Thanks for introducing me to FPR and the Himalaya. I've been wanting to try out a flex nib but didn't want to spend too much money so I figured, 32$ was worth a try. My Himalaya (in the warm, great looking orange acrylic) arrived today and has been in my hand pretty steadily all day. I'm a flex noobie but I could get it to flex, mine too writes right out of the "box" (packaging). Like others have reported, this is a fantastic pen for a remarkable price!
I have 2 Jaipurs from FPR. One was essentially free to me because I had issues with the piston of the first one, they replaced the piston *and* sent me a new pen. After that, I purchased their flex nib and put it on the second pen. It writes better than my Noodler's. Their extra-fine nib is a nice wet writer too. I am thoroughly impressed with the pens, more impressed with the customer service, and highly recommend it. The Jaipurs are on the lower end of their models too. The Himalaya is far prettier. Any way, I was surprised and I'd certainly recommend the company after my experiences.
I have two Himalayas, because I was so surprised and impressed with the first one. Amazing quality and value for the price. I love writing with these every bit as much as others I've paid 10 times as much for.
FPR pens are fantastic but the best thing about them is Kevin's attention to customer service. If anything goes wrong, Kevin will go out of his way to make it right. I own a Himalaya in ebonite and it has become one of my favorite pens. Initially, the pen I was sent did not write because of faulty section and converter. After alerting Kevin about the problems, replacements were sent in the next mail. The pen has performed magnificently ever since.
LOVE my FPR pens! I was able to take advantage of an insane deal Kevin had a few weeks ago. I bought a Himalaya with flex nib, got a free Darjeeling pen with flex nib, and still got a free Muft demonstrator pen!!! I got three awesome pens for a little over $30!!! CRAZY!!! Still, the Himalaya alone for $30 is a great deal! Go for it, peeps! Great review, Steven!
I just bought an FPR "Guru" pen (well, 2) on Kevin's Fountain Pen Day BOGO sale & did the same thing: got one Fine and one Flex. That flex nib is just fantastic. What really struck me is how well it performs as just a "fine" nib for ordinary writing, before exerting pressure. Now I wish I'd sprung for one of these gorgeous Himalaya pens instead. And I love that ink you used! Thanks again for a very useful video.
Great review. Wanted to get into flex myself, but as I was dabbling was looking for affordable options. Started with an Ahab, but quickly grew frustrated with it. Got one of these in the orange finish and haven't looked back. The performance for the price is astonishing
I ordered a Himalaya on the strength of this review and it arrived a couple of days ago. The pen is very pretty and the saffron colour is vibrant and iridescent. It took a little while to get going, but writes well when not being pushed. As for flex, I would say the results are about the same as with my Ahabs or Konrad despite being a smaller nib, but it takes slightly less pressure to push it wide. When flexing a lot the feed doesn’t keep up, especially on absorbent paper, so some adjustment to the feed might be a good idea. I have a lot of time for Noodler’s Ink pens and they certainly improve with use and a little tweaking, so I expect the Himalaya will do so too. Note to UK buyers: UK customs add 20% VAT plus an £8 handling fee, and FPR charge $9 for postage, which all together bumps up the quoted $32 to about £45. Pens are posted loose in a padded envelope, and delivery to the UK takes about a week.
After this review, I really wanted to try they nibs, because I really like using flex nibs when drawing. But I don't want to carry around my vintage pens, so this is like perfect option! I found really nice clear piston filler on they site that was on sale, so I ordered one with flex nib upgrade. It's nice that you do these reviews of not so well known pens!
thank you for the video! i only recently started toying with fountain pens (for art mostly) and even more recently started collecting flexible FPR pens. i'm hooked! i just purchased my first hialaya with the ultra flex and looks forward to toying with it!
I have two of the Himalayas. One has FPR on the cap band, the other doesn't, even though they are the same model. The only difference between them is the color: one is green , the other is brown, both ripple ebonite. Both have flex nibs, and both write well. I am well satisfied with them.
Hi Stephen, thanks for posting this review, I ordered a Himalaya based off what I saw here, and I have to say I'm very happy with it. Great pen, the flex is right at the point where I can use it to add a little interest to my writing, which is exactly what I wanted as I'm by no means a flex writing expert. Also it's nice to see a company that helps support some of the Indian pen makers, which I know are often just small family businesses.
Just bought one of these flex nib pens in their Taj Mahal white ( I didn't have a white pen in my collection) after winning an Indus model from a facebook giveaway contest. I even bought a spare feed and nib to jam in one of my Jinhaos (or perhaps finally make my Monte Verde Invincia useful). I have a nice Organic Studios Edgar Allen Poe (kind of a dried blood color) ink that I also won in a contest, to try out in it!
I love material of the orange one. I get lots of compliments on it and the stub writes nice. The stub is not super crisp but nice. I had some issues of ink leaking out the back of the piston seal but a little silcone grease fixed that.
I'm curious how well you like your pens by now? I have two friends that absolutely hate their Himalayas.. I bought one before they warned me and it's been nothing but a nightmare. Supposed to be an EF flex and it writes like a Medium.. To be fair ,Kevin did work with me on replacing the nib ... but I chose to go away from a flex and haven't had the nerve to try to heat set the free replacement nib he sent .
This pen knocks my Noodlers Ahab out of the park in terms of flex and ink flow. That said the Ahab is no slouch after a bit of adjustment and heat setting the feed. I think I will get one of these just for the fun factor alone,
Want to thank you for your review of this FPR Himalaya pen. Because of the review I have decided to purchase the flex nib in green ebonite. Have been watching your videos for quite some time now but have never commented before. I have learned quite a bit and I thank you.
Wow! Great review. If the section diameter didn't get so narrow I'd be all over that in a heartbeat, though I might have to try it out. I've never seen modern flex like that. And the wetness is wonderful. I'd honestly change my grip around to use a pen like this... And you can eye dropper it.... My wallet does not like you lol.
thanks. I really appreciate that you spend a good amount of time and effort on the affordable (ultra in this case) end of the pen spectrum! It's hard to go wrong for $32 to try out a flex!
That seems interesting option for Noodlers. However, I always worry if manufacturer sent item is picked one that is better than average. I've had bad luck with my earlier FPR pens: They had issues with writing and dryness, I did not bother to tweak them much at that price point.
Kevin is passionate fountain pen lover,I like fpr pens but Fpr they sell indian names, make pen in India at Lowest labor cost, earn profit but can't even provide these to indian people at feasible. Indian rupees. Thankfully Kanwrite understand and now is providing (Ahab) in india att 10 dollars for us. In india 50-80 dollar is very high for normal people..
Anzan Hoshin Roshi I wondered this as well, but after a recent experience with an FPR flex pen myself, I'd say the FPR flex nibs wildly outperform the Noodlers nibs. Half the time, my Ahabs won't even write.
John Edgar I have quite a few of each model of Noodlers but I prefer the Konrad. I have never had issues with any of them but I have several Konrads that write as well as anything except my vintage flex (shoutout to the Waterman 42 Rapseikstein). Still, I have yet to use an FPR andI like the fit and finish that I have seen.
Thank you for your review, Mr. Brown; quite informative -- per usual. The refilling piston seems remarkably similar to that of the Noodler's Ahab, and the FPR Himalaya has the flex nib and (perhaps?) ebonite feed as do the Noodler's Ahab and Konrad. A couple of questions: Are the nib and feed removable/adjustable/replaceable? and what size is the nib? An observation: Iroshizuku Yu-yake, Diamine Pumpkin, and Noodler's Apache Sunset would all look great with the orange-bodied pen you demonstrated. Thanks again.
The nib, feed and filling system are all smaller than for the Noodler's Ahab - closer to a #5 size nib than a #6, with a 5.1mm diameter feed (the Noodler's I *think* is 6.3mm?). The beauty of the FPR pens is that you can buy replacement nibs *and* feeds for them, at very reasonable prices, from their website. I had 5 of these pens (3 acrylic, 2 ebonite), but purchased one as a gift, so I'm back down to 4. I'd say these are FPR's best pens to date - though I'm also a fan (more recently) of their new Darjeeling.
I recently bought 2 flex pens to play with. I got the Himalaya V2 with the ultra flex nib and after trying it, the other one felt extremely hard and disappointing 😅😅😅
Thanks Doc. That was an awesome review. Now I know what I'm getting myself for Christmas. I think you used the flex and not the ultra flex, am I correct? Thanks.
I’ve had 2 Jaipur V2 fountain pens. Both have been absolute disasters. A penmeister I know was only able to make one work so far using a Noodlers Ahab nib/feed. I am not on my own. Check out Douglas Rathbun’s worst pens of 2020.
Nice video. I just wonder as to how much pressure is needed for the flex to happen. I got a few flex pens from noodler's but these require such a effort to use that smooth flex writing is almost impossible. Thank you.
This is heartening. I've been wanting a flex nib, even tried the zebra G/Jin Hao 750 combo and a Noodler Ahab which was horrible. BTW,, is the Namiki Falcon and the Pilot Falcon the same thing?
John Matthias: "BTW,, is the Namiki Falcon and the Pilot Falcon the same thing?" You probably have already learned this, but all the manufacturer did was rename the Namiki Falcon to Pilot Falcon. I own pens with both names. I even have a blue Namiki Falcon.
Greetings, Dr. Brown! I found something quite peculiar. The finish on your pen, other than the blue one, seems relatively different compared to other reviews made on the same model and colour. Is this a new finish?
I think I must say few words on how to choose your pen. It is of course a personal choice. I have done many research listening , watching and reading others reviews and at the end I have realised most of the time they don't fit into what you are looking for. So the best way is to find your pen feel it have in your hand write with it then then buy it. I have ended up buying lot of Indian pens and they are not comparable to any other pen you can by on the Chinese market. And wen you buy the Indian pens the prises are expensive to the other cheaper good quality pens. Recently I bought 5 Indian pens Plus FPR Flex nibs and I Bought it from FPR . I also paid import tax as the amount of the value was exceeding the tax limit. Also I had bought two pens " Gama Over size pen and they are only good to play base balls. They are not writing instruments. To tell the story short this Himalaya pen is for me is very light the flex No 5 nib is hope less. the feeder and the nib is very loose and converter is a crap. can't use a any thing to replace as it is a thread mount piston filler. Most of the Indian nibs are very bad steel points. even the FPR nibs don't worth that $8 that you can closely to the price of JOWO of Knox nib. These Indian pens nibs can't replace of any Size 6 as they take size 5.5 . I am done with the Indian pens.
Thanks for introducing me to FPR and the Himalaya. I've been wanting to try out a flex nib but didn't want to spend too much money so I figured, 32$ was worth a try. My Himalaya (in the warm, great looking orange acrylic) arrived today and has been in my hand pretty steadily all day. I'm a flex noobie but I could get it to flex, mine too writes right out of the "box" (packaging). Like others have reported, this is a fantastic pen for a remarkable price!
I have 2 Jaipurs from FPR. One was essentially free to me because I had issues with the piston of the first one, they replaced the piston *and* sent me a new pen. After that, I purchased their flex nib and put it on the second pen. It writes better than my Noodler's. Their extra-fine nib is a nice wet writer too. I am thoroughly impressed with the pens, more impressed with the customer service, and highly recommend it. The Jaipurs are on the lower end of their models too. The Himalaya is far prettier. Any way, I was surprised and I'd certainly recommend the company after my experiences.
I have two Himalayas, because I was so surprised and impressed with the first one. Amazing quality and value for the price. I love writing with these every bit as much as others I've paid 10 times as much for.
FPR pens are fantastic but the best thing about them is Kevin's attention to customer service. If anything goes wrong, Kevin will go out of his way to make it right. I own a Himalaya in ebonite and it has become one of my favorite pens. Initially, the pen I was sent did not write because of faulty section and converter. After alerting Kevin about the problems, replacements were sent in the next mail. The pen has performed magnificently ever since.
LOVE my FPR pens! I was able to take advantage of an insane deal Kevin had a few weeks ago. I bought a Himalaya with flex nib, got a free Darjeeling pen with flex nib, and still got a free Muft demonstrator pen!!! I got three awesome pens for a little over $30!!! CRAZY!!! Still, the Himalaya alone for $30 is a great deal! Go for it, peeps! Great review, Steven!
I just bought an FPR "Guru" pen (well, 2) on Kevin's Fountain Pen Day BOGO sale & did the same thing: got one Fine and one Flex. That flex nib is just fantastic. What really struck me is how well it performs as just a "fine" nib for ordinary writing, before exerting pressure. Now I wish I'd sprung for one of these gorgeous Himalaya pens instead. And I love that ink you used! Thanks again for a very useful video.
I got the ebonite version of this pen and it's a pleasure to hold with great inkflow.
Great review. Wanted to get into flex myself, but as I was dabbling was looking for affordable options. Started with an Ahab, but quickly grew frustrated with it. Got one of these in the orange finish and haven't looked back. The performance for the price is astonishing
Thanks. It really looks like this beats their ultra flex, based on your later review.
I ordered a Himalaya on the strength of this review and it arrived a couple of days ago.
The pen is very pretty and the saffron colour is vibrant and iridescent. It took a little while to get going, but writes well when not being pushed. As for flex, I would say the results are about the same as with my Ahabs or Konrad despite being a smaller nib, but it takes slightly less pressure to push it wide. When flexing a lot the feed doesn’t keep up, especially on absorbent paper, so some adjustment to the feed might be a good idea. I have a lot of time for Noodler’s Ink pens and they certainly improve with use and a little tweaking, so I expect the Himalaya will do so too.
Note to UK buyers: UK customs add 20% VAT plus an £8 handling fee, and FPR charge $9 for postage, which all together bumps up the quoted $32 to about £45. Pens are posted loose in a padded envelope, and delivery to the UK takes about a week.
After this review, I really wanted to try they nibs, because I really like using flex nibs when drawing. But I don't want to carry around my vintage pens, so this is like perfect option! I found really nice clear piston filler on they site that was on sale, so I ordered one with flex nib upgrade. It's nice that you do these reviews of not so well known pens!
that's insane!! very amazing price and performance.
thank you for the video! i only recently started toying with fountain pens (for art mostly) and even more recently started collecting flexible FPR pens. i'm hooked! i just purchased my first hialaya with the ultra flex and looks forward to toying with it!
I have two of the Himalayas. One has FPR on the cap band, the other doesn't, even though they are the same model. The only difference between them is the color: one is green , the other is brown, both ripple ebonite. Both have flex nibs, and both write well. I am well satisfied with them.
Hi Stephen, thanks for posting this review, I ordered a Himalaya based off what I saw here, and I have to say I'm very happy with it. Great pen, the flex is right at the point where I can use it to add a little interest to my writing, which is exactly what I wanted as I'm by no means a flex writing expert. Also it's nice to see a company that helps support some of the Indian pen makers, which I know are often just small family businesses.
Just bought one of these flex nib pens in their Taj Mahal white ( I didn't have a white pen in my collection) after winning an Indus model from a facebook giveaway contest. I even bought a spare feed and nib to jam in one of my Jinhaos (or perhaps finally make my Monte Verde Invincia useful). I have a nice Organic Studios Edgar Allen Poe (kind of a dried blood color) ink that I also won in a contest, to try out in it!
You won two pens !! How lucky can a guy get?
I love material of the orange one. I get lots of compliments on it and the stub writes nice. The stub is not super crisp but nice. I had some issues of ink leaking out the back of the piston seal but a little silcone grease fixed that.
Matt Spencer -- good info. Thanks.
Hi, just wanted to know if the finish on your Himalaya was similar to the one on the review. Thanks!
Loved this review! Thank you for your honesty and such a candid review Dr. Brown!
I've purchased two of these for myself! The blue & the white!
Danial K Thank you, I'm glad this was useful! Enjoy your pens!
I'm curious how well you like your pens by now?
I have two friends that absolutely hate their Himalayas.. I bought one before they warned me and it's been nothing but a nightmare. Supposed to be an EF flex and it writes like a Medium..
To be fair ,Kevin did work with me on replacing the nib ... but I chose to go away from a flex and haven't had the nerve to try to heat set the free replacement nib he sent .
This pen knocks my Noodlers Ahab out of the park in terms of flex and ink flow. That said the Ahab is no slouch after a bit of adjustment and heat setting the feed. I think I will get one of these just for the fun factor alone,
Want to thank you for your review of this FPR Himalaya pen. Because of the review I have decided to purchase the flex nib in green ebonite. Have been watching your videos for quite some time now but have never commented before. I have learned quite a bit and I thank you.
Is this the saffron orange? I look at others pictures/videos and none look as amazing as yours!!
Picked one up. Arrives soon. Looking forward to it.
Wow! Great review. If the section diameter didn't get so narrow I'd be all over that in a heartbeat, though I might have to try it out. I've never seen modern flex like that. And the wetness is wonderful. I'd honestly change my grip around to use a pen like this... And you can eye dropper it.... My wallet does not like you lol.
Excellent, as always! I can't wait for that shootout between Himalaya and Konrad. Please hurry, I need to buy at least one of the two models!!
DrPhilologist Buy this model!
sbrebrown What a hero! Imagine that today I was planning to walk done the store and buy a Konrad.
DrPhilologist daaamn, right in time :D
DrPhilologist: I have a Konrad. The two Himalayas I own both flex better than the Konrad does.
thanks. I really appreciate that you spend a good amount of time and effort on the affordable (ultra in this case) end of the pen spectrum! It's hard to go wrong for $32 to try out a flex!
Just want to say, that as a person looking to purchase of these, this pen with the ultra flex nib is no longer
That seems interesting option for Noodlers. However, I always worry if manufacturer sent item is picked one that is better than average. I've had bad luck with my earlier FPR pens: They had issues with writing and dryness, I did not bother to tweak them much at that price point.
I have been favorite with your video for a long time
210 likes 0 dislikes! You’re the best youtuber))
Excellent review, as allways ! thank you !
"Thank you Kevi- oooo that's a horrid line..."
Got a good laugh out of that one
Kevin is passionate fountain pen lover,I like fpr pens but Fpr they sell indian names, make pen in India at Lowest labor cost, earn profit but can't even provide these to indian people at feasible. Indian rupees. Thankfully Kanwrite understand and now is providing (Ahab) in india att 10 dollars for us. In india 50-80 dollar is very high for normal people..
Have always supported Kevin @fountainpenrevolution ... Once, I realised how nice their flex offering is ...
Stephen it is pronounced as Himaalaya.
Its Him'aa'laya, not Himalay'aa'😂😂 *insert Hermione meme*
Hey there! Lovely video Steven - just wondering, what is the music for your old video intros? I really miss it!!
Ali Abbas Panju It was Greek Orthodox
That’s an impressive pen for only $32!
Amazing pen and another amazing review, thank you so much. 🙏
Thank you, Stephen. Very impressive material. But basically a Noodlers Konrad?
Anzan Hoshin Roshi I wondered this as well, but after a recent experience with an FPR flex pen myself, I'd say the FPR flex nibs wildly outperform the Noodlers nibs. Half the time, my Ahabs won't even write.
John Edgar I have quite a few of each model of Noodlers but I prefer the Konrad. I have never had issues with any of them but I have several Konrads that write as well as anything except my vintage flex (shoutout to the Waterman 42 Rapseikstein). Still, I have yet to use an FPR andI like the fit and finish that I have seen.
Thank you for your review, Mr. Brown; quite informative -- per usual.
The refilling piston seems remarkably similar to that of the Noodler's Ahab, and the FPR Himalaya has the flex nib and (perhaps?) ebonite feed as do the Noodler's Ahab and Konrad. A couple of questions: Are the nib and feed removable/adjustable/replaceable? and what size is the nib?
An observation: Iroshizuku Yu-yake, Diamine Pumpkin, and Noodler's Apache Sunset would all look great with the orange-bodied pen you demonstrated.
Thanks again.
The nib, feed and filling system are all smaller than for the Noodler's Ahab - closer to a #5 size nib than a #6, with a 5.1mm diameter feed (the Noodler's I *think* is 6.3mm?). The beauty of the FPR pens is that you can buy replacement nibs *and* feeds for them, at very reasonable prices, from their website. I had 5 of these pens (3 acrylic, 2 ebonite), but purchased one as a gift, so I'm back down to 4. I'd say these are FPR's best pens to date - though I'm also a fan (more recently) of their new Darjeeling.
+Ankle Donna It is about a #5 nib, and the nib and feed are replaceable
Another great review. Like you I have problems with the Himalaya's flow unaccountably stopping in mid sentence.
I recently bought 2 flex pens to play with. I got the Himalaya V2 with the ultra flex nib and after trying it, the other one felt extremely hard and disappointing 😅😅😅
Well you just earned them a sale.
thank you !! it is really FLEX !!!!
Nice shelf...and KWZ spotted!
Back to Noodler's inks, interesting. It's just Habanero, without ñ, by the way :)
Have the swirly brown ebonite. Cracking pen!!!
Thanks Doc. That was an awesome review. Now I know what I'm getting myself for Christmas. I think you used the flex and not the ultra flex, am I correct? Thanks.
What beautiful pens! Do you still have them?
Nice. I like the FPN offerings.
Fantastic pen with a fantastic nice nib on.
OMG! I want 7 of them. nice review
I’ve had 2 Jaipur V2 fountain pens. Both have been absolute disasters. A penmeister I know was only able to make one work so far using a Noodlers Ahab nib/feed. I am not on my own. Check out Douglas Rathbun’s worst pens of 2020.
Nice video. I just wonder as to how much pressure is needed for the flex to happen. I got a few flex pens from noodler's but these require such a effort to use that smooth flex writing is almost impossible. Thank you.
Jamerelbe thanks！
They're definitely not Gnibs, but it is easier than Noodlers.
hingginchu Yes, a little less pressure than Noodler's
This is heartening. I've been wanting a flex nib, even tried the zebra G/Jin Hao 750 combo and a Noodler Ahab which was horrible.
BTW,, is the Namiki Falcon and the Pilot Falcon the same thing?
John Matthias: "BTW,, is the Namiki Falcon and the Pilot Falcon the same thing?" You probably have already learned this, but all the manufacturer did was rename the Namiki Falcon to Pilot Falcon. I own pens with both names. I even have a blue Namiki Falcon.
I have 2 of these stuck in COVID 19 in New York with the USPS. Will they make it to Australia? Anybody’s guess.
This pen also come in couple ebonite colors.
Greetings, Dr. Brown! I found something quite peculiar. The finish on your pen, other than the blue one, seems relatively different compared to other reviews made on the same model and colour. Is this a new finish?
Zackarie M. Not that I know of, I received this a while ago
Amazing Video!
you just saved me from buying a Konrad
Very good review nice pen
Thanks for the very detail review of this fountain pen. How would u rate this pen by comparing to noodler's Ahab for a beginner to flex writing?
zeppelin lai For me, this pen is better. It's smaller than the Ahab, but it performs better.
Has anyone purchased the ultra flex nib? If so, did anyone have any issues?
are there any flexors in the FPR that donot leak out ink like it did at 10:13?
Should i go for the ultra flex option? what is the difference between flex and ultra flex anyway?
I think the flex was reviewed and not the ultra flex.
Writing sample 7:16
Compared to the noodlers..do you need more or less pressure to flex it?
ibn sahlan A little less
sbrebrown thanks! And I really appreciate all your videos...I like how honest you are...have a great day...
ibn sahlan You're welcome!
I think I must say few words on how to choose your pen. It is of course a personal choice. I have done many research listening , watching and reading others reviews and at the end I have realised most of the time they don't fit into what you are looking for. So the best way is to find your pen feel it have in your hand write with it then then buy it. I have ended up buying lot of Indian pens and they are not comparable to any other pen you can by on the Chinese market. And wen you buy the Indian pens the prises are expensive to the other cheaper good quality pens. Recently I bought 5 Indian pens Plus FPR Flex nibs and I Bought it from FPR . I also paid import tax as the amount of the value was exceeding the tax limit. Also I had bought two pens " Gama Over size pen and they are only good to play base balls. They are not writing instruments. To tell the story short this Himalaya pen is for me is very light the flex No 5 nib is hope less. the feeder and the nib is very loose and converter is a crap. can't use a any thing to replace as it is a thread mount piston filler. Most of the Indian nibs are very bad steel points. even the FPR nibs don't worth that $8 that you can closely to the price of JOWO of Knox nib. These Indian pens nibs can't replace of any Size 6 as they take size 5.5 . I am done with the Indian pens.
Better than pens that cost hundreds of dollars 😂
who doesnt like cheap flex... :D
That foul smell though, like sweaty feet, and it won't go away.