Lamy Al-Star vs. Lamy Safari: Complete Comparability [2025]

When somebody is getting considering fountain pens, there’s one pen model that’s virtually all the time steered to them: Lamy. Based in 1966, Lamy has been within the enterprise of constructing prime quality writing devices for fairly a very long time. Their Safari and AL-Star pens make wonderful first pens, wonderful presents, and might turn out to be collectable in addition to helpful objects. They’re inexpensive and sturdy pens that may final a lifetime.

The Safari was initially envisioned as a college pen for customers between 10 and 15 years outdated. Manufactured from sturdy plastics and fitted with simply swappable metal nibs, they’ll stand as much as the wants of school-aged individuals in addition to these of us who’re properly past that age.

On this piece, we’ll check out the Safari and the AL-Star variations of this pen in addition to a few completely different variations of these pens within the Vista and LX.

What the Safari and AL-Star Have In Frequent

These two pens are very related. Checked out from the surface, their designs are almost an identical. There are some variations between the 2 that we’ll go into under, however you do must look fastidiously (and possibly pull out a caliper) to seek out the variations. Heck, I didn’t even discover a few of these variations till I began entering into the weeds with these pens in preparation for this piece.

Each the Safari and AL-Star fashions share the identical outward look. They’re each spherical pens with opposing flat sides that may act as roll stops once you set them down. Every has an immediately recognizable bent wire clip. Each even have an ink window within the barrel by means of which you’ll be able to see the extent of ink in your cartridge or converter, and each might be crammed by way of both Lamy cartridge or Lamy converter.

On the grip part, you’ll discover two flat sides. These flats are supposed to assist school-aged people use a “tripod” grip, and so they do provide you with a pleasant grip on the in any other case clean part. That is nice for these of us who’ve that conventional tripod grip, however it may be annoying to those that maintain their pen in another style. The flat sides gained’t suit your non-traditional grip, and the sting of these triangles, whereas not sharp, might trigger the pen to rotate out of place or really feel uncomfortable.

The cap finial of the AL-Star and Safari fountain pens will even have an inset disk that includes an “X” form. This helps differentiate between the fountain pens and the rollerball fashions which have a spherical disk with a gap within the middle. There are some restricted version fountain pens which have the spherical disk, however not too many. This will help you to seek out the correct pen in case you’ve obtained all of them in your pen cup collectively.

The Lamy Safari Fountain Pen

Options of the Safari

The Lamy Safari was launched in 1980 to seize the market of 10-15 yr olds. The resin barrel of the Safari is ergonomic and durable. It’s additionally very gentle, and it feels nimble in your hand. At a mere 7g uncapped, the Safari is a pen that you should utilize for actually lengthy writing classes with none hand fatigue.

Advantages of the Safari

There are a few advantages that the Safari has over the AL-Star. First, it’s a little bit bit lighter than the AL-Star. The plastic of the barrel and part are inflexible and so they don’t really feel low cost, however they nonetheless weigh much less and that could possibly be necessary to you you probably have any type of hand-issues that might make heavier pens problematic or tiring so that you can write with.

The second profit is that the plastic barrel of the Safari will maintain up higher to tough use. I don’t advocate being tough with any fountain pens, however the Safari is completely a pen you could maintain in a pocket or a bookbag with no sleeve or some other safety. It gained’t dent or scratch simply, and that’s particularly necessary for the reason that pen was initially aimed on the 10-15 yr outdated market. There’s no must child this pen. That’s very true of the fashions with a matte end as an alternative of the sleek end.

There’s additionally a variant of the Safari referred to as the Vista. The Vista is a full demonstrator pen in clear plastic. It has a bit extra metallic within the cap than the common Safari, and so the cap is a little bit heavier, however it’s in any other case an identical.

One closing profit is you could change the clips, finials, and trim rings on the Safari, however that isn’t potential with the AL-Star. As a result of means that the clip and the trim ring are hooked up to the Safari, you possibly can swap these components between completely different Safari fashions to make a customized coloration mixture with the completely different painted clips and such. I’ve swapped the components from the Mango and the Savannah Safari fashions to provide an additional pop of contrasting coloration. Enjoyable!

Drawbacks to the Safari

I feel the primary drawbacks of the Safari are associated to the advantages. The sunshine weight may cause some individuals to really feel much less positive about their grip on the pen, and that may make them grip it tightly in order that it doesn’t get away from them. I’ve additionally seen {that a} light-weight pen like this will have an effect on my handwriting a bit. Some customers will even equate the lightweight with low high quality. These pens aren’t low high quality in any respect, however that notion is on the market and particularly amongst new fountain pen customers.

The supplies of the pen may also look a bit “low cost” to some of us. The plastic end won’t enchantment to of us who need the shine of a metallic barrel. It may possibly seem like a “child’s pen” to some, and that impression isn’t false. It was launched to enchantment to youthful individuals. It simply additionally occurs to enchantment to a wider vary of individuals, too.

The Lamy AL-Star Fountain Pen

Options

The AL-Star pen was developed after the Safari took off, and there are a few small design tweaks that you simply’ll see in case you look carefully. The barrel and cap are a barely bigger diameter than the Safari, but it surely’s solely 1mm and never an apparent distinction. This is because of there being a plastic barrel beneath the aluminum sheath.

The AL-Star and Safari are additionally completely different in size by about 1 mm. A few of that is because of the cap configuration, making the Safari’s cap only a bit longer. Once they’re uncapped, although, the AL-Star is only a hair longer. These variations in girth and size are minor, and doubtless not one thing you’ll discover in your hand.

The sections of the 2 pens share the identical dimensions, however they’ll’t be interchanged. If you happen to examine them side-by-side, you’ll see that the trim ring of the Safari is a part of the grip part, however the trim ring of the AL-Star is definitely part of the interior plastic barrel. One other delicate distinction, however actually price noting for many who would possibly wish to swap the translucent AL-Star part onto their Safari or give their AL-Star the stable coloration plastic part of their Safari. That’s a no-go.

The AL-Star can be marginally heavier than the Safari. Evaluating the AL-Star’s 10 grams (uncapped) to the Safari’s 7 grams (uncapped) you would possibly really feel the distinction. It’s a minor one, however some notably perceptive of us could discover.

Advantages

Some shoppers will definitely favor the glossy look of the AL-Star or the very slight weight improve that the aluminum sheath provides the pen. The three grams of additional weight shouldn’t be notably noticeable to me, however some will be aware it for positive.

Drawbacks

That very same glossy look can be the disadvantage to the AL-Star. You’ll must take higher care of the shiny aluminum barrel than you’ll the extra rugged plastic of the Safari. It’s liable to selecting up scratches, scuffs, and dings that the Safari would shrug off. Alternatively, maybe you benefit from the marks that your use will add to the AL-Star over time. With a little bit care and a pen sleeve, although, your AL-Star will proceed to look glossy and fashionable.

Some Ultimate Particulars

Writing Expertise

Whether or not you select the Safari, Vista, or the AL-Star, you’re going to get the identical nib on the pens. Most of Lamy’s pens share the identical stainless-steel nib design, and which means there are a lot of completely different nibs you could simply swap onto your pen. With level sizes starting from EF to 1.9 mm in addition to indirect types and a left-handed nib, you can also make the pen your individual. Some types additionally include a black nib as an alternative of the standard polished stainless-steel. The Lamy LX sequence of the AL-Star mannequin function a black PVD coated nib that’s notably good trying, and the Aion and Ideos share a curvy model of the usual metal nib. The writing expertise would be the identical throughout these fashions.

The writing expertise from these nibs is mostly excellent. The additional superb nibs are a little bit on the scratchy aspect, however that’s typical of additional superb nibs, and nothing to be involved about. The center sizes of superb, medium, and broad, are all about what you’ll anticipate from a European nib of that measurement. Common and really managed ink circulation is typical, and so they would possibly really feel a little bit too dry for a number of the drier inks on the market, however these pens are workhorses that may deal with all kinds of papers and inks with out difficulty.

The one factor I’d advise is to skip shimmer inks with these Lamy fashions. The feed is basically troublesome to take away from the part, and I don’t advise it. Which means it’s troublesome to provide your pen a deep-clean to take away all the shimmer particles, and that may annoy some customers.

Really feel within the Hand

Actually, between the Safari and AL-Star, I don’t discover the hand-feel to be very completely different in any respect. The very slight variations in weight, size, and girth aren’t very noticeable until you’re evaluating them straight and also you’re actually on the lookout for the variations. Each are agile, gentle, and comfy so long as you’re okay with the tripod grip that they demand.

Supplies

Your wide selection right here is between metallic finishes and plastic ones. I’ve by no means actually picked a aspect within the Safari vs. AL-Star query as a result of the look of the person mannequin is what is going to do it for me or not. One factor to undoubtedly try is the matte vs shiny plastic sections, although. A few of the Safari fashions will are available a matte end, and I discover that this provides a very good tactile really feel to the part that the sleek plastic sections are lacking. None of them are slippery within the hand (due to the triangular grip) however the matte end does give some additional buy that I recognize.

Particular Editions

Final however not least, there are SO MANY particular editions of those pens. Every year will convey no less than one particular version coloration of the Safari and the AL-Star. Typically there can be multiple one in every of every. Whether or not it is a constructive or destructive for you’ll rely upon how you’re feeling about accumulating. I like that there are such a lot of completely different choices for these pens. Every seems to be completely different from the following and I can match the colour to my ink, outfit, or temper as I like. If I had been a collector of the gotta-catch-them-all selection, I’d discover it daunting. There are many years of particular pens on the market to seek out, and a few of them value a reasonably penny on the secondary market.

FAQ: Answering your questions

How do you say “AL-Star?”

That is contentious! Some of us (Like my buddy the Penaddict) spell it out. “A-EL Star.” I am going with saying it as one would usually say “All Star.” It’s enjoyable to select sides, however on the finish of the day it doesn’t actually matter. So long as you name it the All Star, that’s. (wink)

“Why is there blue ink in my new pen!?”

You simply obtained your new Lamy and there’s ink in it already?! What provides? Did you get a used pen? Nearly actually not. Lamy dip-tests their nibs earlier than they ship them, and so they don’t clear them out. I don’t know that it’s each nib, however they’ve obtained a machine that exams no less than a whole lot of them earlier than they depart the manufacturing facility. The repair for that is to both use the blue cartridge that got here with the pen or give your nib a fast flush earlier than you fill it the primary time. Lamy’s blue ink is very nice and it washes off of the nib rapidly.

Does the Lamy Safari / AL-Star fountain pen include a converter?

Not often. Some editions of the pen include a converter, however most of them don’t. Some distributors will embody a converter with the worth, however most don’t. This query can solely be answered by studying the product description, but it surely’s greatest to imagine that the pen will include a cartridge and no converter.

Will the Lamy LZ26/LZ27 converter match the Safari / AL-Star fountain pen?

Sure. The one distinction between the z26/z27 and z24/z28 is that the z24/z28 mannequin has a pair of pegs (or ears) on the aspect of the converter that should slot in to matching grooves on the part of the Safari/AL-Star pens. The z26/27 converter doesn’t have these ears, however the different dimensions are the identical and it’ll work in these pens in addition to different Lamy fashions.

How do the Lamy Safari nib sizes examine towards different European and Japanese nib types?

Lamy nib sizes are usually about the identical as their European counterparts. They’ll usually be wider than the equal Japanese nib measurement by a half step or so. It’s necessary to notice that it is a generalized rule of thumb and never a tough and quick customary.

How do you change the nib on the Lamy Safari / AL-Star?

How do the varied nib sizes of the Lamy Safari / AL-Star examine?

In regards to the Creator

Mike Matteson is an educator, gardener, and online game participant when he isn’t creating stationery content material on YouTube, Twitch, or his weblog.