Fountain Pen review: The Jinhao 82

July 16, 2026 Lark_Bookwyrm Pen & Ink 1

The Jinhao 82 fountain pen

For an inexpensive copy of a hugely popular but expensive pen (the Sailor Pro Gear Slim), the Jinhao 82 is a surprisingly good pen. I admit, I bought my first Jinhao 82 (the peacock blue sparkly one above) purely because it was pretty. Well, that, and I wanted a pen for testing inks without spending a lot. The Jinhao 82 currently sells for around $8.50 – $10 on Amazon, a few dollars more than a Platinum Preppy but offering a more classic style. I bought my first two Jinhao 82s for around $8, but tariffs and inflation have increased the price on some of the newer colors. Speaking of which, they keep adding new colors and color combos, including a clear demonstrator version. They come in Medium, Fine, and Extra-Fine nibs, and the company recently added a fude (bent) nib which I’m excited to try.

The design and construction quality are good for an inexpensive pen, with no rough spots or out-of-alignment parts. The pen is well-balanced when the cap is posted, and the stainless steel nib is quite good for the price. The ink flow is pretty consistent, if not perfectly so—some letters may end up with slightly more ink than others, but the flow is wet and never skips. I find the writing experience to be pretty smooth and comfortable. I do worry that the threads of the screw-on cap and the barrel might be a little delicate, but as long as I take care not to overtighten either part, it should be fine—and again, if it breaks eventually, replacing the pen is both easy and inexpensive. I haven’t really stressed the clip, so I don’t know how well it would hold up to regularly clipping the pen in a pocket, but it seems fairly tight. (I generally only clip my pens to several sheets of paper or the cardstock cover of a spiral notebook.)

So far, I have bought three Jinhao 82 pens, all with the Fine Nib, which I prefer over a Medium because I tend to write small. I will probably get a few more with Medium nibs soon, for use with shimmer inks. Although I originally bought them for testing inks, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the writing experience. I feel very comfortable using a Jinhao 82 as an every-day carry. I know I can easily replace one if I lose it, but they write smoothly, they don’t dry up too quickly if used regularly, and so far I haven’t had any leaks.

One small point on the negative side: the “gold” clip and bands, while better than some fake gold I have seen, still lack the weight and luster of true gold, and are the best indicator that this is a knockoff. And as I said above, the threads may be a bit delicate.

If you’re looking for a really good writing experience at a reasonable cost, I would recommend a Lamy Safari (still my favorite under-$50 pen so far.) But if you are looking for a pretty, reliable, refillable, inexpensive and easily replaceable everyday carry, or if you are simply curious about fountain pens but not ready to invest $30 or more, you could do a lot worse than the Jinhao 82.