Editing The Pen Addict 539/transcript (section)

== Top five pen updates and rankings ==


'''Brad Dowdy:''' All right, Myke. I have been continuing down the top five updates. I've actually been, I've been a good boy, Myke. I've been reasonably steady getting these updates in because I've been enjoying reading the pieces

'''Myke Hurley:''' you've been writing and refill. I like that you're doing it the way that you're doing it. This like slow rollout.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. I don't know why that hit me one day. I was like, if I'm going to get this done, I can't do it all at once. So what if I broke it down into chunks, talked about the changes I made in a little bit more detail to Panatic members and released it a little bit early and then just took each category and worked my way through. Like as we get further down the list, I'll probably do like multiple, multiple links or multiple lists at a time. Um, I don't know. We only have what, six weeks left in the year and I definitely have more than six lists to, to update. And I know there's going to be weeks where I can't do, um, I need to talk about other things. So, um, yeah, we're, we're pretty much on track. So we'll get it updated here pretty soon. Um, but we have, this was kind of the last core, um, I think top five lists that the people are most interested in. Um, we still have some, some other pretty popular lists after this, but this was the, the top five fountain pens between 100 and $200. Um, I think that's a really core part of this top five page because you kind of get led into it right in the order that I've done these, you know, we start with micro gel ink pens and pens in the store, right before you're, before people are into fountain pens or people who aren't into fountain pens, that's the things that they're thinking about. Then, oh, maybe they start thinking about fountain pens and I have the top five fountain pens for beginners. Then I have the top five next fountain pens. Once you kind of get past that beginner phase and start looking at other things. And then you really make the jump. And I think that first big jump in fountain pens is this 100 to $200 price range. So I wanted to have, I've always had this list, uh, here and this list has changed a lot over the years. And actually we've done, I don't know, it's probably been a couple of years, but we'd actually did a, I updated this list specifically once because so many pens that were on it had been priced out of this, right? Like over the past couple of years, the, the market has, you know, seen price increases across the board, you know, rare materials such as gold, you know, gold, silver, platinum, any of the parts, you know, like nibs specifically that are made, uh, for a lot of these very, very popular pens. It's the cost of those, those manufacturing pieces have gone up and therefore priced a lot of these pens out of this range. So I updated this one a couple of years ago or maybe even last year. I don't even remember, um, to kind of better think about this price point. And it's still a tough price point because it's pretty much the top five fountain pens between $175 and 200.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Remind me here. Didn't, didn't we talk about like you were going to give this a new name? No. Wasn't it like next step or something?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' That's the previous list. So we talked about that before. So this is the next, this is after that.

'''Myke Hurley:''' So the one we just did was the step up. I'm sorry. I've forgotten the name. So that was like the step up, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Your second fountain pen.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. And this is when you're this 100, this price point, um, why did you keep the price point

'''Myke Hurley:''' for this one? Why not give that like also its own name?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Because a lot of times this is where the question it's a lot of times it's a question based, right? So I have X amount of dollars to spend like a hundred dollars seems to be a price breaker, right? So anything under a hundred dollars is usually not tied into price, right? When I get a question. So again, these are recommendations, not personal favorites. So when I get questions and a lot of this is based on that, Hey, I want to, I need a beginner fountain pen. I'm new. Like help me find that. So, okay. I have this list. All right. I, I like that beginner pen. What's next? What should I look at next? And it's like, okay, I figured that it's like, no. Okay. Now I've budgeted like, I think like a hundred dollars, like for a pen or like, you know, $150 for a pen. What do I want to do? So that's how the questions come in. So this seems to be the best way to answer the most people's, uh, the most questions I receive. Does that make sense?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. And also I'm not saying you are doing this, but no, this, this particular, no, no, no. What I'm about to say, this particular question I expect is very good for Google.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Oh yeah. Right. Literally, literally never crossed my mind. I'm not saying it is, but like you said that it is a good reason to keep it. Yeah. Sure.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Cause the pen addict, like the website ranks very high in SEO anyway.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So, you know, somebody's the top five pins name definitely does.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. Yeah. But all of them, like if I Google any pen, you always come up first.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Ah, gotcha. Gotcha. Gotcha. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, yeah, it's very clean and very, you know, basic and simple and like search termy, but like, I've never thought of it that way. Other than like, I do know that if you just write in top five pens, um, like that's a pretty, that's pretty, you know, popular, but the rest of it, I haven't, I haven't thought about the individual list in that way.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Top pens, $100 and it comes up.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Gotcha. So yeah, like after you get past the beginner and the next, next set, then I think people start thinking of it more in two price brackets, right? So this is that next price bracket. And the challenge, as you'll see during the results of this and what I already said is this is really like $175 to $200, right? There's pens that are good that are, you know, $125 or $140, but I have a hard time recommending them. So for example, we'll get to the list in a second, but what didn't make the list were two very popular pens. That's the Pelican M205. So their entry-level piston filler. Those are around $120, $130. And then the Pilot Vanishing Point, which is around $160, maybe a little bit more, $180, somewhere in that range. So those are two extremely, extremely popular pens. But when I look at them from a recommendation perspective, and as we go through this list, you'll see why maybe those didn't make the cut.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' The 205 is the hardest one to leave off the list. The Vanishing Point's actually pretty easy to leave off the list. So let's go down the list and then we'll break it all down. I had to, I made a mistake on the last list and oversight, leaving the Pilot Custom 74 out.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' And I wanted to correct that on this list. It's the best pen in this range. That's wild to me. Pretty easily.

'''Myke Hurley:''' That a pen you left off is no number one. Like that, I don't understand how that has happened.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It had been on the list in the past, right? And for a while there, Pilot stopped updating the 74, right? It just existed in the same clear purple and orange colors that it existed in 10 years ago, or maybe even longer, right? So there was no freshness in that lineup. So I kind of just, eh, okay, it's there. Like I didn't think about it. It doesn't really, you know, come up that much. So I kind of just, it was kind of out of sight, out of mind, if you will. Right. Well, then they started, all of a sudden there's like four new colors of the 74. I was like, oh, they're going to push this one. Why are they pushing this one? What's special about this? And it was always a pen that was in the same conversation with the Sailor Pro Gear Slim and the Platinum 3776 and the Pilot Custom 74, right? Those three kind of ran together. And then Sailor priced itself out. This is kind of, if you think about it, these are those brands kind of entry level gold nib pens. Platinum, excuse me, Pilot does have some other options. The 91 is another option too, but I'll talk about that in a minute. But those three were kind of those first gold nib pens for Pilot, Sailor, and Platinum. And I think the Pilot is my favorite one. It's priced the best. It's more like $160, $165. They have upgraded a lot of the barrel colors. It's a very, you know, simple, lightweight, cool looking pen. It's not for everyone. All the barrels are translucent, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Fun colors. Like I have a teal color that I use a lot. It's really, really nice. And it's just great. It's just great quality. It's priced so well. It has somehow not been subject to great price increases that a lot of the competition has. And for that quality and for that price, I think it's a really easy recommendation to make it at number one. And with number two being Platinum 3776, even though I prefer the 3776 because I like the way the nibs feel, I think the 74 is still the best recommendation, the best universal recommendation. The 3776, at this price, they are a little bit more limited in color. However, they do have the benefit of offering more nib choices. I think that's the big thing with 3776 is you can get a few different nib sizes that you can't get in the 74.

'''Myke Hurley:''' 3776 would be my number one.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. And that was the previous number one. And it would be my number one too.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I don't have a lot of experience of the 74, but just the 74 doesn't excite me in any way. It doesn't do anything for me. Where the 3776, you can get some really cool ones. Yeah. And some of them staying even within that one to 200. Yeah. Some of the really nice ones do push over. But the nib is still the same. And for me, the gold nib in the 3776 is, I think, the best nib you can buy. That you can just buy without needing to modify or whatever. I think that the 3776 gold nib is a masterpiece.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. I agree. In my personal list, I would have the 3776 first. The reason why I put the 74 ahead of it is because I just think it's a better nib for more people. I think the 3776 nib is unique in a way that some people dislike. Out the box, they're wondering, what is this feedback that I'm getting? Even though it's glorious, I think it's fantastic. So yeah. I mean, I'm not going to argue if someone wants to flip-flop those. It's 1 and 1A type of situation. But I would recommend the 74. I'm always going to recommend those together pretty much anyway. This list is definitely 1 and 2. Because number 3 is the Lamy 2000. And this pen has been number 1 on this list. This pen has been off the list. Depends on if I'm mad at it or not at the time. But the way this price point has been working, and Lamy, this 2000 is almost off this list. They're like $199 now. It is still one of the best pens at this price point for the construction or the filling mechanism or the nib. The 14 karat gold nib. Now the nib, talking about a different nib between the 74 and the 3776, this is a wider, wetter nib. Again, some people, you know, have to, you know, don't like the out-of-the-box nib experience with the 2000. I understand that. They can be a little, I call it, I don't know what the right term is. I call them the sticky, right? Like they, they're not as glassy, smooth as like the 74 or just the airy, tactile feedback of the 3776. They, they are definitely like on the page, right? But in the context of this list, I don't know how I could not recommend it this highly. It's, I think the 2000 is awesome, right? I think it's really, really great. And I recommend it to a lot of people. And a lot of people just use this pen and it could be their one and only pen for like a lifetime, right? If you're looking for the lifetime purchase, you're going with the 2000, maybe even ahead of the two above it, right? So it's just a, it's the most uniquely constructed out of this list. And maybe next year it's off this list if the price continues to increase.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I would say that the Lamy 2000 is the best gift on this list.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. It's, it answers a lot of questions for people who don't listen to this podcast, if you will, but are into this kind of stuff, right? And it just-

'''Myke Hurley:''' I mean, it's very professional looking, incredibly unique, right?

'''Brad Dowdy:''' It will knock your socks off. Yeah. It knocks my socks off to this day. Every time I grab one, it's like, ah, this is so good. Like it is that good of a product, right?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. I really, I really love the Lamy 2000. That is just a great pen. Yep. It is. It really is. I'm going to pause you there. We'll take our final break and we'll come back and finish the rest of this list. Gotcha. This episode is brought to you by Trade Coffee. The holidays are approaching, so it's time to start thinking about what you want to get as gifts for your loved ones. If you're looking for something to get even the hardest person to shop for, look no further than a personalized coffee subscription from Trade Coffee. Trade Coffee is a subscription service that makes it so simple for you to discover new coffees and make your best cup of coffee at home every day. Or you could do that for somebody else with a gift. Trade partners with the nation's top rated independent roasters to send you coffee you're going to love, fresh to your home and on your preferred schedule. Whether you already know what you like or you're new to specialty coffee and need some help, Trade makes it easy and convenient to discover new coffees. They've done that for me. They've done that for Brad. I really love the stuff that I get from Trade Coffee because they open me up to more choice than I would otherwise have. Because it's like, how do you find the independent roasters before you could even choose to buy the coffee from them? Well, Trade does that work for you. And you don't need to choose because Trade knows what you like. So they're going to send you what you're going to like. Trade Coffee is the perfect gift for loved ones. They make it easy with their digital gifting options for last minute shoppers. Hey, this is a great thing for last minute gifts. You know, if you're one of those kinds of people or maybe there's someone you forgot. Perfect. Trade is perfect. They also have coffee and equipment bundles to put something under the tree as well. That's actually a nice one too, right? You buy someone a subscription and give them like a V60 or something. That's smart. Treat yourself for the coffee lover in your life of Trade Coffee. Right now, Trade is offering listeners of this show a total of $30 off a subscription and access to limited time holiday specials by going to drinktrade.com slash penaddict. That's D-R-I-N-K-T-R-A-D-E dot com slash penaddict for $30 off. Drinktrade.com slash penaddict. Our thanks to Trade for their support of this episode and Relay FM.