I have a small hand, and so I am drawn to the more slim and pocket sized pens for hand comfort when writing. I enjoy the Jinhao 82 for this very reason.
I bought a few Jinhao 82s last year and I liked them. But the pull a “Sailor” slim is strong for me! I bought my one Sailor on sale and was surprised with one at Christmas. Okay, that’s alright and then got one for a milestone birthday! So I guess I just enjoy my Jinhao and Sailor tribe!
The only Sailor pen that I own that is not vintage is a High-Ace Neo. I did break down & ordered a Sailor Compass 1911 at the discounted price of $30 USD. That pen has yet to arrive. Sailor pens are beautiful, plentiful, & highly rated yet I'm not impressed enough to spend that kind of money on a pen that is just so common & prevalent. I have a couple of 82's, and for me that is enough. The criteria that I go by to purchase a pen is different than what most people would consider. I don't always choose expensive, nor to I always choose cheap!
My key thing with any pen is that it lets me get ideas out of my head and on to paper in a way that I enjoy. I find a lot of "cheaper" pens let me do that as well as the expensive ones.
I bought a slim that i wished i had never bought. I recently purchased a regular/mid-sized one using Buyee for about $150. I like the pen but I wouldn’t have bought it for $300 plus. I can’t see spending that money just for the nib. I believe that’s the selling point.
The ProGear Slim is a beautiful pen. I have always liked the nib. I have never had a complaint. For the price, the 82 is outstanding. Yes, the build quality and nib is superb on the ProGear BUT is it worth 50 + X the price over the Jinhao? That is a huge question that cannot be answered. Yes, Sailor has been producing pens for over a century and their gold nib is without question excellent. BUT for the 82 the steel nib is remarkable and the quality has jumped significantly over the past year. You can replace the nib easily if it ceases to work. Can you do that with Sailor without sending the pen back to Sailor or an authorized dealer? No. However, Sailor nibs should work forever. They use Iridium for the tipping material. Jinhao, who knows? For me, if you like the performance and feel of the 82, buy it. If it breaks, you can get another easily. As to whether pens from China should be imitating other pens, well you have to start somewhere. How many manufacturers have copied the cigar shape of a pen? More than I can count. PenBBS does excellent designs of pens. Do they imitate other manufacturers? To a degree, yes. But they make the effort to make it their own. Jinhao has done the same with many of their models. Maybe change the clip design. Maybe change the bands or finials. It would not be a copy. Wing Sung and MaJohn are the worse offenders, though. But for the price of a Wing Sung 630, I get to appreciate the feel and style of a MB 149 for a tenth of the price. There is market for these pens. Perhaps the luxury manufacturers should take notice and do the same. Some do like Faber-Castell and Pelikan.
Someone else worked out you could get 59 Jinhao 82s for the price of one Slim. If you got 3 years out of each one you'd only need about 20. I've got no problem with buying Chinese pens. I find they are a good way to see if I like the style and shape of a [en before I spend a lot of money on one.
@@GarryEves Precisely why it is such a good option. Why buy a Duofold and find out you do not like it when you can get a similar experience with a Jinhao 100 or a Kaigelu 316 for much less.
I have a number of quite high-priced pens, but lately I have been fascinated by the extremely inexpensive Chinese pens, chief among them being Jinhao 82s. A big part of my fountain pen fun is playing and tweaking. I have been amazed at how good the 82s are. I have a bunch of them in many colors. Most write nicely as they come, and the others just needed a few seconds of tuning. I usually have one among my 4-5 inked pens, and it is the one I grab when I think I might be in a situation where my pen might get lost or damaged.
I have 3 jinhao 82s, it was about $2 each so i had to buy a few to make the shipping cost worth it. Was considering getting the PG slim but wasn’t comfortable spending so much on something i might not like writing with so i tried these instead. True enough, the 82 makes for a great pocket and travel pen but great not for long writing sessions. I probably would have not enjoyed the slims. Much rather save a bit more for the larger sized Sailors.
I have a question: did the seller of the Jinhao pen know that you are a reviewer? I ask because your 82 seems to write pretty well while the M nib on my 82 is unusable.
I don't think so. I ordered it from AliExpeess. I never tell any place I buy from that I review pens etc on RUclips, so unless they have already discovered my channel I get the same experience as everyone else.
I would never have a sailor if they werent gifts I would never spend that much money on a pen NOPe not worth it hands down the jinhao is way well worth its money especially cause you could have one of the each of the colors for the price of 1 of those sailors Hands down the best for the price :)
As much as I'd love one of the larger Sailors I really can't justify the price. Someone else has calultaed that you could get 59 of the 82s for the price of the Slim.
Interesting question. I think I would not buy the Slim model, as it is a bit thin, rather I would go for a standard or maybe even a large one, depending on the price I can get them for and the colours available.
I love Chinese knock-off pens. They force you to consider the value proposition seriously. The 82 is a cheap but perfectly serviceable pen that comes in some beautiful color combinations. The PGS is a superlative pen at an astronomical price. In my considered opinion there is no reason to buy gold nibs or to pay the Sailor premium. This is coming from someone who actually collects Sailor gold nib pens. I would give the 82 nib a 5 and the PGS nib a 10. But I would give the 82 pen a value score of 10, and the Sailor a 1. Somehow I have decided that I am "worth" gold Sailors, and still buy them. This is nonsense I can't seem to get past.
I ofyen buy a Chinese pen that is based on an expensive one to try out the shape, and size etc. This had led me to purchases a number of the more expensive pens that I would not of spent so much money on without knowing how well it fit in my hand.
Actually 59 Jinhao,s for one Sailor. I have written with both and they, as you say, are good writers. But 59 to 1! Enjoyed the video.
Thanks. Thats multiple of each colour. Hopefully there would be a way to customise the nib.
I have a small hand, and so I am drawn to the more slim and pocket sized pens for hand comfort when writing. I enjoy the Jinhao 82 for this very reason.
👍
I bought a few Jinhao 82s last year and I liked them. But the pull a “Sailor” slim is strong for me! I bought my one Sailor on sale and was surprised with one at Christmas. Okay, that’s alright and then got one for a milestone birthday! So I guess I just enjoy my Jinhao and Sailor tribe!
👍
Nice comparison. If I weren't able to see the nib, I'd never guess which pen was which.
I do like the way they feel. I wonder if it's possible to swap the nibs, something for me to ponder on.
The only Sailor pen that I own that is not vintage is a High-Ace Neo. I did break down & ordered a Sailor Compass 1911 at the discounted price of $30 USD. That pen has yet to arrive. Sailor pens are beautiful, plentiful, & highly rated yet I'm not impressed enough to spend that kind of money on a pen that is just so common & prevalent. I have a couple of 82's, and for me that is enough. The criteria that I go by to purchase a pen is different than what most people would consider. I don't always choose expensive, nor to I always choose cheap!
👍
My key thing with any pen is that it lets me get ideas out of my head and on to paper in a way that I enjoy.
I find a lot of "cheaper" pens let me do that as well as the expensive ones.
I bought a slim that i wished i had never bought. I recently purchased a regular/mid-sized one using Buyee for about $150. I like the pen but I wouldn’t have bought it for $300 plus. I can’t see spending that money just for the nib. I believe that’s the selling point.
If I were to buy another I would likely go for the standard size, although they are very expensive.
Check the Sailor Lecoule. Might be a better comparison to the Jinhao 82 as both are steel nibs.
Thanks. I've added that to my "to buy" list.
The ProGear Slim is a beautiful pen. I have always liked the nib. I have never had a complaint.
For the price, the 82 is outstanding.
Yes, the build quality and nib is superb on the ProGear BUT is it worth 50 + X the price over the Jinhao? That is a huge question that cannot be answered. Yes, Sailor has been producing pens for over a century and their gold nib is without question excellent. BUT for the 82 the steel nib is remarkable and the quality has jumped significantly over the past year. You can replace the nib easily if it ceases to work. Can you do that with Sailor without sending the pen back to Sailor or an authorized dealer? No.
However, Sailor nibs should work forever. They use Iridium for the tipping material. Jinhao, who knows?
For me, if you like the performance and feel of the 82, buy it. If it breaks, you can get another easily.
As to whether pens from China should be imitating other pens, well you have to start somewhere. How many manufacturers have copied the cigar shape of a pen? More than I can count. PenBBS does excellent designs of pens. Do they imitate other manufacturers? To a degree, yes. But they make the effort to make it their own. Jinhao has done the same with many of their models.
Maybe change the clip design. Maybe change the bands or finials. It would not be a copy.
Wing Sung and MaJohn are the worse offenders, though. But for the price of a Wing Sung 630, I get to appreciate the feel and style of a MB 149 for a tenth of the price. There is market for these pens. Perhaps the luxury manufacturers should take notice and do the same. Some do like Faber-Castell and Pelikan.
Someone else worked out you could get 59 Jinhao 82s for the price of one Slim.
If you got 3 years out of each one you'd only need about 20.
I've got no problem with buying Chinese pens. I find they are a good way to see if I like the style and shape of a [en before I spend a lot of money on one.
@@GarryEves Precisely why it is such a good option. Why buy a Duofold and find out you do not like it when you can get a similar experience with a Jinhao 100 or a Kaigelu 316 for much less.
I have a number of quite high-priced pens, but lately I have been fascinated by the extremely inexpensive Chinese pens, chief among them being Jinhao 82s. A big part of my fountain pen fun is playing and tweaking. I have been amazed at how good the 82s are. I have a bunch of them in many colors. Most write nicely as they come, and the others just needed a few seconds of tuning. I usually have one among my 4-5 inked pens, and it is the one I grab when I think I might be in a situation where my pen might get lost or damaged.
👍
I have 3 jinhao 82s, it was about $2 each so i had to buy a few to make the shipping cost worth it. Was considering getting the PG slim but wasn’t comfortable spending so much on something i might not like writing with so i tried these instead. True enough, the 82 makes for a great pocket and travel pen but great not for long writing sessions. I probably would have not enjoyed the slims. Much rather save a bit more for the larger sized Sailors.
👍
I have a question: did the seller of the Jinhao pen know that you are a reviewer? I ask because your 82 seems to write pretty well while the M nib on my 82 is unusable.
I don't think so. I ordered it from AliExpeess.
I never tell any place I buy from that I review pens etc on RUclips, so unless they have already discovered my channel I get the same experience as everyone else.
The Jinhao 82 is the best starter fountain pen in my opinion.
👍
I would never have a sailor if they werent gifts I would never spend that much money on a pen NOPe not worth it hands down the jinhao is way well worth its money especially cause you could have one of the each of the colors for the price of 1 of those sailors Hands down the best for the price :)
As much as I'd love one of the larger Sailors I really can't justify the price. Someone else has calultaed that you could get 59 of the 82s for the price of the Slim.
@@GarryEves exactly !
Would you repurchase the Sailor if you lost it?
Interesting question.
I think I would not buy the Slim model, as it is a bit thin, rather I would go for a standard or maybe even a large one, depending on the price I can get them for and the colours available.
Thanks that's very helpful.
I own the regular size Sailor Pro Gear. This particular size fits my hand much better!
The slim, is too "slim"
@@user-gl5ld9vm7i 👍
I love Chinese knock-off pens. They force you to consider the value proposition seriously. The 82 is a cheap but perfectly serviceable pen that comes in some beautiful color combinations. The PGS is a superlative pen at an astronomical price. In my considered opinion there is no reason to buy gold nibs or to pay the Sailor premium. This is coming from someone who actually collects Sailor gold nib pens. I would give the 82 nib a 5 and the PGS nib a 10. But I would give the 82 pen a value score of 10, and the Sailor a 1.
Somehow I have decided that I am "worth" gold Sailors, and still buy them. This is nonsense I can't seem to get past.
I ofyen buy a Chinese pen that is based on an expensive one to try out the shape, and size etc.
This had led me to purchases a number of the more expensive pens that I would not of spent so much money on without knowing how well it fit in my hand.
@@GarryEves Yeah that's another good feature.