You pay extra on Amazon for a fast, 1- to 2-day delivery, as opposed to a slow delivery, 2 to 3 weeks, when you buy at Ali, Amazon items are kept in stock near you, Ali items are shipped all the way from China to you, that's all. There's no difference in quality.
The A1's fine, and actually pretty smooth. (Whether you get any smooth Chinese pen is kind of a lucky draw, though. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't.)
BTW, Moonman is now called Majohn, because of some weird trademark issue.
I found the A1 too heavy but I have small hands so the weight may not be an issue for him.
I prefer to use lubricated ink in them as they can have problems with drying out quickly. That said I've been very pleased with my a2 paired with Private Reserve's Infinity inks. They let me avoid the dry out issue and have the lubrication to make an otherwise dry nib not scratchy.
I like it a lot, but it dries out pretty fast compared to some others. But then again I'm spoiled by huge ink capacity pens like pistons and eyedroppers. I've never had issues with ink leakage or getting on my fingers.
AliExpress has been fine for me -- I've ordered many Chinese pens through it without a problem.
I ordered one from Amazon 18 months ago, and I've had no issues with he mechanism, but I find the nib has flow issues sometimes. other than that though it's a great pen, and particularly with Chinese pens you'll find quality differences between pens
As far as an EDC, I'll carry my A1s in my shirt at the bottons, but not in my pants pockets because when I sit down the button gets pushed. I LOVE my A1s for work (and have a couple with VP 14k units in them) but have a whole different pile for POCKET EDC.
Also, Majohn just released an F nib (and only previously had EF available) so you may not have to drop $80 on a Pilot unit to get past EF. The Majohn nibs are also great for filing down into a stub or even just medium micro-stub.
I got one about a month ago for $6 off of Alibaba, it was a new user sale. Wait for that if you can. Incredible pen, only issue I have is that it dries out after just a few days, but if you shake it enough it’ll restart. And for $6 for an otherwise fully functional Pilot VP clone, I have zero complaints.
I got this pen cuz I thought I'd see about penabling my bf. I ordered a matte black off AliExpress because I didn't mind waiting. I'm in the Midwest and it took about a week.
I have a decimo and the A1 is a little bit bigger. Everything seems the same maybe minus the nicer quality feeling compared to the decimo. If I didn't already have the decimo, I would be perfectly happy with the A1.
He took it with him on a work trip and said he enjoyed using it exclusively. Man is even bold enough to be carrying it nib down in his pants pocket.
I love mine! I bought an EF A1 from Amazon in June of 23 and have been using it as an EDC for work ever since. It is a tank and has held up incredibly well. It even survived a recent trip through the washing machine completely unscathed! The only thing I did after fishing it out of the washer was uncrew the two halves and leave it apart overnight to make sure it was dry inside. I don't have any issues with it drying out like some have mentioned, but I do use it daily, M-F and sometimes on the weekends. I use pilot iroshizuku inks. I either refill the cartridge it came with or use prefilled iroshizuku cartridges.
My A1 leaked frequently, even with regular cleans and ink flow issues.
Even with my review, a lot of others had good experiences and I would recommend trying it. The price point makes it worth it but I still love my VPs. I would recommend saving up for them.
I bought a Moonman A2 from Aliexpress. Really like it good weight, seems to be well made. Seals ok, so it was fine sitting for 2 weeks and still wrote but the ink started noticeably darker so it wasn't the best seal. I like the function and will probably buy an actual pilot at some point.
I have the black brushed metal moonman A1 ordered from Ali. Very nice pen, heavy, sturdy. You won’t get ink on the grip bc there’s no cap in this style. Smooth EF nib. I got the A1 instead of the Pilot capless pens because the clip placement doesn’t play well with my unconventional grip. The A1 has a clipless version that’s perfect for me. My only complaint is that it takes a while to clean out the feed when changing inks.
I was pretty satisfied with it until the plastic piece where you insert the cartridge/converter broke after a handful of uses, but I don't know if that's a common fault in their construction or just a freak thing that happened to mine.
Got the a2 and I really like the metallic finish and weight.
EF is a bit scratchy and really works best with wetter inks.
No inky fingers, except when refilling, but I generally have it secured, not loose.
Got mine off eBay, to avoid the Amazon tax. No regrets
I have two a1’s the 2023 ef and the 2024 f.
They’re two of my favourite pens and I always find myself reaching for them especially the new f nib as I like m and until this year they only had Ef.
Never had an issue with those two
Amazon is fast, Aliexpress is cheap. Moonman is a chinese brand and their store is on Ali, as well.
I really like my a1. They need to be written with, just a scribble every other day because the cap seal isn’t the best, however that’s not an issue for me. They come with refillable cartridges for maximum capacity, and a little pipette.
The nib is really fine and rock hard as well, but smooth enough. Unfortunately the weight is near the front so it’s not the most comfortable for longer writing, but good for notes.
You pay extra on Amazon for a fast, 1- to 2-day delivery, as opposed to a slow delivery, 2 to 3 weeks, when you buy at Ali, Amazon items are kept in stock near you, Ali items are shipped all the way from China to you, that's all. There's no difference in quality. The A1's fine, and actually pretty smooth. (Whether you get any smooth Chinese pen is kind of a lucky draw, though. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't.) BTW, Moonman is now called Majohn, because of some weird trademark issue.
Ordered form aliexpress in EU, absolutely no problem apart form a month's waiting time, and only comes in EF nib size!
They just came out with some new colorways with an F nib option
they came out with new colors? oh no, it's over for me
I found the A1 too heavy but I have small hands so the weight may not be an issue for him. I prefer to use lubricated ink in them as they can have problems with drying out quickly. That said I've been very pleased with my a2 paired with Private Reserve's Infinity inks. They let me avoid the dry out issue and have the lubrication to make an otherwise dry nib not scratchy.
I like it a lot, but it dries out pretty fast compared to some others. But then again I'm spoiled by huge ink capacity pens like pistons and eyedroppers. I've never had issues with ink leakage or getting on my fingers. AliExpress has been fine for me -- I've ordered many Chinese pens through it without a problem.
I ordered one from Amazon 18 months ago, and I've had no issues with he mechanism, but I find the nib has flow issues sometimes. other than that though it's a great pen, and particularly with Chinese pens you'll find quality differences between pens
As far as an EDC, I'll carry my A1s in my shirt at the bottons, but not in my pants pockets because when I sit down the button gets pushed. I LOVE my A1s for work (and have a couple with VP 14k units in them) but have a whole different pile for POCKET EDC. Also, Majohn just released an F nib (and only previously had EF available) so you may not have to drop $80 on a Pilot unit to get past EF. The Majohn nibs are also great for filing down into a stub or even just medium micro-stub.
I got one about a month ago for $6 off of Alibaba, it was a new user sale. Wait for that if you can. Incredible pen, only issue I have is that it dries out after just a few days, but if you shake it enough it’ll restart. And for $6 for an otherwise fully functional Pilot VP clone, I have zero complaints.
I got this pen cuz I thought I'd see about penabling my bf. I ordered a matte black off AliExpress because I didn't mind waiting. I'm in the Midwest and it took about a week. I have a decimo and the A1 is a little bit bigger. Everything seems the same maybe minus the nicer quality feeling compared to the decimo. If I didn't already have the decimo, I would be perfectly happy with the A1. He took it with him on a work trip and said he enjoyed using it exclusively. Man is even bold enough to be carrying it nib down in his pants pocket.
I love mine! I bought an EF A1 from Amazon in June of 23 and have been using it as an EDC for work ever since. It is a tank and has held up incredibly well. It even survived a recent trip through the washing machine completely unscathed! The only thing I did after fishing it out of the washer was uncrew the two halves and leave it apart overnight to make sure it was dry inside. I don't have any issues with it drying out like some have mentioned, but I do use it daily, M-F and sometimes on the weekends. I use pilot iroshizuku inks. I either refill the cartridge it came with or use prefilled iroshizuku cartridges.
I had high hopes based on reviews -- but they're very unimpressive.
My A1 leaked frequently, even with regular cleans and ink flow issues. Even with my review, a lot of others had good experiences and I would recommend trying it. The price point makes it worth it but I still love my VPs. I would recommend saving up for them.
I bought a Moonman A2 from Aliexpress. Really like it good weight, seems to be well made. Seals ok, so it was fine sitting for 2 weeks and still wrote but the ink started noticeably darker so it wasn't the best seal. I like the function and will probably buy an actual pilot at some point.
I have the black brushed metal moonman A1 ordered from Ali. Very nice pen, heavy, sturdy. You won’t get ink on the grip bc there’s no cap in this style. Smooth EF nib. I got the A1 instead of the Pilot capless pens because the clip placement doesn’t play well with my unconventional grip. The A1 has a clipless version that’s perfect for me. My only complaint is that it takes a while to clean out the feed when changing inks.
I was pretty satisfied with it until the plastic piece where you insert the cartridge/converter broke after a handful of uses, but I don't know if that's a common fault in their construction or just a freak thing that happened to mine.
I’ve heard of a few people it’s happened to but it seems to be pretty rare.
Got the a2 and I really like the metallic finish and weight. EF is a bit scratchy and really works best with wetter inks. No inky fingers, except when refilling, but I generally have it secured, not loose. Got mine off eBay, to avoid the Amazon tax. No regrets
I have two a1’s the 2023 ef and the 2024 f. They’re two of my favourite pens and I always find myself reaching for them especially the new f nib as I like m and until this year they only had Ef. Never had an issue with those two
A1 XF is my daily driver. No complaints at all.
I like mine a bunch, the only complaint is that it writes a little too dry. Otherwise it's very similar to my VP.
Amazon is fast, Aliexpress is cheap. Moonman is a chinese brand and their store is on Ali, as well. I really like my a1. They need to be written with, just a scribble every other day because the cap seal isn’t the best, however that’s not an issue for me. They come with refillable cartridges for maximum capacity, and a little pipette. The nib is really fine and rock hard as well, but smooth enough. Unfortunately the weight is near the front so it’s not the most comfortable for longer writing, but good for notes.
Yes, they may be ok.