I'm a huge fountain pen buff, and own several dozen different fountain pens in the same price range as the Lamy, as well as several dozen pens that are far more

I'm a huge fountain pen buff, and own several dozen different fountain pens in the same price range as the Lamy, as well as several dozen pens that are far more expensive. In the budget category, I think the Lamy Safari is actually quire overrated. For my money, the Twsbi Eco and Twsbi Go are the best budget fountain pens. After that the Pilot Metropolitan and the Platinum Preppy are also excellent. Only in the next tier do I put Lamy, Kaweco, and the rest. If you want a truly excellent "techie" pen, check out the Pilot Vanishing Point. But it's several hundred dollars. If you want that German feel, the Lamy 2000 is the way to go.