Asvine V169 Vacuum Filler Review: An Eye-Catching Skeleton Pen Under $40

Introduction

The Asvine V169 is a vacuum filler fountain pen from a Chinese brand based in Guangzhou. The company says it has been making OEM pens for more than 20 years and decided to branch out with its own product. For a pen priced at $40, the V169 brings an unusual design and a filling system that is genuinely fun to use.

Historically, inexpensive Chinese-made pens have not always connected with every collector, but this one caught attention for good reason. It met or exceeded most expectations at this price point, with a couple of flaws worth knowing about before you buy.

Design and Build Quality

The distinguishing feature of the V169 is its water drop skeleton overlay, made from chrome-plated brass over an acrylic resin body. One detail worth appreciating: the pattern does not repeat itself, so each cutout is unique. The blue resin underneath makes a really nice contrast for the chrome overlay, and the pen is available in several other color options, including blue with a gold overlay, a blue-gray with gold overlay, green, and two transparent versions, one of which also has the gold overlay.

The pen has some heft to it without feeling overly cumbersome. Importantly, the edges of the cutouts are not sharp, which cannot be said for every skeleton-type pen. You can feel the overlay against your palm while writing, but it never becomes uncomfortable.

There are a few fit and finish quirks. The clip is functional and good-looking, but on this example it sits slightly crooked, and attempts to gently bend it back did not hold. For a pen that costs more than the cheapest Amazon pens, a blatantly misaligned clip is a little disappointing. The cap twists off with one and a half rotations, and the cap can post, but not deeply. On this pen the posted cap simply falls off, and even when it stays on, it adds significant length and back-weighting that throws off the balance. This is a pen best used unposted.

Nib, Section, and Ergonomics

Under the cap sits a stainless steel nib available in extra fine, fine, and medium, paired with a plastic feed. The stamping on the nib resembles a certain German nib style, but it is not an actual nib from that maker. The section is chrome-plated metal. Metal sections can be slippery, but this one is concave enough to keep a grip from sliding, and the metal threads are not sharp or uncomfortable if your grip rests on them. The section unscrews for easy cleaning, helped by a small o-ring that ensures a tight seal.

Filling System: Double Reservoir Vacuum Filler

The V169 is a double reservoir vacuum filler, and vacuum fillers are always fun to use. You unscrew the piston knob, insert the nib into bottled ink, then depress the knob until you hear a click, which sucks ink up into the barrel. A first fill got roughly three-quarters of the barrel; repeating the process or using a few tricks can get a fuller fill.

The double reservoir part is what happens when you screw the knob back down: it seals the main ink chamber in the barrel from the section. In practice, you either crack that seal to keep ink flowing during longer writing sessions, or crack it open briefly when the section runs dry to let ink flow back in.

Writing Performance

Inked with a vibrant blue ink with decent shading, the medium stainless steel nib performs nicely. The nib is fairly smooth for stainless steel, without a lot of drag, though you should not expect much line variation.

Ink flow is very nice and fairly wet for a medium nib. Reverse writing is very smooth and produces a nice extra-extra-fine line, and the feed keeps up with no issues during fast writing.

Buying Advice

The V169 is available through Amazon, priced at $40. Is it the best pen you can buy for forty dollars? Probably not, as there are many other options on the marketplace. But if you already own popular pens in this price range, like the Lamy Safari or the Kaweco Skyline Sport, it is worth picking one up to round out your collection, and it gets you a skeleton pen of decent quality.

It has some faults, and it is not perfect, mostly that crooked clip and the loose posting cap. For the price, though, it is not too bad, and the interesting look, the fun vacuum filler, and the well-performing nib make it easy to recommend to the right buyer.

Conclusion

The Asvine V169 delivers an eye-catching skeleton design, a satisfying double reservoir vacuum filling system, and a smooth wet medium nib for $40. If you can live with the misaligned clip on some examples and prefer to write unposted, it is a genuinely worthwhile addition to a collection.