TWSBI Vac 700R Review: A Vacuum-Filler With Real Character

Introduction

TWSBI has built something of a devoted following among fountain pen enthusiasts, and the Vac 700R is a good example of why. This is the brand’s vacuum-filling pen: a large, clear-bodied writer with a genuinely interesting filling mechanism, a steel nib in multiple widths, and a level of serviceability that most pens at any price never offer. After spending real writing time with it, here is what stands out, for better and for worse.

Design and Build

The Vac 700R is a fairly large pen. The cap has subtle facets that are hard to capture in photos but pleasant in hand, the barrel is round and tapers down toward the section, and the piston knob at the end carries the same faceted treatment with a small blue ring that gives it a subtle gleam. The Clear model on test here has a metallic blue finish on the cap, and the clip has a nice bit of texture to it.

The center band is printed with the brand name on one side and Vac 700R Taiwan on the other, and the branding throughout is clean and confident. The nib itself carries a dark blue accent piece that genuinely elevates the look of the pen, tying together the blue details on the nib, clip, and center band into one cohesive aesthetic.

Inside, this is a vacuum filler. You unscrew the knob at the end, pull the piston seal back on its rod, dip the nib in a bottle of ink, and push the rod back in. The barrel flares from a narrow end to a wider end, and as the seal crosses that transition the vacuum pops and ink gets drawn up. A fully filled barrel holds more than the nominal 2.5 ml figure, closer to roughly 2.7 to 2.8 ml, which is a serious ink capacity for long writing sessions.

Writing Performance

This is where the pen earns its keep. The steel nib on test is a 1.1 mm stub, and it writes smoothly, wet, and comfortably. It glides across the paper, the feed keeps up easily even during fast writing, and the stub grinding produces natural line variation without any pressure: broad on downstrokes, narrow on side strokes.

The nib is fairly stiff, and reverse writing is not practical with a flat-ground stub like this since it lacks rounded tipping. That trade-off is offset by the light calligraphy potential the stub offers. Number six steel nibs are available in extra fine, fine, medium, and broad, plus 1.1 mm and 1.5 mm stub options for a small surcharge. These are steel rather than gold nibs, which makes the upcharge for the stubs easier to accept than it would be on a gold-nibbed pen.

One practical note: the pen has an ink shut-off mechanism that seals the nib from the ink chamber. If you leave it closed, ink stops flowing and the pen will eventually stop writing, so you need to open it before writing. That is the price of a leak-proof vacuum system, and it becomes second nature quickly.

Disassembly and Maintenance

This is one of the most consumer-friendly aspects of the pen. The Vac 700R can be fully disassembled, and TWSBI includes the wrench to do it right in the box, along with two spare O-rings and a small bottle of silicone grease. The filling instructions and care guidance are included as well.

With more exotic filling systems, cleaning a pen can become a chore, and full disassembly makes that manageable here. It is refreshing that the tooling is simply included from the start rather than sold separately, which is not always the case even with pens many times more expensive. The section unscrews easily for cleaning access, and the feed fins appear to have been made slightly stiffer than on earlier TWSBI models, which were known to be fragile.

Things to Consider Before Buying

A few caveats are worth knowing about. The pen is somewhat prone to scratching: fine marks can show up inside the cap fairly early. It does not detract from function, but if you want to keep a pen pristine, be aware.

The thin section is the bigger issue for some hands. It is not much larger than a standard wooden pencil, and writers with larger hands may find their fingers cramping after five or six minutes of continuous writing. People with smaller hands may find it perfectly pleasant, so hand size is worth considering seriously here.

Price is the other factor. For a plastic pen with a steel nib, the asking price feels on the higher side, even accounting for the vacuum filling system, the included serviceability kit, and the genuinely excellent writing performance.

Buying Advice

The Vac 700R makes sense for writers who value a fun, high-capacity filling system, a smooth wet writer, and a pen they can fully service themselves. It is less compelling if you have large hands, want a scratch-proof finish, or are sensitive to paying a premium for a steel-nibbed plastic pen. If the thin section worries you, try to handle one before committing.

Conclusion

The TWSBI Vac 700R is a very pleasant writer with a clever vacuum filler, a cohesive blue-accented aesthetic, and unusually complete self-service tooling included in the box. The thin section and scratch-prone finish are real considerations, but for enthusiasts who want a distinctive vacuum-filling pen they can maintain themselves, it remains an easy pen to recommend.