Wing Sung 699 Fountain Pen Review

I’ve already reviewed the Pen BBS 456 on this site. Maybe someday, I’ll review my Pilot Custom 823, although I try to spotlight entry-level pens on this site. Those two pens are both vacuum fillers, just like the pen featured in this review, the Wing Sung 699.

Vacuum-filling pens are like piston-fillers, in that you fill them by submerging them in the ink bottle and drawing up ink. However, they’re different in how they fill. Whereas piston-fillers draw up ink as you twist the end-knob, vacuum-fillers fill as you unscrew the end-knob, pull out the plunging mechanism, submerge the nib into the bottle, and depress the plunging shaft. As you do that final step, you hear a satisfying click noise, and the pen’s barrel quickly fills up with ink. You can see this in action in the video below. It’s my favorite pen filling mechanism. Vac fillers hold a ton of ink. The Wing Sung 699 is an inexpensive, quality version of this type of pen.

Wing Sung is a Chinese fountain pen manufacturer. My first experiences with the company weren’t good. However, it seems like they’re releasing more and more pens of better quality. There is some debate surrounding the ethics of the company and others that specialize in knock-offs of more expensive models. This is clearly an attempt to make a cheap Pilot Custom 823. I personally see the benefits of introducing people to the fountain pen hobby through such pens. Truth is, although the 456 and 699 aren’t bad, they can’t hold a candle to the Pilot. Does Starbucks drive out local coffeeshops? Sometimes. However, they’ve also created a market for many of them.

The Wing Sung 699 is a well-built, quality vacuum-filler. It comes in several different colors. It’s available widely on Amazon, as well as on eBay. I chose the clear version, and it has proved to be a wet, reliable writer. The filling mechanism is fun. The stainless steel nib is smooth. Check out the 699 or the previously reviewed PenBBS 456, if you’d like to take a dive into the vacuum-filling fountain pen world.

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