Platinum Prefounte Fountain Pen - Crimson Red

A $6 Platinum Preppy was my first fountain pen, and I loved it immediately. If I'd gotten a Prefounte as my first, I don't know that I would have fallen down the fountain pen rabbit hole as quickly. For one, I don't think the Prefounte really looks better than the Preppy—it eliminates the text on the barrel, and has an upgraded metal clip, but overall I still like Preppy better. I guess it's just sort of appealingly cute and the Prefounte's minimalistic design seems a bit dull. The main issue, however, is that I got a Prefounte that constantly skipped. I was pretty disappointed, since my Preppy was so immediately smooth and "juicy." After giving the Prefounte's feed a good rinsing, it finally started writing smoothly. It was just annoying that the rather more expensive pen caused trouble while the cheap one was perfect. One other ding against the Prefounte: unlike the Preppy, which comes with matching ink, the Prefounte only comes with the Blue-Black ink cartridge. It's sort of a dull, unsaturated ink that I would never choose for myself. Overall, I wouldn't mind trying another Prefounte as it's still well-priced, but the Preppy remains the superior value option.

I bought this pen to try out the Platinum carbon ink as I was worried about a carbon ink clogging a more expensive pen. I bought this pen in a fine and it's sweet little writer. Nothing fancy here, but does the job nicely. The carbon ink flows every time no matter how long it's been sitting unused in this pen. The pen and ink work perfectly together. I eye-droppered the pen and it's given me no issues.

I normally use slightly more expensive pens but I have been really enjoying this pen. I keep it with my expense tracker so I mainly use it for quick notes. It fits the pen loop I have and hasn’t leaked. I feel fine using disinfecting wipes on it and carrying it in public without ruining the finish on it.