Leo Design FPX 1 Review: A Bold, Aviation-Inspired Fountain Pen With Real Trade-offs

Introduction

Some fountain pens aim to refine a tradition. The Leo Design FPX 1 is not one of them. It is a limited edition fountain pen from Leo Design, a Seattle-based studio run by the husband-and-wife team of John and Jai Lu Leo, and it takes industrial design cues from aviation rather than from classic penmaking. Only 10 of these pens will be made, and at $985 it sits firmly in the collector and statement-piece territory.

This pen will not appeal to everyone, and it does not pretend to. But if you are drawn to modern, unconventional writing instruments, there is a lot here worth understanding before you decide.

Who the Leo Design FPX 1 Is For

The FPX 1 makes sense for collectors and enthusiasts who want a pen that stands apart from anything else in a case. It suits people who appreciate industrial design as much as they appreciate writing performance, and who are comfortable treating a pen as a desk instrument rather than a pocket companion. If your priority is portability or everyday carry, this pen is going to be a harder sell, and that is worth knowing from the start.

What Makes the Leo Design FPX 1 Different

The FPX 1 arrives in a Nanuk 903 protective case, which is airtight and features an automatic pressure release valve, a genuinely practical touch for anyone traveling through altitude changes. Inside that sits a hefty aluminum carrying case with grooved exterior lines and a magnetically attached lid. The pen slides out of a 3D-printed inner sleeve, and this carrying case is essential to the pen, not just packaging.

John Leo, the industrial designer behind the brand, draws inspiration from aviation and from the idea that everyday objects do not have to look or function the way they currently do. That philosophy is obvious the moment you hold the FPX 1. The body is machined from a solid piece of 6061-T6 aluminum, anodized black with a single red element, and shaped with a taper that recalls an airplane wing.

Design and Build Quality

At the rear of the barrel sits a red piece that resembles a knock, but it is not. It is part of the mechanism that holds the pen together, working in conjunction with a small guide pin. Below it sits the Leo company name, printed in a direction that reads right side up for left-handed users and upside down for right-handers looking down while writing, a small quirk worth noting.

One of the most distinctive features is the set of three alternating trapezoid windows along the barrel. Each window reveals something different: the first shows the red piece that holds the nib unit in place, a spring is visible between the first and second windows, the second shows the converter and a sliver of your ink, and the last shows the solid nib housing. It is a nice variety of views, though the converter’s housing covers most of the ink, so you get only a limited read on your true ink level.

The nib unit, housing, and converter all come from the Pilot Vanishing Point. That slim nib is the right proportion for this pen; a standard larger nib would have thrown the whole design off balance. The pen measures 152.6 mm in length and weighs just over 30 grams, about 30.5 g.

Writing Experience

The FPX 1 uses the 14-karat gold medium nib from the Pilot Vanishing Point, and the writing performance is genuinely good. In testing, the nib has a slight bit of feedback that gives a little line variation, ink flow is decent, and there is no issue with the feed keeping up during fast writing. Reverse writing is a little scratchy, but it lays down a nice fine line.

Perhaps surprisingly, the ergonomics work well despite the completely non-standard section. The wing-shaped body fits the contours of the hand nicely, and the edges of the open windows are smooth enough that they never dig into the hand during longer writing sessions. Paired with an ink like Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo, the experience is distinctive and enjoyable.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The biggest practical concern is that the nib does not retract, and there is no cap. This means the pen must live in its carrying case: take it out to use it, cap it, and return it when finished. In testing, the case has done a good job protecting the nib and preventing it from drying out, but this is not a pen you can leave sitting out on your desk.

The carrying case itself is tall, slender, and fairly heavy. It is most stable lying sideways on a desk, and standing it upright risks it toppling over if bumped. Hauling that hefty case around for everyday carry is also going to get tiring quickly. Disassembly for inking is straightforward: press the red piece down to release the rear section, remove the spring, and slide the Vanishing Point nib unit out, taking care with the spring tension on reassembly. A more desk-friendly stand-up case would have rounded out the package nicely.

Buying Advice

The Leo Design FPX 1 is only available through the Leo Design website, retails for $985, and is limited to just 10 pens. Leo Design also offers other unique products, most of which are priced under $100, including the Stealth rollerball and the Phantom S420 scissors with its desktop stand, which offer a lower-cost way to experience the brand’s design language before committing to the flagship.

For the right buyer, someone who values striking, one-of-a-kind design and a proven nib, the FPX 1 delivers. For anyone who wants a portable daily writer, the case-dependent format is the deciding factor to weigh carefully.

Conclusion

The Leo Design FPX 1 is a genuinely original fountain pen that brings something new to the table. The aviation-inspired aluminum body, the trapezoid windows, and the proven Pilot Vanishing Point nib make it memorable, while the non-retracting nib and case-dependent portability define its trade-offs. It is not a pen for everyone, but it certainly is not boring, and for collectors who connect with its design, it is a compelling statement piece.