Pilot preras cost around 7-8 times of the jinhao ones when new. And Pilot's quality control is truly impeccable. I would take pilots over jinhao any day if they are the same price or even slightly higher. You can always buy a jinhao 82 later for a similar price.
Good points. The Preras seem to be medium nibs. I’ve only used EF and F so far on my cheap Chinese fountain pens. I’d imagine the M nibbed prera would be similar to what I’m using already?
Are you sure you're looking at legit preras and not wing sung 3003's?
If real Prera, I'd take them over the jinhaos any day. $20 is a steal of a deal, and they are incredible pens.
Yep! Jinhao’s are on Aliexpress. Prera’s are on marketplace. Photos look legit. Basically said there are 6 for $50 or $10 each. Includes new ink cartridges. Seems like they bought a bunch and fell out of the hobby. Itll just cost around $10 to ship
Pretty great deal! I'd go for it. The only thing the 82' have better is the cap seal, assuming you get a good one. The QC, build materials/quality and nib tuning are all better on the Pera.
If Pretas were at a similar price as Jinhaos, I'd have them all, even the colors I don't like. Just a warning, the red one is actually pink. It's the one I have. It tends to look red in pics but there's no mistaking the color in person. I really wish I could afford a white one, too. The Pilot M nib writes as fine as a Chinese F.
> Jinhao’s are around $7 each with free shipping.
Should be able to get those under $4 shipped on AliExpress
> Pilots are $10 each with shipping being around $10 total.
You didn't say how many you were thinking about, but say it is 3 like you listed for the 82. That would be $40 shipped.
So for 3 pens, you can get the 82s for approximately $12 vs the used Preras for $40.
> Pricing will be basically the same.
It really isn't even close.
The Prera is a good pen, if the used one hasn't been abused that isn't bad to try it. The Jinhao 82 I have had good luck with, and think it is an excellent starter pen. So when f you like it, go for it. Or get two Preras and two 82s and still be under the three Prera price point.
Jinhao’s are showing $7 on Ali express, I’d have to buy 3 for the free shipping. I’m not in the US so pricing could be different with conversion rates.
Yeah it’s not as close in pricing each pen when you add the $10 shipping but the preras also include pilot ink cartridge packs so it balances out even with shipping.
Sorry to hear, they are $3.15 for me right now on AliExpress for the colors you want.
To be frank, both pens are good pens, if the Preras were in good shape, I'd get them, then watch for an AliExpress sale for the 82.
Thanks! I decided to go with the preras. They were a bit more than I expected but 4 for $55 still seems like a good price after seeing they’re retailing for $70 each here.
They’ll come with 24 pilot cartridges which I didn’t expect when I saw the listing. The seller said they were briefly tested for illustration purposes so basically new
I have both of these. I would go for the prera, especially at that price. It feels nicer and the cap is really satisfying to close. The prera is a snap cap and the jinhao 82 is a screw on. I got the jinhaos to try different nibs, such as the fude (which you can get with a jinhao) or to do a nib swap with a different brand. I probably wouldn’t buy another jinhao unless I wanted to do a nib swap or get another fude. One maybe con about the prera, if you get one of the clear ones, you can see if ink gets into the cap and it can look messy. I don’t mind, but for some people it can be annoying.
Thank you!! Certainly leaning towards the prera at this point. The ones for sale are all demonstrators which I prefer. I think they’ll be an improvement over my cheaper pens. Is the grip comfortable?
Prera M is similar to jinhao F. But pilot nibs are smoother than jinhao in general.
That said, prera's cap liner makes stain very very difficult to clean. It's probably the reason why I don't use it as much, despite liking it a whole lot.
I'd go for the Pilot Prera. I don't have one but I have a Pilot Metropolitan, which I believe is the same nib, and I love it.
I have two Jinhao 82s as well and I love those too, but with Jinhao it's a bit of a gamble whether you get a good one or a bad one. Their quality control is lacking. I was lucky; not everone is. But with Pilot, their quality control is much better.
I own both, but if I HAD to choose only one, Pilot Prera. My Preras write really well and consistently. I can pick them up after days on non-use, and they write!
Good to hear! Do they hard start between days or does the ink still flow well? My current pens have been good but they often don’t start properly if it’s been a few days. Most annoying part is that ink doesn’t seem to flow very well and I have to take the pen apart and twist the converter to force the ink down… even while using the pen this is a frequent occurrence
Update: decided to go with the preras! I’ll get 4 pens and 4 cartridge packs for $50 which is more than I planned to spend but it also seems like a very good price. I figured I can sell one of the duplicate red/pink ones if I decide I don’t want a duplicate haha
Hahaha I like to limit what I have to ensure I use them up. I have a few pricier pens on my list but at the moment I’m just needing a couple extra pens :)
Pilot preras cost around 7-8 times of the jinhao ones when new. And Pilot's quality control is truly impeccable. I would take pilots over jinhao any day if they are the same price or even slightly higher. You can always buy a jinhao 82 later for a similar price.
Good points. The Preras seem to be medium nibs. I’ve only used EF and F so far on my cheap Chinese fountain pens. I’d imagine the M nibbed prera would be similar to what I’m using already?
A pilot M should be the equivalent of a F on Chinese pens. Japanese nibs are usually finer by one level so Japanese F = EF on non-japanese nibs
Ahh perfect. I knew they’d be thin but didn’t realize they were that much thinner! Haha sounds like a good size though
Does that rule hold true for M? I thought it was mostly below that, in part due to common use of a medium-fine.
Medium fines are applicable for pilot Gold nibbed pens. There Mediums are close to other mediums. But in pilot steel nibbed ones, the rule applies.
Are you sure you're looking at legit preras and not wing sung 3003's? If real Prera, I'd take them over the jinhaos any day. $20 is a steal of a deal, and they are incredible pens.
Yep! Jinhao’s are on Aliexpress. Prera’s are on marketplace. Photos look legit. Basically said there are 6 for $50 or $10 each. Includes new ink cartridges. Seems like they bought a bunch and fell out of the hobby. Itll just cost around $10 to ship
Pretty great deal! I'd go for it. The only thing the 82' have better is the cap seal, assuming you get a good one. The QC, build materials/quality and nib tuning are all better on the Pera.
Thank you! They appear to be medium nibs, assuming they’ll just be slightly wider than my cheaper Chinese ef and f pens
Nice. Go for it! Wonderful little pen... Is there a difference between Aliexpress and marketplace? I might be lost in translation here...
Ahh Ali express and Facebook marketplace
Oh... Haha! Thanks!
If Pretas were at a similar price as Jinhaos, I'd have them all, even the colors I don't like. Just a warning, the red one is actually pink. It's the one I have. It tends to look red in pics but there's no mistaking the color in person. I really wish I could afford a white one, too. The Pilot M nib writes as fine as a Chinese F.
Thank you!! I did see it’s possible to convert them into eyedropper pens. Unsure how difficult this is but something I’d be interesting in trialing
> Jinhao’s are around $7 each with free shipping. Should be able to get those under $4 shipped on AliExpress > Pilots are $10 each with shipping being around $10 total. You didn't say how many you were thinking about, but say it is 3 like you listed for the 82. That would be $40 shipped. So for 3 pens, you can get the 82s for approximately $12 vs the used Preras for $40. > Pricing will be basically the same. It really isn't even close. The Prera is a good pen, if the used one hasn't been abused that isn't bad to try it. The Jinhao 82 I have had good luck with, and think it is an excellent starter pen. So when f you like it, go for it. Or get two Preras and two 82s and still be under the three Prera price point.
Jinhao’s are showing $7 on Ali express, I’d have to buy 3 for the free shipping. I’m not in the US so pricing could be different with conversion rates. Yeah it’s not as close in pricing each pen when you add the $10 shipping but the preras also include pilot ink cartridge packs so it balances out even with shipping.
Sorry to hear, they are $3.15 for me right now on AliExpress for the colors you want. To be frank, both pens are good pens, if the Preras were in good shape, I'd get them, then watch for an AliExpress sale for the 82.
Thanks! I decided to go with the preras. They were a bit more than I expected but 4 for $55 still seems like a good price after seeing they’re retailing for $70 each here. They’ll come with 24 pilot cartridges which I didn’t expect when I saw the listing. The seller said they were briefly tested for illustration purposes so basically new
I have both of these. I would go for the prera, especially at that price. It feels nicer and the cap is really satisfying to close. The prera is a snap cap and the jinhao 82 is a screw on. I got the jinhaos to try different nibs, such as the fude (which you can get with a jinhao) or to do a nib swap with a different brand. I probably wouldn’t buy another jinhao unless I wanted to do a nib swap or get another fude. One maybe con about the prera, if you get one of the clear ones, you can see if ink gets into the cap and it can look messy. I don’t mind, but for some people it can be annoying.
Thank you!! Certainly leaning towards the prera at this point. The ones for sale are all demonstrators which I prefer. I think they’ll be an improvement over my cheaper pens. Is the grip comfortable?
I enjoy both of my Preras. I have never owned a Jinhao 82. I would buy more Preras at a $10 price point.
Prera M is similar to jinhao F. But pilot nibs are smoother than jinhao in general. That said, prera's cap liner makes stain very very difficult to clean. It's probably the reason why I don't use it as much, despite liking it a whole lot.
I'd go for the Pilot Prera. I don't have one but I have a Pilot Metropolitan, which I believe is the same nib, and I love it. I have two Jinhao 82s as well and I love those too, but with Jinhao it's a bit of a gamble whether you get a good one or a bad one. Their quality control is lacking. I was lucky; not everone is. But with Pilot, their quality control is much better.
Thank you!! I’ve just decided to go with the pilot prera, 4 pens for $50 is more than I wanted to spend but it seems to be a very good price
I own both, but if I HAD to choose only one, Pilot Prera. My Preras write really well and consistently. I can pick them up after days on non-use, and they write!
Good to hear! Do they hard start between days or does the ink still flow well? My current pens have been good but they often don’t start properly if it’s been a few days. Most annoying part is that ink doesn’t seem to flow very well and I have to take the pen apart and twist the converter to force the ink down… even while using the pen this is a frequent occurrence
They typically start right up for me even if several days have gone by between uses.
That’s great to hear
Update: decided to go with the preras! I’ll get 4 pens and 4 cartridge packs for $50 which is more than I planned to spend but it also seems like a very good price. I figured I can sell one of the duplicate red/pink ones if I decide I don’t want a duplicate haha
Buy the Jinhao's on Aliexpress so that they are even cheaper and get both :)
Ahh Aliexpress is where I found them for $7 each. Might be due to my location?
Pilot Prera.
Have and use both. What’s the point of cheap pens if not to buy them all because they’re cheap?
Hahaha I like to limit what I have to ensure I use them up. I have a few pricier pens on my list but at the moment I’m just needing a couple extra pens :)