The intermediate and luxury fountain pen markets are becoming more and more competitive with each passing month due to a huge number of people who moved over to using an entry-level fountain pen in the surge a few years back now looking to upgrade. This has resulted in a range of questions being asked about a wide range of popular fountain pens as people try to workout the best pen for their needs.
We have seen a few people request a dedicated Pelikan m800 vs Lamy 2000 comparison article due to both fountain pens being very popular so we have decided to make it the subject of todays article. Both pens have a massive customer base and have rightfully earned themselves and excellent reputation amongst the penthusiast community with both options making an excellent addition to any fountain pen collection.
That said though, both of these pens target a different market with the Lamy 2000 probably being the best intermediate price point fountain pen ever made in our opinion. On the flip side of that, the Pelikan m800 is one of the best premium price point fountain pens ever made so it really can be a tough choice if you have the budget for both pens.
Pelikan M800 Vs Lamy 2000 Head To Head
As you can see from our Pelikan m800 vs Lamy 2000 comparison table above though, we have marked the Lamy 2000 as our primary recommendation to our readers and feel that it will be able to meet the needs of most people with ease. Now, to be totally honest, the main reason behind the Lamy 2000 being our primary recommendation is the fact that it is an excellent pen with a much lower price tag.
The Pelikan m800 is one of the best fountain pens ever made but it does have the price tag to match it. In our opinion, unless you specifically want a luxury fountain pen with all the trimmings, there is no need to go with the m800 and the Lamy 2000 is the obvious option. That said tough, if you do have the budget available and want the best pen possible then go with the m800 but only in that specific situation.
The Nibs Of The Pens
The first thing that most people will see when it comes to the nibs of the pens is that the Lamy 2000 has a 14 carat gold nib where as the Pelikan m800 has an 18 carat gold nib and instantly think that the m800 will offer a better writing experience for them. Although this is correct, it is not only down to the higher carat rating of the m800’s nib but also the design of the nib too.
The Pelikan range of fountain pens all have a nib that has been designed to offer your a higher level of flex and spring when writing over a standard nib design such as the one on the Lamy 2000. This is often overlook as the majority of our readers will probably not be able to tell the difference in the writing experience of a 14 carat gold nib and an 18 carat gold nib.
On top of this, you also have to factor in your own personal preference for your nib. Although the majority of people do enjoy a flexible nib on their fountain pen, the Lamy 2000 does still offer a level of spring and flex in the nib that most people will be happy with due to it being a 14 carat gold nib.
When it comes to the stock nib sizes that both fountain pens are available in direct from the manufacturer, there is very little difference as both are available in extra-fine, fine, medium, broad, and double-broad as standard. Although the Lamy 2000 is also available with an oblique nib direct from the Lamy factory, the lack of replaceable nibs on the Lamy 2000 can hold it back against the Pelikan m800 as you can hot-swap the nib sizes as require or pick up your own oblique nib to add too.
Both pens do have nibs that are wet writers offering a very similar writing experience to each other when it comes to how smooth the nib will glide over your paper. That said, the consistency with Pelikan nibs and their writing level is much better than the Lamy consistency with some nibs being noticeably wetter writers than others from the exact same batch of nibs.
Although the majority of people do tend to prefer a wet writing nib these days due to the smoother writing experience that the offer overa standard or dry nib, they can have their drawbacks on some situations. The main problems are based around feathering, ghosting, and bleeding when used on cheap, thin paper but thankfully this is a quick and easy fix.
The price for high GSM paper has came down by a huge amount of the last five years or so with it being around half the price it was back then. Due to the higher GSM rating, the paper is thicker and prevents a wet fountain pen nib from bleeding or ghosting when writing with it.
The Pens Barrel
One of the major differences between the Lamy 2000 and the Pelikan m800 is the construction of their barrels. Although both pens do have a tough and robust barrel, the designs are slightly different as well as the materials that they are constructed of offering different benefits to the user.
When it comes to the Lamy 2000, its barrel is made from a high-quality polycarbonate with stainless steel offering a great blend between toughness and cost. This is due to the Lamy 2000 being targeted towards the intermediate fountain pen price point so keeping costs low having to come into play and Lamy have done an excellent job.
When it comes to the Pelikan m800, the barrel is made from the highest possible quality celluloid acetate ensuring that the pen is both as lightweight as possible while also being as tough as possible too. The lightweight construction for the pen is important as it is larger than the Lamy 2000 and a number of other popular pens so has to keep its weight as low as possible to prevent fatigue build up in your hand when writing.
You also have to keep in mind that the Pelikan m800 is targeting the premium price point for fountain pens and is as much as three times the cost of the Lamy 2000. Due to the target audience of the m800, they have not had to take price into consideration when choosing the materials of the barrel of the pen and have had free reign to use what they need.
Both pens do use a piston filler for their ink storage and delivery systems with each pen seamlessly housing the piston filler in their pen barrels. The design of the pen barrels is ideal for quick and easy ink refills for both pen options and the majority of people will be able to get easy access to the piston for refills as needed without having to waste time.
The Cap Of The Pens
The cap for each pen is also made from the same material as the barrels for each respective pen offering users the same benefits of each such as lightweight, a tough build quality, and a low price tag for the Lamy 2000. The lightweight of the caps also helps to prevent the user from having any issues with back weighting during use helping to keep the pen balanced while and preventing fatigue build up.
Both pens also have a twist lock cap design that we try to encourage all of our readers to go with if you are paying over $100 for your fountain pen. Although a push to lock cap system is popular with the cheaper, entry-level fountain pens, it does have issues can is not worth the risk for a higher price point pen in our opinion.
As your pen gets older, a push to lock cap system can start to fail causing the barrel of the pen to fall to the ground and potentially break or go missing. The twist to lock system that both the Lamy 2000 and Pelikan m800 use is ideal as the twist threads on there help to secure the barrel and prevent this from happening making both pen options ideal.
The Pens Ink Reservoir
We have seen some people mentioning the differences between the ink reservoir and the maximum ink capacity of both pens but we feel that this should be a major factor in your choices. The Lamy 2000 has a maximum ink capacity of 1.35ml and although it is considerably lower than the 2ml maximum ink capacity of the Pelikan m800, both pens offer plenty of ink.
At the time of writing, the average ink capacity across all fountain pens tends to be around 1ml of ink so both pens are above average. As we mentioned earlier in the article, both pens are very easy to refill as required so even if they did have a lower than average you would be able to refill it with ease.
Although both pens do have an ink view window, the design of the Pelikan ink view windows can be a pain to check quickly and often need you to hold the pen up against a light to get an accurate count of the current ink in the pen. In our opinion, the ink view window on the Lamy 2000 has a much better design allowing you to check the ink levels of your pen within seconds and plan your ink refills as needed.
Both brands try to recommend that users stick with their own fountain pen ink for optimal performance for the pens but this tends to just be a marketing trick to try to get more money out of you. Although you should always be using a highly refined ink with the Lamy 2000 or Pelikan m800, a cheaper option such as the Noodlers ink range will perform just as good while also saving you some cash.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over our ultimate Pelikan m800 vs Lamy 2000 comparison to a close and we hope that our readers have found it helpful. As we covered back at the start of the article, the Lamy 2000 will probably be the better option for most of our readers due to it offering an excellent writing experience with a much lower price tag.
That said though, if you are dead set on having a luxury, premium price point fountain pen that has all of the trimmings while also having the budget available for it then the Pelikan m800 is an excellent option. The m800 defiantly does deserve the reputation that it enjoys but the price tag against the Lamy 2000 will probably push it out of range for most people.