2.18.2013

Monteverde vs. Lamy M16 Ballpoint Refills

Fans of Lamy Pens know that their beloved ballpoint pens are only filled using the Lamy M16 (or M22 in cases of the mini-sized Pico and other mini- or multi- style pens) refill. These types of refills have been traditionally made proprietary by Lamy, Germany, meaning that a common Schmidt or Parker-style refill would not fit inside of a Lamy Safari. That means Lamy fans are at the mercy of the manufacturer when it comes to the available choices of colors, point sizes and *gasp* the prices they set. In comes Monteverde to help by providing an alternative at a lesser cost and more variety.

Based out of California, Monteverde is the largest manufacturer of third-party refills that are made to fit pens like Lamy, Parker, Waterman, Mont Blanc, Pelikan and Sheaffer, to name a few brands. Their Lamy M16 ballpoint refill is engineered with Soft-Roll ballpoint technology, Swiss-made writing tip and low viscosity ink that produces excellent flow and smoothness.

Besides the usual Black and Blue ink colors that Lamy offers, Monteverde opens up the color palette with 8 additional hues, including turquoise, orange and blue-black.

The reputation of the Monteverde M16 refills grows with every piece of feedback we receive from our customers. The consensus has been overwhelmingly positive. Talk of the Monteverde M16 refill outperforming it's OEM competitor is apparent even on Fountain Pen Network. Have you made the switch? Please comment below. We'd love to hear your thoughts.

6 comments:

  1. The Montverde refill for Lamy does put down a nice line but the tip does not extend out as much as the Lamy original. The ink is darker and this refill writes with less resistance. Both the Montverde and Lamy refills both write well.

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  2. in my opinion LAMY M16 is the worst refill ever made. I have approx. 10 LAMY ballpoints ( safari, 2000, linea, several logos...all using M16 ) and unfortunately i can not use any of them because of terrible refills. Any 0.50 usd ballpoint pen writes better than M16's. I will try those Monteverde refills asap. I hope it will write better and I will be able to start using lovely my LAMYs

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  3. I love my Lamy, but the problem is that almost every refill I bought left blobs of ink all over anything I wrote with it. Some of the refills big blobs, others little. Meanwhile, cheap throw away pens that come in the mail with some junk advertisement don't -- instead they write clean and smooth. End result is that more and more, my Lamy becomes something to stick in my shirt pocket to impress people, but when I have to sign anything anywhere, use the cheap throw away pen that they hand you. I am definitely going to try Monteverde refills.

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  4. Thanks for comment - I was considering trying the Lamy, but I am seriously bothered by the blob, and paying premium prices for inferior end product (written document) is a major bummer. I've had good success with Levenger refills, but last check they only have for the giant (or roller ball).

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  5. I've been using Lamy pens for years. If you get a Lamy M16 refill that doesn't leave a big mess of ink blobs all over the place, then you've probably got a counterfeit refill. As someone else mentioned, the throwaway pens that come in the mail with advertising always work better than genuine Lamy brand refills.

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  6. Why buy 10 Lamy's if you're unhappy with the writing quality of the refills? Why use Lamy pens for years if they leave a big mess of ink blobs?

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