Hot pen summer: Penbbs 309 Hawaii

If you won’t go to Hawaii, let Hawaii come to you

As some of you may know, I live in Florida, the state of perpetual summer. I think that’s a misnomer; in all honesty, it’s the state of perpetual terrarium. That being said, I am aware that other states and countries have seasons, and I’ll go ahead and assume y’all are having summer right now too. As I sadly do not own the pen that reminds me most of summer — the Sailor Pro Gear Mojito — let me talk about the pen I’ve mentioned before as one of those decent starter pens that is nowadays often overlooked.

Enter: the Penbbs 309 in Hawaii, just to stay on topic.

The 309 in Hawaii, but naturally with a different nib than the original because I like to contradict myself.

Penbbs is one of those brands that have a special place in my heart. Now, I’m no Chrisrap52¹, but I have a decent collection of Penbbs pens, having just recently slowed down my acquisitions. Funnily enough, the pen I’m talking about today was also my first foray into the brand, and despite its benign flaws, it remains dear to my heart.

Penbbs started off as a forum, and the group of enthusiasts started producing pens. Nowadays, you can mostly find their pieces on their Etsy store (Penbbs Official Store) and through third party sellers on Ebay and Aliexpress. I’ve bought one on Jetpens though, so YMMV.

Let’s start with the pros.

Price: absolutely unbeatable for how well these are made and how colorful they are. The 309 is no different, although sadly, it seems that the model is being phased out due to some issues I will get into in a minute. I believe I paid a “premium” of around $30 when I got it in 2017/2018, due to the fact I wanted this specific finish. Some of their finishes are more popular than others, and those would be, for example, Niangao, Hidden Path, Amber is a Cat, and Hawaii. Basically, you could have obtained the 309 for less than $30 (between $23 and up to $31 now).

Quality and design: again, hard to beat the quality of any of these pens, and design wise, one can’t really experiment that much with piston fillers, unless they’re Penbbs, in which case they’ll blow your mind with their later models. The 309 works well but can stick from time to time, in which case you’ll need to push the piston with a tool (I use an unused toothpick) and grease it more often than you may like. Still, the pen is durable and easy to use, and it’s easy to disassemble.

Note on the design: the 309 came in solid colors and in combos of clear and colorful acrylics, and I chose mine based on the idea I’d be able to see and enjoy the ink sloshing about. I absolutely adore the clear section. There are also o-rings that will prevent any leaks anywhere, although I can’t imagine that would happen with how well this pen is made.

Writing experience: the nibs are usually tuned to write drier than my preference, but that’s just how they’re tuned. Thankfully, that’s not incorrigible, and aside from that, 90% of my nibs were amazing out of the box. When I first bought the 309, they offered only the stock nib, the “fine” that has a slight upturn, like a mini waverly, and it’s untipped. Don’t let that fool you, however. The nib writes like a beast and smoother than my jokes.

Note: once I received my pen from China to Serbia in 8 days, but that was an outlier; shipping may take a bit longer and don’t be surprised if you wait for a month.

On the flip side, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that yes, you may have some issues with the piston and that may deter newer users — but also experienced ones — and that’s perfectly valid. Later models didn’t have the same issue and that may be the reason the pen got phased out. I can’t stress this enough though: it doesn’t happen as often as the internet wants you to think, and TWSBI silicone grease helps tremendously. To me, this is less of a problem than if the nib was shoddy.

Which it isn’t.

Now, the nib assembly may prove to be extremely stubborn. What I mean by that is that I may or may not have had a blister from trying to pull one of them nibs out. It healed, but my pride never recovered. The fins on the feed are quite fragile, and although I’ve never mangled them, it’s more than possible to do so. The nib unit itself doesn’t fit any other pen, however, there are some cool things about it that will blow your socks off.

Firstly, you can potentially put a Jowo #6 nib in some of the Penbbs pens, using the feed and nib collar. The 309 is a good candidate, as the cap will allow the somewhat longer nib to be comfortable. Let’s just say that you should not jam your favorite nib in the nib unit and slam the cap over it like you’re trying to whack-a-mole, but the 309 will be fine. Some Penbbs pens will also allow you to push a whole Bock unit in the grip section (not screw it in, literally just push in), but we’re not talking about those pens now.

I’m just mentioning this as an option for those of you who are obsessed with Jowo. I love mixing and matching, but I prefer my Penbbs nibs in this pen. As mentioned earlier, there is an option of buying an extra nib in their “round” series, i.e. tipped nibs, and they range from extra fine to medium. Or even 14k gold.

Unlike the previous Penbbs pen I’ve reviewed, the 487, this pen comes with a standard nib without any fancy engravings; for all intents and purposes, this pen is a workhorse with a nail in its hoof.

Would I recommend this pen? I would. I don’t think I’m biased; I sure love mine and I am aware that some people have had issues with it but listen, you take one pen and there will be one person who hates it. Like me and Lamy Safaris. I think it’s overlooked in lieu of TWSBI Eco (now over $32), which is sad because they deserve more love. Basically, this should be your second pen, after you get your starter Pilot Metropolitan.

Do you have a Penbbs pen? If so, which one?

1. Check out the eponymous Youtube channel, the man is my idol for how positive and kind he is: https://www.youtube.com/@chrisrap52