Ellington Urban Hunter Fountain Pen Review: A $40 Pen With a Complicated Story

Introduction

Ellington is a new UK-based pen company launching with eight models at roughly 30 to 40 dollars each, pitching itself as a luxury pen for the price of around forty dollars. I spent time with three of the models, including the Urban Hunter, which is the one this review focuses on. It has a black cap, a green striped barrel, and solid gold-toned trim.

Before the design discussion, one thing needs to be said plainly: the company’s marketing deserves scrutiny, and I will cover that below. The pen itself is better than its promotional materials suggest, which is an unusual situation to review.

A Word About the Company

I want to like new pen companies, and I normally appreciate background stories that humanize a brand. That is exactly why Ellington’s marketing is worth a careful look. The promotional video relies heavily on stock footage, and portions of it appear to be lifted from a National Geographic documentary about a pen maker, without any indication that permission was obtained. The voiceover identifies himself as the company’s founder, but the person speaking and the person pictured do not appear to be the same individual.

There is also an artist’s rendering of a supposed early Ellington prototype that looks like it was drawn in a basic paint program rather than a design tool, and similar graphics have circulated with other closely related brands. When I asked the company direct questions, some answers were satisfactory while others were evasive or simply missing. I am deliberately not repeating rumors I cannot back with evidence. I deal in facts. The fact worth noting is this: the pens are openly manufactured in China, and based on the region and the design, the wholesale cost of a pen like this is very likely under two dollars. A healthy profit margin is legitimate business, but at a forty dollar retail price it is worth knowing what you are paying for.

Design and Build Quality

The Urban Hunter resembles the overall look of a Pelikan M600, M800, or M1000, with a black cap and a green striped barrel. Unlike a Pelikan, the black portion of the stripe is not translucent. I would not call it a knockoff; there are similarities, but nobody would mistake this for a Pelikan.

The body is metal, most likely brass, and has decent weight without being heavy. The most distinctive feature is an octagonal finial at the top of the cap, which gives it a slightly unique character. Oddly, the finial unscrews easily. While I like pens that disassemble for cleaning, a finial like this should be permanently affixed since there is no practical reason to remove it. The clip is quite stiff and takes real effort to use over varying pocket thicknesses. The cap band carries the company name stamped rather than engraved, which still looks nice, and the metal section is not overly slick, a good detail. Among the other launch models I saw, the Presidential Oath is a fingerprint magnet and had an octagonal finial that sat slightly off kilter, a small quality-control slip worth mentioning.

Nib and Filling System

The pen snaps off to reveal a stainless steel medium nib, engraved with an E, that sits somewhere between the size of a JoWo number four and five. At launch the pens appear to be available only with a medium nib. The nib is manufactured in China and is not a Bock or JoWo unit. It is a cartridge converter pen that accepts standard international cartridges, three of which were included along with a converter, which is nice at this price.

The nib is honestly the highlight of the pen. It provided a nicer writing experience than I anticipated, with decent ink flow and a feed that keeps up with fast writing without any trouble. That said, I would not describe it as incredibly smooth. There is a bit of drag to it, less feedback and more like writing with an unsharpened pencil. Reverse writing is scratchy. I could easily tell the difference between this nib and a standard stainless steel Bock or JoWo offering, and certainly between this and a quality gold nib.

Marketing Claims Versus Reality

The company’s promotional material makes two claims worth addressing directly. The first is that the founder, using a background in mathematics, tested prototypes blindfolded against the most expensive fountain pens he could get hold of and found virtually no difference. That is entirely subjective and impossible to verify, and the nib here, while decent, is not in the same class as a gold nib.

The second claim is that this is the world’s first pen perfectly balanced both posted and unposted. That is categorically false in my experience. The pen is well balanced unposted, but with the large metal piece at the back of the cap, posting it shifts the balance backwards significantly. Dozens of pens in my own collection are better balanced posted. This is marketing language, not engineering fact, and it is worth discounting accordingly.

Sizing and Comparisons

For scale, the Urban Hunter sits comfortably among common mid-size pens. It looks at home next to a Lamy Al-Star and a TWSBI Diamond 580, and it is noticeably smaller than a Kaweco Skyline Sport comparison set against a Sailor Pro Gear in either direction is easy to gauge from the comparisons. Against a Pelikan M1000 the overall design language is roughly similar, but the differences in finish, translucency, and quality are obvious when they sit side by side.

Writing Sample Notes

Testing with a UK-based Diamine ink in a darker blue with a purplish-red sheen, the pen produced a consistent medium line. Ink flow is decent, the feed kept pace with fast writing without skipping, and for everyday note-taking the nib gets the job done. There is little to no flex or line variation, and reverse writing is scratchy, but for a medium steel nib at this price point the overall writing experience is fair.

The Buying Experience

To test the company’s promises directly, I ordered a pen with my own money on launch day. Before launch, the site collected email addresses and promised a discount code; I received a code for 25 percent off. The order went through with a two to three day expected delivery timetable, and the pen arrived two days later, apparently fulfilled through Amazon in the US. Inside the box were the same items as before: the pen, cartridges, and an information card. The model I received was the Alpine Rose, with white lacquer and gold or rose gold toned trim. Given all the missteps in the company’s marketing and pre-launch behavior, it was a pleasant surprise that the ordering and delivery process itself was problem free.

Should You Buy It?

If you want an inexpensive metal-bodied cartridge converter fountain pen with a serviceable medium nib, the Urban Hunter is a decent offering for the price. It is solid, reasonably weighted, and the nib writes better than expected. Would I call it a luxury pen or a luxury writing experience? No. If you have never used a fountain pen before, it might feel that way, but compared with what else is available at forty dollars, there are established alternatives with stronger reputations and proven track records.

If you buy, go in knowing what you are paying for: a pen that likely costs very little to manufacture, sold by a very new company with marketing practices that raise questions. The ordering process worked smoothly in my test, which is the most reassuring data point I can offer. Your comfort with the company behind the product should weigh as heavily as the pen itself.

Conclusion

The Ellington Urban Hunter is a better pen than the story around it. The build is solid, the nib is serviceable, and my test purchase arrived quickly and without issues. But the questionable promotional material, the unverified marketing claims, and the healthy margins on an inexpensive design mean this is a buy-with-eyes-open product rather than a confident recommendation. If the price and look appeal to you, it will likely write just fine. Just do not expect luxury.