Fountain Pen Comparison: Twsbi Eco Vs Lanbitou 3059

[@dani_482]

I put a Lamy Medium Nib on the Lanbitou and it writes awesome for x10 less. I also discovered that the cap was not sealed correctly so the nib was dry every time I used it. So I sealed it using a small bit of sugru (anythin like bluetack will do). I used to have a Twisbi Eco but it was stolen. The was scratchy as hell. I'm rather happy with the new cheap solution :)

[@JimIBobIJones]

An aditional consideration is the fact that the lanbitou will take a lamy feeder and nibs, which results in much better ink flow, smoothness and general writing experience - and still for considerably less than the twsbi.

[@theoffstageme]

JimIBobIJones i have done exactly that on one of mine. But the ‘out of the box’ comparison is only fair if it is presented as is.

[@tomasgimenez3199]

My experience: Lanbitou + an original Lamy B spare nib (European price of nib + pen 7€) and I get my self a perfect writer. TWISBI Eco/580 are expensive pieces of plastic prone to cracking.

[@themisterchristie]

I have a Lanbitou 3059 with an EF nib courtesy of Stephen Inks, and it had a drying out problem. Mine needed some slight pressure to get flowing if it had sat for an hour or so, and was easy to get going if you used it consistently every day. I bought a nice Fine black Lamy nib and I had to "modify" the nib slightly as it felt like it could slip off in use. After tightening it slightly it fit nicely and I haven't had a problem with drying out since. I think part of the drying problem it that the nib is extremely tight to the feed and may actually be restricting flow. I prefer the line width of the original extra fine nib over the Lamy fine nib, but the Lamy nib feels much better, and I can accept the thicker lines in exchange for not drying out as fast.

[@eileengoldenberg270]

I have purchased a few lanbitou 3059.. I think they are great.. I have bought sets of 4 for $8 usd.. wing sung is another brand from China. The only thing is that it can take a month to get them..I have had no problems, they are smooth and the feed works great..thanks for the comparison

[@vwood2]

Thanks very much. I’ve been curious about this pen, and this was very interesting comparison. I have several Ecos and they work flawlessly, so are in no danger. But I’m sure many people are pleased to try out a piston filler at this price point.

[@maryriley6163]

Thank you for your comparison between the TWSBI Eco and the Lanbitou. I recently purchased a TWSBI Eco with a 1.1 stub. I love the looks and the overall quality and it writes very smoothly right out of the box, starts up every time, no skipping, does not leak, the nib doesnt' run dry. I haven't used a Lanbitou. I have tuned and smoothed a couple of other $6 pens and they are quite usable although not as nice as a TWSBI Eco, a Lamy Safari or a Pilot Metropolitan. If you like a challenge, are on a budget and don't mind some tuning and polishing I think there are lots of $6 pens that can be made useful, but the buyer always has to know that when they buy a cheap pen it is pig in a poke.

[@Indusxstan]

Mary Riley well spoken !

[@romanbasher3769]

Wow another left handed fountain pen user! Great comparison, thanks.

[@theoffstageme]

Lefties of the world unite!

[@diogeneslantern18]

Mick L even me!

[@magnoliamike]

I have 2 pens. A TWSBI eco and a lamy Safari. I think I’m going to get a set of four lanbitou’s for $12 and use the 3 as back-ups or gifts and just put my lamy Nib on it lol

[@billyraymccalister2983]

Thanks Mick. You've done it again. I just ordered one (I really can't use 4). I am a TWSBI fan, but for $6, why not? Your video shows both pens off so well.

[@theoffstageme]

Why not, indeed. Let me know what you think once you've had a play with it.

[@joeymaximus8146]

I'm not a fan of the nib on the knockoff. Appreciate your video, thanks for taking the time to make it.

[@KenStentiford]

I have a eco EF, I use it for drawing, great pen great nib.

[@NicholasColdingDK]

Nice review - but I must say, that Twsbi eco pens are almost unbeatable in price / quality comparison. I love my Twsbi Eco Stub 1.1.

[@HJKelley47]

I also love my two TWSBI Eco with 1.1 stubs. However, I also own three Lanbitou 3059s. On one of them I have a medium nib, and a fine nib on the other two. The medium nib is smooth, and did not require any tweaking. The fine nibs required just a bit of tweaking, but for $3.29 I cannot complain. That is what micromesh is for. The Lanbitou 3059 holds almost the same amt. of ink as the TWSBI. I am going to purchase a Lamy 1.1 stub for one of the 3059s, so I will have a fine, medium & stub on them. For the price of the Lanbitou you cannot beat it.. Had I purchased three TWSBI Ecos, it would have cost me $93 vs. $9.87 for the three 3059s. With me currently living on a fixed income, I am thankful for my Lanbitou! With me doing a lot of writing, I am getting my money's worth plus!! So far my 3059s have not experienced drying out after a paragraph.

[@HJKelley47]

Interesting that my Lanbitou nib was not scratchy. Because I do not prefer F. nibs, I ordered a M. nib and thoroughly enjoying the Lanbitou 3059. Fortunately my nib did not require any smoothing. I also own two TWSBI Eco, and one TWSBI Diamond. I paid $3.28 USA for my Lanbitou 3059s, which write fairly smoothly, and have had no problem with the nib drying out. One thing for sure, if I lose one, I have not lost any money. It does use a Lamy nib.

[@Richard1855]

Good review. The name Lanbitou is a directly converted over from the three Chinese characters, which can be seen on the video clip review that sbrebrown made of the Lanbitou 3009 Space Fountain Pen two weeks ago, on the cap of the pen. If pronounced in Chinese it is: "larn pee tow" which literally means: broken pen head, which actually means broken nib. Is a very strange and bizzare name for a pen, probably done so the name will stick in buyers' minds. Not quite so out there is Wing Sung, when pronounce in Chinese is "Yourng Sern" which means immortal life. I too have a TWSBI Eco and have just bought the 4pcs Lanbitou 3059 in 4 colours for AUS$7.99, waiting on their arrival. Will compare and let you know you what I think of it. If it meets up to my expectation, I will gift some to friends and workmates.

[@raploh]

I'm pretty sure the Chinese character used for "larn", by itself actually means 'rottern'. So "rottern pen head". ;P

[@Richard1855]

I agree with you if it was used as a stand alone word, it would mean rotten. However, I think in this instance as it used in the context of a 3 worded sentence it would be broken rather than rotten, one can draw one's own conclusion:-)

[@raploh]

Fair enough. :)

[@丁爱阳]

Lanbitou烂笔头,it means“好记性不如烂笔头”（Chinese）＝"The palest ink is better than the best memory"(English)

[@raploh]

I see... I saw that phrase while looking for Lanbitou and was wondering what the heck it meant. Thanks a lot.

[@AnzanHoshinRoshi]

Thank you, Mick.

[@Reisbig]

I love my TWSBI ECO, but dislike that you cannot buy the nibs separately. Fortunately I had some that were compatible with the ECO that I do not use often. After this, I am curious if a Lamy nib would work with the Lanbitou so that you would not have to fiddle with the original. I found a price of four for twelve dollars on Amazon. It seems like it would be worth trying at those prices.

[@melrohner]

Ethan Reisbig exactly what I was going to ask! Mick, can you tell us if a Lamy mob will actually fit on this pen? That might make a very interesting pen!

[@theoffstageme]

In theory with a little modification you could probably get it to work. I just tried to put a Lamy nib on the Lanbitou and it is very loose. (Same as on the Wingsung 3008). You could probably pinch it in at the sides, but that might affect the connection with the feed. As is, the Lamy nib does write on the Lanbitou, but I wouldn't trust it to stay.

[@bleukreuz]

Some stores actually carry twsbi eco nib. I bought one from Larrypost last month because I wanted to compare my medium with a fine, but it cost me AU$20 (not worth it). I think cultpens and fpnibs also sell it. I find that the fine nib is too dry and scratchy to my liking so I went back to the medium. I ended up gifting the fine nib to a friend who likes a finer nib on his TWSBI. What a waste!

[@theoffstageme]

I prefer the twsbi medium or broad. I have a few mediums and they're lovely.

[@sam_iselao_o4522]

Reisbig2009 what are the knibs that fit the eco of yours?

[@davidanderson3425]

The likeness between the two pens in your opening shot is remarkable. My inclination would be to favour the Twsbi but something about their pens bothers me. I have heard (from other pen reviewers) that Twsbi pens are prone to cracking. It seems to have been a manufacturing issue on their earlier pens. Whether the problem has been solved I cannot say. The Lanbitou might be more reliable in this respect. You clearly prefer the writing quality and the feel of the Twsbi and I understand their customer service is good should there be a problem. For me, personally, I don't think I'd be tempted by either of these pens. I wonder how one of the Wing Sung piston fillers would compare to these two? It might have been interesting to include a 698. I realise, however, you chose these as they are almost identical. Good review and very interesting.

[@theoffstageme]

David Anderson thanks David. Yes, I only covered these pens in this video because of the direct comparison. I have videos coming up to compare other Chinese pens (including several Wingsung pistons) with their ‘father pens’. The 698 is a lovely pen (a much more pleasant writer than the lanbitou here) especially after I put a pilot 1.0mm nib in it. If you’re interested in seeing those other videos as they pop up, make sure you have subscribed. :)

[@theoffstageme]

David Anderson as for twsbis cracking... yes, its a common report. However, I have 6 or 7 twsbis and they havent cracked yet. Including one being dropped on a hard tile floor. Not saying it cant happen, just that it hasnt yet.

[@diogeneslantern18]

Mick L Dave Rea has written and exceptional article titled "The Polarising Truth: Why Your Twsbi Eco Won't Crack" and he makes some valid points about the faceted construction of the higher end twsbis vis-a-vis the standard construction of the Eco and the "stresses" that the faceting causes the plastic. It is a thoroughly interesting article and I'd highly recommend you peruse it. Regards!

[@michaelmelling9333]

I'm also a lefty and can only wish my penmanship was as good as yours.:-(

[@matpingar3617]

I'm totally against promoting knockoff pens. TWSBI is a refreshingly unconventional pen brand with great contact to their customers and innovative ideas (in fact I love the ECO design). A knockoff product is also cheaper because you don't need the effort of designing, testing and so on. This kills innovation,because innovative brands put in cost intensive work and someone else grabs the reward. 30-50€ for a long lasting product is completely acceptable. If you take an idea and change or improve it, well that's a whole other story. Besides, a chinese brand price dumping a taiwanese one adds some nasty political aspect to it...

[@urwholefamilydied]

No, not really. Twsbi sells millions of pens at a high price for what it is... it's not some great pen... they're doing fine and will continue to design stuff. Nothing wrong with stealing a design. Don't design stuff if you don't want it replicated. "Intellectual property" is bullshit.

[@soundknight]

@@urwholefamilydied many opinions on this topic... I think property rights law is too much in some respects yet good in others. Example - property rights in tech is about 15 years I think, that's a little generous given the speed that tech develops at these days. Music property rights are absolutely ridiculous with 50 years after the death of the last contributor to the score (this could be the lyricist for god sake). TWSBI deserves some protection as their product has been available for only 5 years, it is a traditional tool with subtle development changes. They do deserve protection. If you don't think so then give your job away to a foreign worker and shut up.

[@READComment1]

Foxaurus Just because one can afford a more expensive pen doesn’t mean they will buy it. It all depends on values and circumstances. And as a general rule, people tend to save money whenever they can. As consumers, it’s easy to throw shade at IP laws and dismiss them. If you’ve ever started a business based on R&D, you know how challenging it is and expect to be compensated for your investments in new products. That’s the incentive for entrepreneurs in the first place

[@bleukreuz]

Nice review! I try not to buy knockoff items on principle. Personally I would be a bit embarassed if I was caught using something that is a shameless clone of well known brand, especially one that doesn't even work straight out of the box according to you. But if it can get people into using more fountain pens, then it's ok I guess.

[@theoffstageme]

Totally agree 100% on all points.

[@LucidorSWE]

I'll be alright with using a Sailor, where some sizes are very very similar to Montblanc pens, but the Sailor is arguably the better pen out of the two.

[@veegs23]

damn, a clear feed, thats awesome, wished twsbi did that ahha

[@xavierayayaell546]

You can get 4 for $6 on ebay!

[@Indusxstan]

The Twsbi here is very overpriced.

[@슈크림라떼-n2t]

00:00

[@sebastianguasque]

You deserve much more subscribers :(

[@forjazznjava]

There's a special level in hell for knock off manufacturers.

[@gumdrop929]

I agree. The people who produce these knockoffs are thieves and people are buying their wares sadly.

[@xavierayayaell546]

Hope you don't use any apple products then.

[@irishguy13]

China will force Taiwan to surrender by reproducing subsidized knock offs of every Taiwanese product.

[@ZarahMcIntosh]

BULLSHIT

[@urwholefamilydied]

Huh?? Who cares? wow, a chinese brand made a pen that looks like another pen, but clearly has a different name and does not share the same quality. Are you scared someone will accidentally buy the chinese one and be fooled? LOL. Not a big deal bro. In fact, knockoffs are great, get a cool looking plastic pen for a few bucks that performs decent. I'm all for it.

[@toyujohnson]

Lanbitou = 爛筆頭 translates as “crappy pen nib”

[@theuntwit1551]

Big channels shouldn’t give space to knock offs. It’s about respecting intellectual proprietary.