Wing Sung 699 vs PenBBS 456 - Fountain Pen Showdown

[@oscarmedina1597]

Hi Garry. I have the PenBBS 456 and have to agree that it is a great pen and an amazing value. One other thing: I emailed Diamine, and they confirmed it is pronounced “die-ah-mine.” The last syllable rhymes with tine.

[@GarryEves]

Awesome, thanks for the produnciation. I'll be using that going forward. I hate mispronouncing things.

[@foreverqihe]

I have 4 penbbs 456s, they are all smooth and beautiful looking.

[@davidanderson3425]

Thanks Garry for an interesting comparison. I own the Wing Sung model but I haven't got a 456. You may already be aware the Wing Sung 699 is available in a few versions: solid gold or steel nibs, vac filler or piston filler, brown colour, clear or blue. I think you can also obtain the section and finials in black or the same colour as the pen. Personally I don't see the advantage of a vac filler over a piston filler. Both will give you a full barrel of ink for prolonged writing sessions. I bought mine as a bit of a novelty to see how a vac filler worked in practice. I think you picked the correct winner of these two, the PenBBS just had the edge.

[@GarryEves]

I've got to be honest, I've struggled with all the Chinese Vac fillers that I have used. I have had a bit of a battle with the TWSBI Vac700R, but eventually managed to get that to work for me.

[@tomshult3044]

I have both. I actually like the WingSung 699 Piston filler better than the vacuum filler for the same reason you said. They both hold too much ink (i know i am in the minority, but i like to change inks). The PenBBS 456 I have is also in Cloud and it is very pretty. My piston 699's section is the same solid color as the piston knob.

[@Druuj]

Greetings from Greece. I 've had a Paili 3013 which I enjoyed using, but it last me just 4 months before I got a hairline crack on the threads connecting the barrel to the feed unit. That was an inky mess. I roamed the net and saw people complaining about hairline cracks on similar pens, some even going on to claim that they had pens crack while in their drawer. I wish to buy a new vacuum fountain pen, probably between the 456 and the 699 since I can't afford the pilot 823 or risk the TWSBI vac700 (several claims for hairline cracks). But I would appreciate your input on the plastic of these 2 pens. Do they feel sturdy? Lasting? Have you heard of any people complaining about cracks?

[@GarryEves]

I haven't heard anything about cracks. With the Wing Sung 699, there are two models, one is a vacuum filler, the other is a piston filler. I head loads of problems with the vacuum filler, but so far, after a month of use, the piston filler is working OK. I need to do some longer-term tests with it.

[@paulmchugh1430]

I think the penBBS 456 is a fabulous vacuum filler, especially for the price.

[@jpg5540]

Nice comparison thanks ... I have been on the fence about the 699... might still get one out of curiosity. Not surprised by the 456; I have 9 - all stunning pens are great writers. (Yours is a F nib by the way 😉)

[@deezem5294]

I feel like i like the 699 better. Prob cuz I can never find the colour i want for the penbbs 456, along with the fact that the 456 is 2 or more times the price of a 699 if i get directly from TaoBao. Still a lotve reviewers rave bout penbbs in general so ill get one pen from em when i can.

[@GarryEves]

For me, the main things I like about PenBBS is the different materials available. In terms of writing experience - I have had very few issues with either of them. I do like the amount of ink the 699 holds - at the moment I have been writing with one fill for 8 weeks (although I don't use the pen daily)

[@tsherbs1309]

I've never used the 456: seems too much money for what you get, so I have never bought one. I have the same 699 with their medium nib and I like it a lot. Your nib probably has some baby's bottom, since it does not like the coated paper and does ok with rougher paper (tell-tale signs). My nib is good, the end cap stays on, etc....

[@prasadkolluri4877]

The WingSung 699 is a cheap knock down copy or pirated version or the Chinese copy of the Pilot 823. Quite frankly, while the design can be copied, it takes something to re-create what is probably one of the best fountain pen nibs in the market and that's where it stops.

[@GarryEves]

This was the main reason I got the pen, I wanted to try out the size and shape of the pen before I invested in the 823. I didn't want to spend such a large amount on a pen and then find that it did not suit me. I can't wait to get the 823, but it may take me a long time to save up for one.

[@prasadkolluri4877]

@@GarryEves other than the barrel on the Pilot 823, it is a definite buy. Probably one of the best nibs that you can get. The barrel developed cracks and don't quite know why. The mechanism is interesting in the sense that you have to twist the rear of it to let the ink into the feed for longer writing sessions. Guess what, I will be buying the WingSung 699 for the barrel and swap out the section / nib.

[@prasadkolluri4877]

The best Chinese Pen that I have is the Hero Classic 100 that I recently bought - I don't quite know if I am the lucky one here or what, but this one is a nib perfection in terms of smoothness not just on the normal writing, but reverse too.

[@GarryEves]

@@prasadkolluri4877 Thanks. I've not got any Hero pens. I've just added it to my list of pens to buy.