Schon Design Pocket Ultem Review: A Small Fountain Pen With Serious Ambition

Introduction

Pocket fountain pens were never the most obvious category to fall in love with, but a steady run of well-designed small pens has changed that, and the Schon Design Pocket Ultem is a leading example. Made by Ian Schon and his Philadelphia-based company, it is the latest in a long line of quality releases from a brand known for innovative, fun-to-use designs.

The pen arrives in a clear plastic box with a small congratulatory card, a pack of six Monteverde ink cartridges, and a small sticker. It is affectionately known as the “Smoltum”, a playful nod to it being a small version of the original Schon Design Ultem. The body is made from Ultem, a brand-name high-strength translucent plastic that is very light and extremely durable, a material popular enough that even NASA uses it in the space program.

Who This Product Is For

The Pocket Ultem suits writers who want a genuinely portable pen without giving up a full-size writing experience. Compared with the Schon Design Pocket Six, it is slightly larger overall, with a longer cap, a shorter barrel, and a slightly thicker body. Posted, it measures up to most full-size pens and stays fairly light and well balanced.

If you write occasional quick notes, you can wedge the short barrel into your palm. For anything longer than a word or two, posting the cap is the natural way to use it, and this pen is clearly designed with that in mind. It is a strong fit for anyone who values durability and translucency, since you can watch your ink level and see the nib through the body.

Main Strengths

The clipless cap is flat on top with a rounded edge and twists off in two rotations. There are no roll stops, and the transition from cap to barrel is very smooth, almost imperceptible to the touch. The twist-to-post threads deserve special mention: they are very smooth and easy to activate, and the cap resists cross-threading even when you try to force it. That is a mark of good design.

Under the cap sits a Jowo number 6 stainless steel nib, notably larger than what most pocket pens offer. It is available in extra fine, fine, medium, and broad, plus 1.1 and 1.5 stubs, with an optional upgrade to a gold nib. For an additional cost, Schon Design also sells a separate BYON (“bring your own nib”) section that accommodates a Bock 380 number 8 nib, available in both natural and black Ultem. The plastic feed, medium-length concave section, minimal threads, and stepped transitions are all neatly executed.

The pen takes standard international cartridges and is not really designed for a converter, but an empty cartridge is included so you can syringe-fill it with your ink of choice. Better yet, the pen begs to be eyedroppered: four o-rings, one on the cap and three within the section, two around the feed and one on the section threads, are there to make it as leak-proof as possible for eyedropper use. The red o-rings add a nice complementary accent to the yellowish-gold Ultem, and the barrel holds about as much ink as most piston fillers.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The base price is $240, with options such as the gold nib upgrade or the Bock 380 section able to push it higher. For the base model, that sits on the high end of the value proposition, though not beyond reason for a very well-constructed pen made with an artisanal manufacturing philosophy that prioritizes quality and customer value over cheap pricing.

The clipless, roll-stop-free design is a deliberate choice that some may not love, and twist-to-post caps are a necessity rather than a preference for this format, even if the threads here are excellent. The pen is only available on the Schon Design website, so plan accordingly.

Buying Advice

Size comparisons make the case for this pen clearly. It is only slightly larger than the Pocket Six, sits alongside other compact pens like the Kaweco Lilliput when capped, but when posted, the difference is significant, mainly because of the larger nib and larger section. Against a Kaweco Sport or a Pilot Petit-type small pen, the Schon offers a noticeably more substantial grip and writing platform.

In testing with the broad stainless steel nib and Monteverde Strawberry Shortcake ink, the broad point produced a generous, fat line with decent ink flow and minimal line variation. Reverse writing was slightly scratchy but got the job done, and fast writing presented no issues at all. If you want a pocket pen that behaves like a full-size writer when posted, this is a very good candidate; if you mostly write capped and pocketed, weigh the smaller in-hand size against the price first.

Conclusion

The Schon Design Pocket Ultem is a high-quality addition to a catalog that keeps producing new and different pens. Durable translucent Ultem construction, a larger No. 6 nib than most pocket pens manage, superb twist-to-post threads, and an eyedropper-ready barrel with clever o-ring sealing make it a confident recommendation for pocket pen enthusiasts, provided the $240 base price fits your budget.