In this end-of-year recap, I’m walking through my Top 5 fountain pens in my collection as of December 2025. And yes—this is MY top five, not “the top five ever”, so there’s genuinely no need to get defensive if your list looks different. I’ve got over 600 fountain pens, so anything that lands in this video is here because it’s either been with me for years or it’s made a huge impact in a short amount of time. My tastes shift (fine nib moods, broad nib moods, the whole thing), so the order can change… but these are the pens I keep reaching for. Before the main list, I also share three “highly commended” pens that were right on the edge: the Gravitas Piston Carbon Black (still new, but it brings me more joy every time I use it), the Pilot Sterling/Silver (stunning inlaid nib, writes like a dream), and the Lamy 2000 (effectively sixth place—still adored, just not grabbed as often lately). Then I count down the top five: Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age, Diplomat Excellence A2, Pelikan M805, Pelikan M1000, and my number one—unsurprisingly—the Pilot Custom 823. I talk nibs, inks, why each pen earns its spot, and what makes a pen feel “perfect” for the way I actually write day to day.