of their USPs was to make pens from medical and industrial grade plastics such as Ultem® and PEEK®. Now it almost seems like every small maker and the dog are using this material for single batches of pens. So I raise the question, is Ultem® here to stay or are we just seeing yet another fad.
Now I should point out that I have not yet made up my own mind, I am partly hoping that will come out of writing this article and any responses I receive here. If there is anything controversial then it is not yet intended (though I know some Conid fanbois are probably already seething over my intro).
I presently own one pen made primarily of Ultem® and have a second on the way, plus have reviewed a third. All from different companies, however I have also seen and handled a few more and this leads me to my first point. When the maker works with care and attention the finish is attractive. Problem is for every Gravitas and Schon Design you have the maker who either does not care or does not have the skill and with these I have seen a mess. Main issue is visible scratch marks. Not under a loupe or microscope, but to the naked eye. It is a hard material to work with and requires time and the right equipment.
The second question for me is the colour. There are several versions of Ultem® and with both of them the treatment and thickness can affect the colour. Fortunately the best pens out there are clear amber in nature, however I have also seen it look somewhat like a urine sample, being of a darker brown or even cloudy in nature. Some may like the look (and not see the same connection) but for me it is a big no.
A third question, and from a different angle, is why some of the pen makers are using it. Certainly we know some have chosen to make pens with Ultem® because it can look attractive and they are after something different. It is that last part that is key. Something different. Now they have produced pens in the material are they going to move on to something else, such as PEEK®.
We then have what may be the most important question. Are we buying Ultem® pens because they are different? If so then are we going to carry on buying them? It is this latter part which really determines whether the material is here to stay or not. If we get bored of it then makers will stop using Ultem® and we will then be able to say it was just a fad. If we keep buying, then the makers will keep using and we will be able to say it is here to stay.
So what are your thoughts? Are we going to keep seeing fountain pens made of Ultem® or is it going to be a material we will look back at fondly but without desire.
Note 1. The pictures are from my two reviews on the Kasama Tala Ultem and the Gravitas Ultimate Vac. I felt it was wrong to use someone elses photos, especially if there was a risk of me being critical.
Note 2. From the SABIC website – ULTEM™ resin is an amorphous thermoplastic poly-etherimide (PEI) resins that offers outstanding elevated thermal resistance, high strength and stiffness, and broad chemical resistance.
dapprman 
I’ll be the first to say I’m not a fan and, yes, it’s partly the urine connotation. But I will add the caveats that I prefer metal to plastic pen bodies on the whole, and if it’s plastic then I prefer it to be completely opaque. I haven’t yet seen any pictures of Ultem pens which I would say looked appealing. So, more of a miss than a hit for me.
it’s a fad now, it would have been here to stay if people did it in more moderation
I haven’t ever commented before, but this article has clamped its jaws around me and is demanding I come out of the shadows. So hello! I am a somewhat casual reader of pen blogs – casual as in I delete all my pen screenshots and abstain for two days before falling right back down the rabbit hole again.
Back to the point, though – as someone who uses Ultem guitar picks and has used them for about three years, it certainly can look horrible if it’s not treated right. However, it is a durable, heat resistant, non-cracking, relatively simple material that isn’t awfully expensive compared to other pen materials, is easily made, and can look like cognac bottles in certain lights, and is chemically stable. Will it last? I doubt it – I’m not a particularly large fan of yellow myself, and it’s not exactly the most colourful material. But to call it a fad seems both unkind and a bit too soon. Wood pens, celluloid pens, silver pens and the like aren’t common, but they’re certainly not fads.
I’m a member of Gen Z and have no illusions about the current economy where everything is fast and nothing lasts. But can something be considered a fad or a phase if people look for it twenty years later? If they buy it at outrageous prices secondhand? Just something to consider.
I like the Ultem pens I have (three so far) though I might laugh or wince when I recollect the urine reference. The truth does hurt sometimes. 😊 Notwithstanding, taking the Ultem pen in hand does feel good, warm to the touch and suitably functional in my experience.