First of all, i would like to thank Kevin Moore,from FPN for his review about this great pen and to have allowed us to publish it there also Do not hesitate to click on each picture to get a huge large close view.
The Pilot MYU was a classic pen of the 1970s, and it still looks ahead of its time. Modern Japanese pens tend to be conservative in design, but the M90 revives the MYU series, and harks back to a time when Japanese design was at the cutting edge. The M90 is a limited edition of 9000, and was released to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the company.
There has been some controversy over a couple of aspects of the new design, based on the early, very low resolution images of the pen, but seeing it live, they are really not a problem. There is a clutch ring at the join of the section and barrel, which provides an excellent and positive grip on the cap when posted. Visually, this is hidden by the cap, and since this is a pocket pen, it is designed to be used posted.
To my mind, this design reduces the idea of a pen down to its essence, providing a sleek shape with no distractions. The model name is discreetly placed at the top of the cap, and the company name is embossed in very small letters on the back side of the cap, near the rim.
The M90 comes in a commemorative box, with a screed of Japanese marketing, the usual guarantee cards, and a cartridge of ink. One of the punishments for learning Japanese is that you can read the marketing bumph.
There was a CON-20 converter, as well. None of Pilot's larger converters will fit, so the CON-70 is not an option, alas. The CON-20 is a fairly tight fit in the M-90. Some people have been surprised by this: some firmness may be necessary to fully insert the converter.
The nib itself is quite stiff. Mine is a fine point, and as you'd expect from Pilot, it runs finer than most fine points from western manufacturers. The writing in the photos was written with this pen, using Mont Blanc blue ink. Another writing sample below:
I paid $112.68 for this pen through Ujuku. It's a good price for the pen, but they currently have a long waiting list. The M90 is a limited edition of 9000, but it's hard to obtain at the moment. I'm hopeful that Pilot gets a good response to this limited edition, and sees an opportunity to release another MYU-style pen in the not-too-distant future.
Conclusion Most commemorative pens are expensive, over-decorated, and doomed to a life in a display cabinet. Pilot released a couple of those for the 90th anniversary, but this is the one that people will remember. To their very great credit, the M90 is a resonably priced version of one of their iconic pens: an excellent way to commemorate their 90th anniversary. There is a long wait for this pen, but the wait is worth it.
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