In this video I take a proper look at the Hongdian Black Forest Max fountain pen — the one so many of you told me to try after my review of the standard Black Forest. Easyby on Etsy kindly sent this one over for review, and I go through the parts and features in detail: the tapered cap, the spring-loaded squared clip (which I genuinely love), the textured barrel pattern, and that all-black “stealth” vibe that just works. It’s a twist cap that comes off in less than a turn, with smooth threads that don’t get in the way, and it’s built around a #6 Hongdian steel nib. I also compare it to the original Black Forest and a Lamy Safari, and talk dimensions, weight, posting, and comfort. The Max is the more comfortable pen for me thanks to the larger section and bigger nib, though it can feel a little back-weighted when posted. My medium nib writes like a very fine medium, runs nicely wet, and has a little bit of personality in the line. I did get some odd hard starts during the filming (not typical in my experience), but overall this is a budget-friendly, reliable EDC option that’s more than just “the Black Forest, but bigger.”