Diplomat fountain pens are among the best fountain pens money can buy, and lately the German company has been pushing their lovely Aero in the marketplace. I currently keep one of these fountain pens near me, but how does it size up compared to others?
I added a video review on YouTube of the Diplomat Aero. You can find it below...
First Impressions…
The fountain pen comes in a nice gift box that has a cushioned inside and is wrapped in an aluminium enclosure. All through the unboxing, you are greeted by the Diplomat name so you don’t forget who made the pen. It’s a classy gift box worthy of giving to a friend or a family member on a special occasion.
Two international standard cartridges are included in the box and the pen also comes fitted with a converter allowing you to use a bottled ink of your choice.
Because of the international standard nature of the fittings, you can use any manufacturer’s cartridge as long as it is also international standard. Any water based fountain pen ink would work, but with a higher end pen I like to stick with Diamine, Waterman or one of the other non-boutique inks.
The pen has an anodised aluminium body and comes in a variety of colours, from black through to turquoise. There are also limited editions such as the swirly Volute.
The Aero is designed after the Zeppelin airship and really looks like one when you take it out of the box!
The barrel does seem a little wider than some pens, but once you take the cap off, you’ll be happy with the narrower nib section. The grip is nice and pen feels very good in the hand.
The Diplomat Aero comes fitted with a large stainless steel JoWo nib. The nib and feed combination make for a great writing experience and performance is very smooth.
Because of the Zeppelin nature of the barrel, the pen won’t roll around too much when placed on a table.
The trim comes either in light grey or dark grey depending on the pen colour (see the YouTube video for trim options). The clip is particularly solid and the overall aesthetics of the pen is pleasing to the eye.
Although the pen is a snap lid rather than a screw lid it feels really solid and I don’t think you will have problems with it over time.
On some lower end pens, the snap mechanism can become lose and need to be replaced. I haven’t heard of the Diplomat Aero having this problem, and you wouldn’t expect it from a higher end fountain pen.
There is a satisfying slip and click when you take the cap off or put it back on.
All in all, first impressions with this pen are very positive. It’s a good size pen for most hands, has a lovely feed and nib and a unique shape that looks extremely stylish.
I love the weight of the pen. Not overly heavy, but not light either. It feels perfectly balanced.
You can find Diplomat Aero fountain pens on our website here: Diplomats at Knight’s Writing Company.