When Kaweco sent me the Dia2 for review, they also sent me a few other pens. Included among them was the Kaweco AC Sport, which may my favorite of Kaweco’s many entries in the Sport lineup. For starters, it comes in a deep red with black trim. While my small-ish fountain pen collection (hey, compared to some people) remains varied, the one constant is that I like red pens and black pens, and when a pen is both red and black, I generally buy it. This review won’t revisit the build quality, great steel nib, etc., of Kaweco's flagship line, all of which are excellent. See my review of the AL Sport line. Instead, I’ll talk about what makes the AC Sport special.
A picture of the pen body, which is wrapped in carbon fiber trim. I reviewed this pen with a medium nib, which is my go-to size for Kaweco.
The AC Sport is different from the other Sport pens because it is Kaweco’s riff on last year’s trend of adding carbon fibre trim to fountain pens (and pricing them accordingly). One thing that should be stated up front: the AC Sport is not a true carbon fiber fountain pen, in the sense that the pen body is made of carbon fiber components. A true “carbon fiber” fountain pen made out of carbon fiber costs five or six times as much as the AC Sport. I recall seeing a few of these a couple years ago, and something tells me they didn’t sell well, because you don’t really see them anymore. What Kaweco appears to have done is taken an AL Sport and wrapped the barrel in carbon fiber panelling or trim. The result is more aesthetic than anything else, but I suppose that if you are really, really hard on a pen, or want to avoid the scratches to which the AL Sport is prone, you might get some more durability out of the AC Sport. According to my scientific method of deduction (i.e., holding both pens in my hands and trying to guess which one is heavier), the AL Sport and the AC Sport weigh about the same.
So why would you buy an AC Sport priced at $122.50, when the AL Sport typically starts at $80, and the regular Kaweco Sport at $25? Honestly, it comes down to a matter of preference and aesthetics. When it comes to nice looking red and black pens (and the red AC Sport fits the bill), I have no self control. From an economic standpoint, if you are looking for an extremely durable, pocketable, nice writing pen, the standard Kaweco Sport is one of the best buys on the market at $25. There’s no practical need to spend any additional cash. On the other hand, if you’d like something a little “fancier,” (as in, not plastic), the AL Sport can be had for a bit more, still at the sub-$100 price point. The AC Sport is the fanciest of them all, but it is a good looking, quality pen. Carbon fiber is not cheap, and I think the going rate for this pen is reasonable for what you get. I plan on pairing it up with one of Kaweco’s black-plated nibs as soon as I can find one.
You can find the AC Sport at Jetpens. [Link Here]. In the interest of full disclosure, Kaweco provided me with this pen for review purposes.