Pelikan M205 Duo Transparent Green Highlighter Fountain Pen

"All theory, dear friend, is grey, but the golden tree of life springs ever green."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I had to do some research recently and was a bit bored with the usual highlighter pens; so I went looking for a better alternative.  Something I could carry with the Midori Traveler's Notebook with ease when researching and that had a bit of style about it.

Enter the Pelikan M205 Duo Pen.

Photo by Eclectic Psyche

An elegant transparent highlighter pen made with the usual Pelikan reliability and precision.  The M205 comes in yellow and green.  I chose the green simply because I prefer green as a highlighter colour when researching.  The yellow pen is exactly the same and equally aesthetically pleasing - its just personal preference which one you go with.  The M205 has a stainless steel nib that is super smooth to write with.  It is available with a gold nib but it almost doubles the price of the pen.  For a highlighter pen I think the smooth, broad stainless steel nib is ideal.  The flow of ink from the BB nib is smooth and saturated, making it ideal for highlighting.  Additionally, the nib is suitable for writing as well as highlighting.  The pen is a piston filler which helps the ink flow and makes refilling convenient and mess free.  Being transparent the piston fill mechanism adds to the character because it shows the ink cascading around in the pen barrel; rather than being like other transparent pens where all you see is an opaque cartridge sitting sedately in the the barrel.

Photo by Eclectic Psyche

As I said above, I use green as a highlighter colour and I was pleased to find the M205 comes with a bottle of Pelikan green highlighter ink.   Both the M205 pen and its bottled highlighter ink have been reviewed quite extensively across the internet blogs and forums for sometime now so I won't go into any great detail here.  Suffice to say, I'm happy with the M205 pen and the green shade of the Pelikan highlighter ink it comes with.

Photo - by Eclectic Psyche

Photo by Eclectic Psyche

This is a highlighter pen that fits nicely into the Midori pen ring for the traveler's notebook and its relatively small size makes it unobtrusive and practical to carry with the Midori.  I often carry a Sailor Saporo fountain pen with the Midori for the very reasons the M205 is compatible - the Saporo is small, reliable, elegant, unobtrusive and not prone to leaking or loss of cap (both pens are screw on caps).

I'd like to carry them both with the Midori so I've just ordered another pen holder from my favourite stationery supplier and look forward to getting it soon.  I think the Saporo and Pelikan can reside comfortably together as part of this Midori traveler's entourage.

Photo by Eclectic Psyche

Overall this is a great highlighter pen.  In fact its a great fountain pen in general.  It can be used as a normal fountain pen, a highlighter pen or both.  The design and build of this pen makes for a stylish highlighter pen with the usual Pelikan quality of manufacture.  The M205 is a precision writing instrument, almost a work of art.  I can't find any faults with its design, function or appearance.  It more than suits my highlighter needs and blends in with my Midori traveler's notebook kit.  A few retail stores have the M205 Duo on sale at the moment so if you are in the market for a quality fountain pen highlighter, then there is no better pen or better time to grab a Pelikan M205 Duo -in tree frog green!  With the M205 Duo it is easy being green.

"Green is the prime colour of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises."

- Pedro Calderon de la Barca