There's
something new in the Montblanc Boheme family! One of the biggest problems
I have had with the Boheme in the past has been it's diminutive size.
It's a great little pen. Emphasis on the "little", which leaves
it out of the running for those of us with larger hands. Which has been
a real pity as otherwise, it's a great pen. The perfect "gadget pen"
in fact, what with the super-cool retractable nib and all.
Well, the larger handed among us can now safely venture to their favorite MB dealer, without having to worry about being teased by that little Boheme. "Oh, if only it were larger".... Well, now it is!
The new larger version of the Boheme is much larger than the first model, larger even than the later non-retractable version. It's basically 146 sized, which makes it either a mid sized, or a full sized pen, depending upon how you look at things. In either case, it's definitely no longer a "small" pen.
In
addition to the new size, there's a great new finish being offered in
the Boheme as well. It's a Doué model, which means that it's sporting
a sterling silver cap, but the departure from tradition is with the barrel,
which is engraved with a pattern of intersecting lines in groups. The
result is a pleasing geometric pattern that really looks good. The engraving
is deep enough that the pattern provides an interesting tactile sense
in the hand, as well.
The only drawback? Well, now that we've seen the larger version in person, we want this engraved Doué model to be offered in the bigger size! Really, the small size is the only complaint we could level against this little gem. OK, if you want to get picky, the cap and barrel end are a bright polished finish, and it picks up fingerprints easily. Maybe a frosted matte finish might have been a bit easier to keep clean, and yet still conform to the design. But that's a fairly minor quibble, I think.
Both
models use the same basic mechanism, it's just the new one is larger in
size. They are both cartridge only pens. Not cartridge-converter fillers,
but really cartridge only. No room for a converter in that barrel! The
barrel end flips open to allow for the insertion of a cartridge. It's
kind of gimmicky, and utterly neat. The fit and finish is first class,
so you get a very solid feel, despite the fact that it's a relatively
small little hinge holding things together. The barrel end also snaps
firmly into place when shut.
The barrel end is threaded, to allow for the cap to be posted, and then used to extend the nib from the front of the barrel. With the cap posted the smaller model is also rendered long enough to balance well in the hand. The weight of the cap didn't seem to be as bothersome as I had thought it might be. Perhaps it is the relatively short overall length, or the width of the barrel that kept it from feeling out of balance.
The
larger version is, of course, less dependent upon posting the cap for
length, but it also writes better with the cap posted. I suppose it is
easy enough to simply remove the cap and extend the nib by turning the
end of the barrel, but with those threads right there on the barrel end...
It's almost impossible not to post the cap on the Boheme!
Moving to the other end of the pen, the business end, the nibs are very nice on both. Your basic modern Montblanc nib, so smooth but not really flexible. The larger nib was my favorite, not simply because of the pen's size, either, but it seemed to have a slightly more responsive feel to it. But the smaller nib was certainly no slouch in terms of performance, either. The section on the smaller version is narrow, but not as thin as you might think from the short stature of the pen overall. It's actually a bit wider than it looks at first glance.
The
larger version is about the same size through the section as a 146. In
other words, about the "right size" for most every hand. It's
a bit small for me, but usable, and maybe a bit large for others, but
usable. The "but usable" part is the important bit! In terms
of overall size, it's pretty hefty, as you can see above, it approaches
149 size, at least in barrel width. In terms of length, it's a bit shorter.
And of course, the nib is not as big as that used on the 149.
As of this writing, the larger Boheme is being offered only in the basic black, with silver colored trim. Hopefully, however, the model line will expand with some additions in the future. Maybe a nice barley pattern sterling silver cap and barrel? Or the same engraved barrel they used on this new Doué? The larger Boheme is going to be a success simply thanks to it's larger size, additional models would just be the icing on the cake.
