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Monday, November 23, 2020

Fountain Pen Review: 2020 Special Edition Lamy Safari Candy


They say a fountain pen collection is incomplete without a Lamy Safari in it, and I know many users, enthusiasts, and collectors whose first fountain pen is a Safari. I first saw Lamy Safari fountain pens during my first pen meet in December 2008 and it was love at first sight. I fell in love with their bright colors, simple design, durability, and functionality. Two years later, I got my first Lamy fountain pen, and the rest, as they say, is history. I became one of the world's many collectors of Lamy fountain pens and I look forward to their yearly special edition pens.   

In 2019, Lamy launched three pens as the year's Special Editon Safari. This year—2020—Lamy did it again! The year's Special Edition Safari is not one but three beautiful pens in a happy, bright, and colorful matte finish. The 2020 Special Edition Lamy Safari Candy has three colors—Violet, Aquamarine, and Mango, reminiscent of pop art, fruit sorbet, and sugar icing. The Lamy  Safari Candy trio brings as much joy as a bag of colorful sweet candies without the sugar rush.


The Safari Candy pens are available as fountain pens, rollerball pens, and ballpoint pens. 

The Lamy Safari Candy trio has the following measurements and specifications:
  • Colors: Tone-in-tone Violet, Aquamarine, and Mango
  • Material: ABS plastic
  • Length, capped: 5.5 in | 14.6 cm
  • Length, uncapped: 5 in | 13.2 cm
  • Length, cap posted: 6.5 in | 16.5 cm
  • Length, barrel only: 3 in | 9.1 cm
  • Length, section to nib: 2.2 in | 4 cm
  • Length, cap: 2.6 inches | 6.35 cm 65
  • Full pen weight: 17 g | 0.9 oz
  • Pen uncapped weight: 10 g
  • Barrel only weight: 7 g | 0.65 oz
  • Cap weight: 8 g | 0.2 oz
  • Cap: Snap-on, postable
  • Clip material: Stainless steel 
  • Nib: Interchangeable stainless steel in Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, or italics (1.1, 1.5, or 1.9mm)
  • Filling mechanism: Lamy T10 Giant ink cartridge or Lamy Z27 or Z28 converter

These three pens have a matte finish and the special tone-in-tone concept that Lamy used for the first time. In this concept, all the details and trims including clip, spacer ring, and finial are matched to the pens' body colors.
In the past, Lamy has matched the finial color with the pens' body, but this year's Special Edition pens have matching finials, clips, and spacer rings. 

The Safari's triangular section is ergonomically designed to make writing easier — it helps users to get a firm and secure grip on their pen. An anti-slipping brake near the end of the section prevents a user’s fingers from slipping into the nib while writing. I do not find the triangular grip uncomfortable at all. I actually do not notice it when I'm using my Lamy fountain pens.

Lamy Safari fountain pens are fitted with sturdy, long-lasting stainless nibs. These nibs are interchangeable for the Safari and for other Lamy fountain pens, which is very useful. A Safari fountain pen has the same feed and nib as those on the Vista, Al-Star, Joy, Nexx, and Studio. For my Safari Candy trio, I swapped their default medium nibs with 1.1 italics, my favorite Lamy nib width.


LAMY Safari Candy VIOLET

Violet is one of the three special edition Lamy Safari Candy pens for 2020. This pen has a matte finish and matching purple body, finial, clip, and spacer ring. Violet has a lighter purple color than the 2016 Special Edition Dark Lilac but is just perfect with the 2016 matching ink.

The 2016 Lamy Dark Lilac ink is a perfect match to the 2020 Safari Candy Violet.

LAMY Safari Candy AQUAMARINE

Aquamarine is one of the three pens in the Safari Candy trio. It has a matte finish and matching aquamarine body, finial, clip, and spacer ring. The Candy Aquamarine has a deeper color than the 2011 limited edition Safari Aquamarine. It's closer in color to the 2020 Lamy Al-Star Turmaline and its matching ink.

The 2020 Lamy Turmaline is the perfect ink match to the Safari Candy Aquamarine.

LAMY Safari MANGO

Mango is one of the three special edition Lamy Safari Candy pens for 2020. This pen has a matte finish and matching yellow body, finial, clip, and spacer ring. The Candy Mango has a deeper yellow color than the regular yellow Safari and is the only pen in the trio with a matching Mango ink.

Perfect combination in yellow—Safari Candy Mango and limited edition Lamy Mango ink.

I changed the nibs on all three Safari fountain pens with 1.1 stubs and did some ink art with their matching Lamy inks. I enjoyed doing this ink art with the bright and rich Lamy ink colors, and the stub nibs wrote wet and smoothly. 



The Safari Candy fountain pens are bright, happy, colorful pens and this trio is one of the best ones from Lamy's recent Safari colors, especially the Candy Mango. The release of the Safari Candy pens was a bit delayed by the restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so these pens are still widely available in most pen stores. Get them for your collection!

Rants of the Archer thanks Lamy Philippines and Times Trading for providing the Lamy Safari Candy fountain pens for review purposes. Lamy Safari pens are widely available in reputable pen sellers worldwide. For a global search of Lamy sellers worldwide, follow this link. In the Philippines, Lamy pens are available from Times Trading Company, through the Lamy Concept Store in Makati and kiosks at National Bookstore outlets around the country. Some of these stores may have lockdown restrictions due to COVID-19, but Times Trading accepts online orders. Email them at customerservice@lamyphillipines.com or visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lamyph.

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