REVIEW – Do you have a favorite type of pen? Is it a Fountain pen? Ballpoint pen? Gel pen? Felt tip pen? If you answered felt tip pen, then today’s review is for you. Don’t worry if you’re not a felt tip pen person because this review might change that. Let’s take a look at the Wren pen from UK-based Tom’s Studio.
What is it?
The Tom’s Studio Wren is an EDC felt tip pocket pen you can fill with your favorite ink.
What’s included?
The earth-friendly packaging for the Tom’s Studio Wren pen sets the mood. A mood of happiness.
Inside the package is a sachet of tea. For a tea drinker like myself, it made me smile, and I immediately put the kettle on to try it. My smile kept reappearing with each sip of the tea.
- The Wren pen
- 3ml glass bottle of midnight black ink
Design and features
The Wren pen’s lid and body are available in a variety of colors that you can mix and match when you place the order. I selected a black lid and an iris body.
Tech specs
Length capped – 80mm
Posted (cap on the end of the pen) – 120mm
Weight – 20g
Tip size – 0.3 – 0.5 depending on pressure
The Wren pen is made of anodized aluminum. The lid has a matte finish (at least the black version of the body is matte). The body has a smooth satin finish. You can tell from the images that the body stores inside the body tip-in when it’s not being used and tip-out when it’s being used.
Two O-rings provide the friction that keeps the body inside the lid.
The felt tip of the Wren pen is Japanese-made, and you can buy replacements from Tom’s Studio, which you’ll want to do if you like to try different inks in this pen.
The body of the Wren unscrews to give you access to the ink reservoir.
The reservoir is designed to hold the ink and the tip draws in the ink.
Loading the ink is pretty straight forward, but it did take me two tries to get it to work. Next time I won’t have that issue. See my video below where I show where I went wrong.
Once the ink is properly loaded, you have a great little pocket pen with your favorite ink! The pen is nicely balanced and the writing tip is smooth, making writing very comfortable. Oh, I also want to mention that the lid has a hexagon shape, so it won’t roll off your desk when you set it down.
How long do the tips last?
According to Tom’s Studio’s FAQ:
You can expect the high-quality, Japanese-made tip to last for months of use. We tested a single ink fill in the Wren on a plotter – a device used for precision drawing – and it wrote consistently for 344 metres. That’s the equivalent of 50 A4 pages of handwriting!
See in action
What I like about the Tom’s Studio Wren pen
- You can load it with your favorite ink
- Well balanced
- Well made
- Affordable
What needs to be improved?
- Ink loading instructions
- It would be great if an extra tip and ink reservoir were included with the initial purchase
Final thoughts
I’m not a fountain pen person, which might be due to the fact that I’m left-handed. I’ve always felt left out of being able to try different inks. But with the Tom’s Studio Wren pen, I no longer have to feel that way because I can enjoy using any fountain pen ink I like. And, I can carry this pen in my pocket because it’s a great size.
Price: $45.00 for the pen, $4 for a pack of 3 writing tips, $3 for a pack of 6 in reservoirs
Where to buy: Tom’s Studio
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Tom’s Studio. Tom’s Studio did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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I must have read too fast bc I missed a piece of critical info >> nib size. From the home site: “0.3–0.5 depending on pressure”. That makes it a buy for this reader. Thx for the heads up!
Looks like need to go add that to the specs section. Thanks for the prompt. Let me know what you think once you get one 🙂
Great write up, as a gadget freak (pens, watches, lights etc) this piqued my curiosity. Not sure I’ll go buy one this instant as I have never cared for having to handle ink. But, it is very tempting I must say as I hate fountain pens (rollerball fan) but love felt/soft tips which leaves me on the fence. Good video and nice tidbit including they didn’t do the instructions terribly clearly. I suspect if it had been left in the ink a couple seconds longer the first try, or if you’d kept the pen point down a little longer the first time it would have started working. I just get the willies having to handle ink…a foible I think I need to get over. Cheers!
Yes, I think I got spooked when I saw the ink rapidly soaking the ink reservoir.
I just got mine and so far really like it. The quality is great, I love all the colors, and as a former fountain pen user, I really like the refill system and the lack of mess. I wish it had a clip because it would make it easier to keep track of it. But I recommend it!
Glad that you like it too. I agree that a clip would be a useful addition.