Fountain Pens
Pilot Varsity review
The cheapest way to find out whether you actually like writing with a nib, sold in packs and designed to be thrown away. That last part is the whole argument.
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Every recommendation on this site eventually runs into the same problem: you cannot know whether you like writing with a fountain pen until you have written with one, and every pen worth owning costs enough that buying one to find out feels like a gamble.
The Varsity is Pilot's answer to that, and it is a better answer than it looks. It is a genuine fountain pen - a steel nib, a proper feed, liquid ink drawn down by capillary action - in a body you are expected to throw away when it runs dry. Nothing about the writing end is a compromise. Everything about the ownership is.
What Pilot actually publishes
Less than you would hope, and the gaps are worth naming before anything else on this page.
The listing states that this is a disposable fountain pen with what Pilot calls an advanced liquid ink system and a real fountain pen nib, that the ink supply is visible so you can see how much is left, and that the pack contains six single pens with black ink. It gives the model as 90010.
It does not state a nib width in millimeters. That is normal - almost no pen maker publishes one, which is exactly why the nib size guide exists - but it is worth saying plainly rather than printing a number we cannot source.
The pen
Quick picks
Ranked for the beginner buying their first setup. Every pick names who it is wrong for.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Pilot Varsity (6-pack) A disposable fountain pen that writes like a real one, sold in packs, and the cheapest possible answer to whether you like the feel. | Trying the writing feel with no commitment | $14.99 · View on Amazon #ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded |
| 2 |  Platinum Preppy The cheapest honest fountain pen on the shelf, and the only one on this page you can lose without minding. | Finding out whether you like fountain pens at all | $6.84 · View on Amazon #ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded |
| 3 |  Pilot Kakuno A hexagonal barrel that will not roll off a desk, a smiling face on the nib to show which way is up, and a genuinely good Pilot nib underneath. | Younger writers and small handwriting | $9.90 · View on Amazon #ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded |
| 4 |  Pilot Metropolitan A brass-bodied pen with a nib far better than the price suggests, and the one most consistently handed to beginners. | The default first pen |
1. Trying the writing feel with no commitment
Pilot Varsity (6-pack)
A disposable fountain pen that writes like a real one, sold in packs, and the cheapest possible answer to whether you like the feel.
#ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded
The Varsity is the honest way to answer the only question that matters at the start: do you actually enjoy writing with a nib? It costs less than a coffee per pen and writes with a real feed and a real steel nib rather than a felt tip pretending.
It runs wet and medium-broad, which means it will bleed through cheap office paper. That is not a fault in the pen — it is the paper lesson, delivered early and cheaply.
It is disposable. When it runs out, it is finished, and that is the trade you are making for the price.
| Nib | Medium, stainless steel, non-replaceableSource: Pilot Varsity, black, 6-pack (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
|---|---|
| Filling | Sealed and pre-filled; not designed to be refilledSource: Pilot Varsity, black, 6-pack (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Ink | Liquid ink, blackSource: Pilot Varsity, black, 6-pack (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Ink window | Visible ink supply, so the level left in the pen can be seenSource: Pilot Varsity, black, 6-pack (retail listing, read 2026-09-27) |
| Sold as | Pack of 6 single pens, black ink; model 90010Source: Pilot Varsity, black, 6-pack (retail listing, read 2026-09-27) |
| Nib width in mm | Not published |
What it does well
- Writes like a real fountain pen, not a marker
- No cartridge, converter or bottle decisions to make
- Cheap enough to leave one in every bag
What it does not
- Cannot be refilled
- Wet medium nib bleeds through thin paper
- No choice of nib width
Skip this if you already know you want to keep the pen — the money is better spent once on something refillable.
2. Finding out whether you like fountain pens at all
Platinum Preppy
The cheapest honest fountain pen on the shelf, and the only one on this page you can lose without minding.
#ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded
Platinum publishes the nib width in millimeters, which almost nobody else in this category does. That single fact makes the Preppy the cleanest reference point on the whole site: when we say a Japanese Fine is about 0.3 mm, this is the pen we can point at.
The slip-and-seal cap is the other reason it matters. Platinum's cap mechanism keeps the nib from drying out for months, so a Preppy left in a drawer usually writes on the first stroke — the failure that puts most beginners off fountain pens for good.
It is still a cheap plastic pen. The cap cracks if you post it hard, and the body is not built to survive a bag full of keys.
| Nib width in mm | Platinum names the nib by its width: 02 is 0.2 mm, 03 is 0.3 mmOne of the very few makers that states a millimeter figure at all.Source: Platinum Preppy 02, 0.2 mm (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
|---|---|
| Nib grades offered | 02 extra fine and 03 fine, in several barrel colorsSource: Platinum Preppy, Fine (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Filling | Platinum proprietary cartridge; a Platinum converter fits the same barrelSource: Platinum Carbon ink cartridges (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Body | Transparent plastic, snap capSource: Platinum Preppy, Fine (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
What it does well
- The maker actually publishes the nib width in millimeters
- Cap seal genuinely resists drying out between uses
- Cheap enough to be a test rather than a commitment
What it does not
- Plastic cap cracks under pressure
- Proprietary Platinum cartridges
- No weight to it — feels like the disposable it nearly is
Skip this if you want a pen that feels substantial in the hand, or if you plan to carry it loose in a bag every day.
3. Younger writers and small handwriting
Pilot Kakuno
A hexagonal barrel that will not roll off a desk, a smiling face on the nib to show which way is up, and a genuinely good Pilot nib underneath.
#ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded
The Kakuno was designed for Japanese schoolchildren, and every design decision follows from that: hexagonal so it stays put, a face embossed on the nib so you can see at a glance whether you are holding it upside down, and a nib tuned to be forgiving rather than fast.
It shares a nib family with the Metropolitan, so the writing experience is closer to that pen than the price gap suggests. What you give up is the brass body and the sense of occasion.
The cap does not post, which is a real annoyance for anyone with large hands — you either hold a slightly short pen or find somewhere to put the cap.
| Line width | 0.3 mm on the Fine nibStated in the listing's own product attributes.Source: Pilot Kakuno, Fine (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
|---|---|
| Nib grades offered | Extra Fine, Fine, MediumSource: Pilot Kakuno, Extra Fine 0.3 mm (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Body | Hexagonal plastic barrel; the cap does not postSource: Pilot Kakuno, Fine (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Filling | Pilot proprietary cartridge, or a Pilot CON-40 converterSource: Pilot CON-40 converter (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
What it does well
- The maker publishes a millimeter figure for the nib
- Hexagonal barrel does not roll
- Same Pilot nib quality as pens costing twice as much
What it does not
- The cap does not post on the barrel
- Unmistakably a children's pen to look at
- Proprietary Pilot cartridges
Skip this if the pen has to look serious on a desk at work, or if you have large hands and need to post the cap.
4. The default first pen
Pilot Metropolitan
A brass-bodied pen with a nib far better than the price suggests, and the one most consistently handed to beginners.
The brass body is the reason this pen feels like it costs more than it does. It gives the pen weight in the hand and a cold, solid grip section, which is the single thing most people notice moving up from a plastic school pen.
The nib is a Japanese Fine. That matters more than the letter suggests: Japanese grades run narrower than German ones, so a Pilot Fine lays a line closer to what a European maker would call extra fine. If you write small or on thin paper, that narrowness is doing you a favor.
The catch is filling. The Metropolitan takes Pilot's own cartridges, not the international standard ones every other brand shares, and the converter you need to use bottled ink is a separate purchase.
| Nib grades offered | Fine and Medium (stub also sold separately)Source: Pilot Metropolitan, Fine (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
|---|---|
| Nib width in mm | Not publishedPilot does not state a millimeter width for the Metropolitan nib in this listing. Japanese Fine runs narrower than a German Fine — see the nib size guide. |
| Body | Brass barrel, painted finishSource: Pilot Metropolitan, Fine (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| Filling | Pilot proprietary cartridge, or a Pilot CON-40 / CON-70 converter (sold separately)Source: Pilot CON-40 converter (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
| In the box | Pen with one black ink cartridge and a squeeze converterSource: Pilot Metropolitan, Fine (retail listing, read 2026-09-01) |
What it does well
- Brass body at a plastic-pen price
- Japanese Fine nib puts down a narrow, controlled line
- Extremely widely stocked, so replacements and spares are easy
What it does not
- Proprietary Pilot cartridges, not the international standard
- Converter is sold separately
- The painted finish scuffs if you pocket-carry it with keys
Skip this if you want to use bottled ink on day one without a second purchase, or if you already know you prefer a broad, wet line.
Can you refill a Pilot Varsity?
This is the most common question about this pen, so it gets a straight answer: Pilot sells it as disposable, publishes no refill instructions, and designs no refill path into it. There is no cartridge slot and no converter that fits.
You will find people who refill them anyway, by working the nib and feed out of the front of the barrel and reloading with bottled ink. We are not going to walk you through that, for two reasons. The first is that we have not done it and this site does not publish procedures it has not verified. The second is more useful to you: it is a modification, not a feature, and a pen that was never designed to come apart will not always go back together.
If refilling appeals to you, that instinct is telling you something real - you want a refillable pen. The honest move is to buy one. The Platinum Preppy costs about the same as a couple of Varsitys, takes cartridges out of the box, and is the pen most people should buy the moment they know they like this.
The economics, which are not as good as they look
A pack of six looks cheap, and per pen it is the least expensive fountain pen on this site. But the cost that matters is cost per page, and there the arithmetic turns.
Each Varsity holds one pen's worth of ink and then stops being a pen. A refillable pen of similar price holds one cartridge's worth and then holds another, and another, for years. Over any meaningful amount of writing the disposable is the more expensive option by a wide margin, and it is worth being clear about that rather than selling the pack price as a bargain.
| Varsity | Preppy | Kakuno | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refillable | No, by design | Yes, cartridge or converter | Yes, cartridge or converter |
| Ink included | Yes, sealed in | Yes, one cartridge | Yes, one cartridge |
| Ink level visible | Yes, published ink window | Yes, the whole body is clear | No |
| Nib width published in mm | No | Yes, Platinum publishes it | Yes, Pilot publishes it |
| What happens when it runs out | You throw it away | You buy a cartridge | You buy a cartridge |
Read that table as an argument for buying exactly one pack of Varsitys and then never buying another. That is the correct use of this pen.
How it writes, and the paper warning that goes with it
The Varsity runs wet. That is a design decision and mostly a good one - a wet pen starts first time, which matters enormously for someone who has never used a nib and would reasonably conclude a hesitant pen is a broken pen.
The consequence is that it will bleed through thin paper. Not ghost, bleed: ink through to the reverse and sometimes to the sheet below. On standard office or printer paper this is close to guaranteed, and it is the moment most people decide fountain pens are impractical.
They are not. The paper is wrong. That lesson is worth learning early and cheaply, which is one more argument for meeting it with a pen that costs very little - and then reading bleed, ghosting and feathering and buying something that can cope. If you are stuck with the paper you have, the inks for cheap paper page covers the other half of the fix.
The disposability question
A pen designed to be thrown away sits oddly on a site about objects people keep for decades, and it would be dishonest not to say so.
The defense is narrow but real: one pack of six, bought once, to answer a question, is a very small amount of plastic compared with the alternative most people actually choose, which is a lifetime of disposable ballpoints. The Varsity earns its place as a gateway and nowhere else. Buying them repeatedly is the failure mode, and if you find yourself on your third pack the pen has done its job and you should have moved on two packs ago.
Where it beats better pens
- Lending. You can hand one to someone who is curious and not think about whether you get it back. Try that with a Metropolitan.
- Travel. Nothing to leak into a bag that you would mind losing, and no converter to unscrew itself at altitude.
- Teaching a child. A pen that costs almost nothing removes the anxiety from a beginner's first attempts, which is most of the battle.
- A bag you never clean out. The ink window means you can tell at a glance whether the one in the bottom of your rucksack still works.
Where it loses
- No nib choice. One nib, one width, and no way to go finer for small handwriting or thin paper.
- No ink choice. Whatever Pilot sealed in is what you get, so none of the ink pages on this site are of any use to you while you own one.
- No maintenance path. When the flow degrades there is nothing to flush, so a pen that starts misbehaving is simply finished.
- It feels like what it is. Light plastic, and you notice.
The verdict
The Varsity is the best answer to a question almost everyone asks and very few people can answer cheaply: do I actually like this? It writes like a real fountain pen because it is one, it starts reliably, and it tells you how much ink is left, which is more than several pens costing ten times as much manage.
It is not a pen to own. It is a pen to use up. Buy one pack, write with it until you know the answer, and then either go back to whatever you were using or buy something refillable with a nib width you chose - which is where the beginner roundup picks up.
On that single job, nothing else comes close, and the pens that could do it better all cost enough to defeat the point.
Questions people actually ask
Can you refill a Pilot Varsity?
Not as designed. Pilot sells the Varsity as a disposable pen, there is no cartridge slot or converter that fits, and no refill instructions are published. People do modify them to take bottled ink, but that is a modification rather than a feature and we do not publish procedures we have not verified. If you want to refill a pen, buy a refillable one - a Platinum Preppy costs about the same as two Varsitys.
Is the Pilot Varsity a real fountain pen?
Yes. It has a steel nib and a proper feed, and it writes with liquid ink drawn down by capillary action, which is exactly what any other fountain pen does. What makes it unusual is the body, not the writing end.
What nib size is the Pilot Varsity?
Pilot does not publish a nib width in millimeters for it on the listing we read, so we do not print one. There is only one option, so nib choice is not part of this purchase.
Does the Pilot Varsity bleed through paper?
On thin paper, yes. It runs deliberately wet so that it starts first time, and wet pens bleed through standard office and printer paper. That is a paper problem rather than a pen fault, and heavier coated paper solves it.
How many Pilot Varsity pens come in a pack?
The pack reviewed here contains six single pens with black ink, listed as model 90010. Pilot also sells the Varsity in other colors and pack sizes.
Should I buy a Varsity or a Platinum Preppy?
Buy the Varsity only if you want to find out whether you like fountain pens at the lowest possible cost. If you already know you do, buy the Preppy - it costs roughly the same as a couple of Varsitys, refills from cartridges, has a cap seal that resists drying out, and Platinum publishes its nib width.