Caran d’Ache Carbon 3000 fountain pen review

At PenFountain.com, following a request from a customer, we recently took a Caran d’Ache Varius Carbon 3000 fountain pen into stock. In keeping with the rest of the Varius series, this pen oozed sophistication, quality and individuality.  It should be said that Varius series tend to be quite a narrow pen with substantial weight making them particularly suitable for men with smaller hands.

Caran d'Ache Varius C3000 carbon fibre decorated fountain pen

On first viewing, the Carbon 3000 has a beautiful contrast between the black of the carbon fibre decoration and the bright silver plated grip and trim with Caran d’Ache’s expected rhodium over-plating. The screw cap is removed to reveal an 18 carat gold nib with rhodium over-plating.  Writing performance is everything that would be expected of a pen of this quality with the tried and tested Varius nib, itself a replication of the excellent stainless steel nibs found on the Ecridor series pens.  The medium nib produces a sweet, wet line of a little over 0.6mm in width, with the fine coming just 0.1mm less and the broad 0.2mm wider.

The carbon fibre is over-laid with a deep, clear, acrylic resin giving the barrel detail an almost 3-dimensional appearance but retaining the Caran d’Ache’s Varius’s traditional hexagonal appearance.  However, the disappointment for me is the weight of the pen.  Given the natural attributes of carbon fibre, I would like to have seen the pen a little lighter overall but not at the expense of presence. The pen is quite weighty at 35grams but only 11mm across the flats of its soft hexagonal profile. These are small criticisms and, as always, we do recommend trying before buying.

The C3000 is also available in ballpoint, rollerball and pencil formats.

We have some Varius pens in stock for viewing in our Cranleigh shop, but if you want to see something specific we can usually get stock in within a couple of days.