TWSBI DIAMOND 580AL LAVA FOUNTAIN PEN REVIEW

Not so long ago, I reviewed the TWSBI Diamond 580Al in the standard silver-colored finish (with the aluminium grip section and piston mechanism). It was -and still is- one of my personal favourites within TWSBI's offerings. 

Apart from the natural aluminium finish (that is part of the standard production line), TWSBI has also been putting out colored special editions of the 580Al for a year or two now. so far they released a handful of colors that I never really looked into.  But I admittedly regretted not buying the original orange edition when I had the chance. When they announced the re-release last month, I knew this was my chance, so I immediately ordered one.

There was some commotion about the re-release lately though. When they announced the Diamond580 Al Lava Orange, it was said the color would be different from the original, mostly darker.

But that's where TWSBI missed the ball, as soon as people started receiving their Lava pens, they couldn't tell the difference from the original orange. I can understand that people have found it frustrating to find the final product to be different from what was originally promised. As I said, I don't have the original orange version, so I don't mind that it's the same color. But for the TWSBI collectors among us, it could be a bit silly to buy the same pen twice.

Subtle, or colorful, I can't decide...

Possible frustrations aside, there's no denying that the orange annodized aluminium parts make for a pretty neat pen. The bright orange parts make for a vivid, playful pen, but it doesn't overdo it because these bits of color are mostly on the inside of the pen. As much as I like the regular 580Al for the subtle extra it brings to the 580, I like the lava for the punch of color it delivers.

Both the regular and special edition aluminium versions obviously benefit from the added weight and solid feeling of the aluminium parts. The pen weighs in at 32g capped, which is a very decent weight for a plastic demonstrator pen. And even though it only adds about 4 or 5 grams compared to the regular 580, it has a completely different feel in the hand, more solid and robust - much better if you ask me.

Since I bought the exact same nib as on the regular 580Al, I won't cover the writing experience in full detail, you can head over to my original review for that. What I will say is that the broad nibs TWSBI offers are quite something! In fact most, if not all, pens I've tried from the Taiwanese brand have been excellent writers!

The aluminium counterpart of the 580 comes at a slight premium, though even at the 69EUR/ 60USD retail price, they are by far the best value fountain pens you'll find. Where else can you get a piston filler demonstrator with a metal piston mechanism and great nib for under 100 bucks? If you'd like a 580Al Lava for yourself, my advice would be to act fast. After two itterations of the orange special edition, chances are slim that there'll be more in the future. Once these are gone, they are gone! 

Note: FONTOPLUMO Supports this blog. I received a discount on this purchase, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared here are completely my own! This review does not contain any affilate links.