The Moonman Has Landed! Introducing the Moonman M2

Another Chinese pen up for review today, this time, the Moonman M2. My intention was to have some information about the company itself, but unfortuneately, I wasn’t able to come up with much, which is to say…. next to nothing.

I. First Impressions 9/10

My real first impression of this pen was formed when I first saw a picture of it, and then a YouTube review of this pen by Chris Rapp. The first thing I was impressed with, was how beautiful I thought it looked. To me, it looked like art. Appearance is very subjective, but I thought the pen was just beautiful. Upon receipt of the pen, all those positive first impressions were merely confirmed and reinforced.

II. Appearance 9/10

As I just stated, it’s beautiful. Art. I’ve grown to really like demonstrator pens over the last 3 or 4 years. With a typical demonstrator,there’s several interesting internal components to see.

As this pen is an eye dropper only filler, the only “things” to see are the nib and feed in the section, and the ink in the body cavity. That’s it. And that’s part of what lends to it’s simple beauty.

The pen comes in one flavor, clear acrylic with a red anodized aluminum band (with the Moonman brand emblazoned in white) between the cap and body. And a gold plated steel extra-fine nib. The pen’s shape is distinctly torpedo-shaped and the clear acrylic body is highly polished both inside and out. Capped, the only line on the pen is horizontally where the cap meets up with the body. The body line of the pen is continuous as the cap is the same diameter as the body at the point where they meet, making for a clean line, end to end.

III. Design / Size / Weight 7/10

I have to admit, part of what attracted me to this pen was something that typically would have put me off: it lacks any kind of clip. I’m a practical kind of guy. And almost any pen (to me) without a clip is impractical — other than “pocket” pens, small and designed to be carried in a pants pocket. Like a Kaweco Sport or Lilliput, for example. This pen is not that. It’s one of a growing number of modern pens that eschews a clip for the sake of aesthetics. Specs on the pen are as follows:

• Capped: 139mm
• Posted: 155mm
• Girth: 14mm
• Weight: 15 grams

My only reason for the 7 score is the lack of a clip. But I struggle with that justification as adding a clip would ruin the beautiful look of the pen.

IV. Nib 9/10

Ok, it’s a 9 out of 10 for what it is. What it is, is a .38mm extra-fine nib. And it’s outstanding. Gold plated extra-fine steel nib, probably the best example of which I own.

V. Filling System 8/10

What to say here. It’s an eyedropper only system and it works. It holds a huge amount of ink, approximately 3ml. As an additional click on the cool meter, the pen comes with a real eye dropper pipette.

VI. Cost / Value 9/10

At $15 (what I paid for mine on eBay), the only reason I have for not rating it a 10 is not knowing how well it will hold up after say, a year in use. Based upon the apparent quality of construction and the materials used, my guess is it will hold up very well indeed. Time will tell though.

VII. Conclusion 8.5 / 10

So the only reason this pen doesn’t score higher than 8.5 overall is paradoxical. And mostly having to do with design and filling. It’s because the pen lacks a clip, that it’s so beautiful (again, at least to me). But that also gives the pen a characteristic of impracticality. And because it’s only an eye dropper filler, it’s beautiful. But it’s certainly not as convenient to fill. If you travel with it, you’ll also need to take a syringe or eye dropper to fill with.

So to tie things up, this $15 pen, made in China (and to my limited knowledge, not a knock off of anything else) is another example of an eastern pen that offers FAR more value than many of it’s mainstream counterparts. Most, in fact.

Some other great reviews on the Moonman M2:

• YouTube reviewer Chris Rap
• Frank Underwater, This guy has an exceptional amount of knowledge!