Platinum Meteor Review: A Cheap Fountain Pen That Gets the Basics Right

Introduction

Entry-level fountain pens live or die on one question: do they get the basics right without costing much? The Platinum Meteor, a pen Platinum makes primarily for the Chinese market, answers with a firm yes. It typically sells for around five to ten US dollars depending on where you source it, most readily through AliExpress, though some shops carry and ship it as well. For that money you get a pen that is essentially one small step up from the well-known Platinum Preppy, shipped in a quirky but charming clear test-tube-style tube with a plastic sleeve.

Design and Build

The Meteor is an all-plastic pen, and Platinum does not pretend otherwise. The barrel is hexagonal, which gives it a fun, pencil-like feel and stops it from rolling off your desk. The cap is a simple snap cap, injection molded without any surprises, and it has held up well through regular use with no cracking or letting down.

It is a very light pen, in the same weight class as the Preppy. It is large enough to use unposted comfortably, and posting does not really affect the balance because the pen is so light to begin with. This particular example is a limited Harry Potter edition, the Ravenclaw one, and the Meteor comes in a wide range of styles and limited editions, which is part of its appeal. One fun quirk: the pen also appears to go by the name Platinum Shooting Star or Little Shooting Star, the name reflecting the star motif on the nib.

Nib and Writing Performance

Under the cap sits what is effectively the Platinum Preppy nib and section. The section and feed are the same as the Preppy’s, and the pieces can even be interchanged between the two pens. The test unit has a fine nib, and the nib itself carries a big star and a couple of small stars alongside the Platinum logo.

On the page, it writes exactly like a Preppy fine: smooth in every direction with no flow problems keeping up. There is some audible feedback, a light tactile quality like writing with a pencil, but you cannot really feel scratchiness. There is no flex here, though with light pressure there is a slight bounce that some writers may enjoy. Expect the occasional wetter spot rather than any line variation.

Ink Capacity and Filling

This is where the Meteor quietly earns its value. For a five to ten dollar pen, it ships with both a converter and a cartridge, which is a genuinely unusual deal at this price point. The converter is not the standard Platinum type: it is a push-style converter with a slider you push down and pull up to fill, a mechanism similar to the Kaweco Sport converters. It makes filling and rinsing between ink changes quick and easy.

The downside is that nothing locks the slider in place beyond friction, so it could theoretically get pushed down accidentally. It also fits a standard Platinum converter if you ever want to upgrade.

One practical bonus of such an inexpensive pen: it becomes the natural home for fussier inks. Filling it with Noodler’s Bay State Blue, an intensely vibrant blue notorious for staining, becomes a low-risk experiment precisely because the pen is cheap and easy to clean out. On 80gsm paper there was no real bleed-through, only minor feathering under deliberate heavy pressure.

Buying Advice

If you want a cheap pen to toss in a bag or keep inked on the desk for quick notes, the Meteor is an easy recommendation. The combination of a converter, a cartridge, the reliable Preppy nib and a fun range of editions makes it one of the better values in entry-level fountain pens.

Look for it on AliExpress or from shops that import it, and expect to pay somewhere between five and ten US dollars depending on the seller and edition. If you prefer cleaner, less fussy inks, note that a similar-toned ink like Rhodia’s Asagao offers much of the color with far less maintenance risk.

Conclusion

The Platinum Meteor is not a luxurious pen, and it does not need to be. It is light, simple, surprisingly well equipped for its price, and a genuinely good pick for anyone who wants an affordable everyday writer or a dedicated pen for a bold ink.