Back mid-July I gave a first impressions post on my newly arrived Endless Stationery Phantom fountain pen in stealth finish. Now it is finally time for the review.

The reason for the preview being the tipping was badly cut resulting in a very poor writing experience. Five and a half weeks later (including a chase and an eventual vague response) I gave up and took the photos for this review before sending it, along with the loaned Endless Stationery Creator and Ensso Bolt retractables to another member of the United Inkdom review group. Of course timing being everything I received confirmation the replacement nib unit was being sent to me about 5 minutes after I had sent the package onwards … Also as a result of sending the pen off before writing this review meant a number of photos I should have taken (me holding the pen and the knock) are missing and I have also reused some of the photos from my preview.

Like with the Creator, Endless Stationery launched this pen through a Kickstarter campaign. Now I am always uncertain about established companies repeatedly going this route. Ensso and Namisu are both guilty of this and the latter at one point looked like it might be going the same way as one of Kickstarter’s early big sucesses, where a company spectacularly collapsed about 3-4 years later after only launching products on KS. I am talking Pebble. Now it should be noted Endless have launched a third pen (actually their second) through more normal channels and I hope that’s the direction they go in future.

Unlike with the Creator this does not feel like it has been made to a price point. Sure there are a lot of comments from backers that they feel the pen is cheap, but personally I think the plastic is solid, no flex, looks smart and is perfectly acceptable on a regular pen up to £50-60, never mind a retractable. I did pay $10 more (about £7.45) for mine to be the ‘stealth version’ taking my cost to $67/£53 including P&P and I do have mixed views. It does look good, but gloss to me does not mean stealth. There have been some reports of cracking, even in the comments on my previous post, but I’ve not felt like my pen has been at risk. The only external markings on the pen is ENDLESS above the company logo (long dash, 3 dots) at the end of the section on the reverse from the clip. I do like this.

Again, unlike the Creator, the shape of this pen is more traditional and as a result more comfortable. I hope I do not create a fire storm but I would argue the Phantom is the most comfortable retractable fountain pen I have held. Sure I have not yet tried a Writech but I would be surprised if it will feel as good. If anyone has a Visconti Pinifarina or a Hermès Nautilus they are willing to lend me, please give me a shout 🙂 (as those three are about the only retractable fountain pens I am aware of that I have not tried). Now it should be added that I am right handed and use the classic tripod grip so the clip does not get in my way, however it is designed to be easily removed (I have not yet tried).

On the topic of the clip. It works well enough, sliding over the seam of my pocket and keeping the pen securely in place.

The click experience on employing the nib is quite a good one. While it is not a crisp experience it is also not squishy and there is a pleasant sound. Alas retracting back into the body is no where near as nice as the nib does drag over the silicone membrane. Still the Phantom is far nicer to open and close that the last few retractable fountain pens I have reviewed. Also while the top of the knock may be angled inwards on the underside (matching the end of the section where the nib emerges), it is not uncomfortable to use.

The nib is thin and long and attached to the plastic feed by bent metal tabs, very much like the Platinum Curidas or most Lamys. As expected it is the same nib as on the Creator though the mounting mechanism is different. Who makes it I do not know, but interestingly it looks to be the same as the one on the Ensso Bolt and that supposedly came from China. It has more markings than on the rest of the pen with an impressed circle at the back of the slit, the air hole being separate and further back, the end dash and three dots of the company logo and then finally the tipping size.

Now I had already paid for this pen before trying the same nib on the Creator and the Ensso Bolt and I am not a fan. While it is not an unpleasant nib to use on the Creator, there it had issues and here it is the same. As mentioned in my preview the tipping on my nib was ground at an angle with a result this pen is very scratchy to use. I mentioned this on the Kickstarter comment page and was given an email address to contact. This I did and a week later they got back to me saying a replacement would be sent. I was not bothered about the time taken to respond as at this point there was still a week or two to go before all the campaign pledge orders were to be completed. 5 weeks later having heard or received nothing I sent a chaser. There was a quick response but one to redirect my email to a different person/team at Endless. Another week went by with no confirmation so I agreed to include this pen with the retractile fountain pens I had been leant as part of the United Inkdom group. About half an hour after I posted the package to the next reviewer an email arrived with tracking information. Talk about bad timing. Far from happy though as it felt like I had been pushed aside requiring me to chase.

The pen comes with a slide converter installed. The fitting is standard international though when I tried to use a Schmidt K5 it would not fit over the peg. The Schmidt is also too long to actually use due to the design of the cup inside the knock. Something of a flaw in my books as the slide converter does not hold much ink and is hard to find. Still you can use a short standard international cartridge by using the peg adapter included with the pen. Some of the comments on the Kickstarter page are from people who have gone that route. Unless I tried to insert the peg I was sceptical about how easy it would be to do so, but in reality it fits neatly, though not tightly, into the cup the knock pushes down, creating a flat shelf to push the cartridge and nib forwards. Just do not lose that peg and bare in mind when you go to replace your cartridge there is a reasonable risk of it falling out.

I do like the design of the nib unit. It might be simple but has two tabs (different sizes) that mean you can only ever insert the nib unit in to the section one way (are you reading this Ensso…). There is also a helpful arrow on top.

The sealing mechanism I do not like. Very few retractable pens get this right. I would suggest Lamy has, though it took them two attempts with all the earlier Dialog 3s being replaced for free for newer versions if the owner was aware and interested (and many took Lamy up on that). Pilot and Platinum you get ink trapping and drying behind the traps causing sealing issues and sticky mechanisms (I find with my Platinum Curidas I also have to apply a little silicon oil post cleaning). To me none of the latex/silicone/whatever flaps work. All that happens is the nib tipping gets dragged one way and then the other across the surface, resulting in ink being collected and pooled on the inside and they never seal properly. Ensso actually provide replacements as they will wear, shrink and potentially rip over time, however with the two Creative retractables the seals are fixed in place and are non replaceable.

How well does the pen seal? Well even if you do not use the pen much you will be refilling it after just 3-4 weeks due to ink evaporation and this is with the silicone trap being new and almost certainly doing its job. Part of this will be down to the small capacity converter.

I covered the packaging on my preview, but it is nicely done with the box also acting as a pen rest. Just be careful not to lose the peg that is jammed in.

It also comes with decent instructions that most of us will of course ignore, meaning many do not know how to use the peg for cartridges.

So thoughts on the Phantom. This is the pen that Endless Stationary should have originally released. If you have read my review of the Creator you will know I was far from impressed. This pen, nib aside is not too bad. I expect the MSRP will be ~£42/$55. Out of the three fountain pens Endless have so far released this is the only one that would be worth considering. The Captiva is just too much of a ‘smoke and mirrors’ gimmick. Having said that I am a little worried about the tales of pens cracking. I will see how mine goes over time. Also I do not consider this a long term pen as I expect the silicone trap to fail in time.

Would I recommend this pen to others? It is a cheap (though not cheapest) entry in to the world of retractable fountain pens so if you want to try one then it is certainly an option. Problem for me is the nib would put me off recommending pen. Other makes (Lamy, Pilot, Platinum) can make a thinner nib and get it to work well. Arguably if you have no issues with the feel of the nib (and the flow if you read the issues I had with the Creator) then this is a comfortable pen to hold and use. Guess I am sitting on the fence a little here. My issues with customer service only really affect those of us who bought the Phantom through Kickstarter, however the way my tipping was ground does scream about manufacturing control and QC issues.

Pros:

• Feels sold.
• Reasonable price.
• Comfortable to use.
• Removable clip.

Neutral:

• Stealth version is too glossy.
• Concern over replacing the converter if it fails.
• Peg for allowing cartridges to be used could be lost.

Cons:

• While clicking the nib out is satisfying, retracting is squishy.
• Poor ink evaporation.
• Concern over nib manufacturing issues and quality control.
• Poor customer service if something goes wrong if you need to contact Endless Stationery directly.

Writing Sample:

Comparison Pictures:

First with the ubiquitous Lamy Safari/Al-Star

Next with its sibling, the Creator

And finally with a Pilot VP and Platinum Curidas