Esterbrook SD Dutch Pen Show 2024 Sugar Rush Review: A Candy-Themed Show Exclusive

Introduction

At the Dutch Pen Show in the Netherlands, three exclusive tie-in pens were released around the show’s Sugar Rush theme, each styled after candy. This review covers the first of them: the Esterbrook SD Dutch Pen Show 2024 Sugar Rush, a blue-green acrylic fountain pen that leans into the show’s playful candy concept without going fully over the top. Here is how it is built, how it writes, and whether it makes sense to buy.

Unboxing and Presentation

The packaging deserves credit. The outer cardboard sleeve is colourful and fun, covered in candy illustrations and cupcakes alongside the Sugar Rush and Dutch Pen Show logos, with the Esterbrook branding woven in. Inside sits a red cloth-covered box with a magnetic closure, a removable pen bed, a cartridge, a small registration card in a tiny envelope, and a canvas pen sleeve.

The sleeve carries Dutch Pen Show styling and the Esterbrook logo, and can also be purchased separately. As a complete package it feels considered rather than thrown together, which matters for a pen positioned as a collectible show exclusive.

Design and Materials

Next to a Pilot Metropolitan, the SD is a bit longer and noticeably girthier, which puts it in that useful middle zone: not too big, not too small, and it can be posted securely if you prefer. Everything on the pen is finished in the same blue-green acrylic, which shows a subtle chatoyance when it catches the light. Of the show’s candy-themed pens, this is the least overtly candy-like material, which some buyers will actually prefer.

The steel clip is springy and has the Esterbrook name on it, and it sits below a gold-coloured trim ring. The barrel tapers down to a nicely rounded finial, the threads are large and never sharp, and the section tapers before flaring slightly at the grip. One genuinely strong detail: the threads on the section and inside the barrel are metal rather than plastic, so they will not grind down the acrylic over time.

Nib Options and Filling

The pen is a cartridge-converter filler, and the converter carries the Esterbrook logo, a small touch that elevates an otherwise humble component. Nib choices run from extra fine, fine, medium, broad, and stub, all in steel, with the Dutch Pen Show logo laser engraved on the nib. Hand-ground specialty nibs, the Journaler, Scribe, and Needlepoint, are available at an additional cost, and those do not carry the show engraving.

Writing Performance

The review unit came with a broad nib. It is not the broadest broad available, but it writes smoothly with pleasant wetness and very good flow under no pressure at all. Reverse writing turns drier but finer and does not become scratchy, particularly with a darker ink.

The nib appears to have a slightly rounded shape that can produce a hint of line variation, and it is not advertised as a flex nib, so treat that purely as a bonus. One impressive detail is the capping mechanism: there seems to be a spring-loaded action inside that keeps the inner cap sealing tightly. After being left uncapped for about a week and a half, the pen wrote straight away on the first stroke.

What We Liked and What to Consider

There is a lot to like here. The material is attractive with genuine chatoyance, the size works for a wide range of hands, the spring-loaded cap genuinely keeps the nib from drying out, and it is simply a nice writer. The metal threads add long-term durability that cheaper acrylic pens lack.

On the downside, the SD line already sits on the expensive end for what you get, and show exclusives tend to cost more still. The steel-nibbed cartridge-converter version runs €219 without tax, roughly $235, and the hand-ground specialty nibs add considerably more. The full package including the canvas sleeve softens that a little, but this is a purchase driven more by liking the design and the collectible angle than by value.

Buying Advice

If you enjoy the SD shape, the blue-green acrylic, and the idea of owning a pen show exclusive, this is an easy recommendation: it is nicely made, reliably starts every time, and comes with a genuinely good presentation. If price per pound of pen is your main metric, look elsewhere, because at roughly $235 for a steel-nibbed cartridge-converter pen, this is squarely a design-and-collectibility purchase. Tastes differ, and this one will suit plenty of collectors even if it is not for everyone.

Conclusion

The Esterbrook SD Dutch Pen Show 2024 Sugar Rush is a well-built, nicely sized acrylic pen with a clever spring-loaded cap seal, metal threads, a pleasant wet writer, and a charming candy-themed presentation. It is priced on the higher end for its configuration, but as a collectible show tie-in with real everyday usability, it delivers exactly what that audience is looking for.