Posted 30 December 2015 - 17:52









The OMAS cohiba LE has been designed in partnership with Corporación Habanos, S.A. Its shape is inspired by COHIBA cigar, and it might also be the best cigar theme pen produced. The COHIBA LIMITED EDITION by OMAS Writing Instrument Collection is composed by 1,966 pieces: 1,000 piston-filled fountain pens and 966 Roller Balls as a tribute to the year of foundation of COHIBA brand. There’s an additional 56 pieces in 18K Gold and Ziricote Wood: 40 piston-filled fountain pens and 16 Roller Balls.

I’ve been a long time collector for OMAS paragons and after reading the bad news about OMAS recently, I decided to order some pens from OMAS directly. This is the first pen I purchased from their website and I’m quite happy with it.





Packaging 10(11?)/10

The pen is cased in a well-constructed cigar humidor. I’ve got some bad experiences with OMAS boxes in the past because some of them are very fragile during shipping and have no value in use. But this time, the humidor is wrapped and well protected in its factory box. And it can be used to store urushi, ivory and wood pens.















Appearance & Design 10/10

The Cohiba is made using Zericote wood with sterling silver trims. The special Zericote wood gives the pen a unique ‘black line’, which can’t be found on any other wood pens in the market. The ruthenium trim also gives the pen a ‘stealth’ feeling. Capped or uncapped, the pen always look like a cigar from distance, and it also keeps the features as a fountain pen. Other pens like the Montegrappa Cigar can’t keep the cigar shape when you uncap the pen.











The pen has an engraved tobacco leaf and cohiba logo on the cap band.







The unique and distinctive grain on the pen body.







Construction & Quality (9.5)

Although OMAS is one of my favorite brands, some of their past creations have horrible design and/or build quality. I was preparing for the worse before I receive the pen, and after some days of use. I’m confident to say they have improved a lot in this pen. The ruthenium plating on the silver parts are uniform and thick. They use plastic threads within the cap to reduce rubbing between the threads. And the pen body is very smooth and uniform in diameter. The piston is smooth and solid. T

he only problems is that you only need to screw the cap for 120 degrees to uncap the pen, and if you post it at the bottom, it may fall off by rubbing with your purlicue..









Weight & Dimensions (8)



The Cohiba a HEAVY and FAT pen.

With a diameter of 16mm at section, it might be hard for some people to hold the pen firmly and comfortably. The pen also has an UNCAPPED weight of 44.13grams. Which is about the same weight with Waterman Edson CAPPED. And if you use the pen posted, it weights almost 60grams and this is twice the weight of a Parker Duofold.

It’s a relatively comfortable pen in my hand, but it’s not that comfortable comparing to many other pens with the same length. And it’s very likely it’s not comfortable at all in someone else’s hand.















These pictures show the centers of gravity of the pen uncapped and posted.



















Nib & Performance (9.5)

I fit a fine nib on this pen and it writes a standard fine line in western standard. The nib tends towards the wet side, and it’s a little bit springy and has some flex. I would give this nib 9.5 comparing to many other Bock, JoWo and Schmidt nibs. But if considering other in-house nibs like AURORA, Namiki, Sailor and Platinum. The point should be somewhere around 9.



Filling System & Maintenance (9)

Piston fill pen with smooth and solid piston design. But the gap between the wooden body and nib is too short. I need to be extra cautious not to stain the pen when filling. So minus one point here.







Cost & Value (10)



It’s definitely not a cheap pen. But the price on their website is very tempting if you don’t need to pay the VAT. The unique wood grain and design also gives a huge plus on the value of the pen. I don’t regret buying this pen, and if I have seen the pen in person, I would surely buy it earlier.





Conclusion (Final score 66/7=9.43)

The Cohiba is one of the latest Les made by OMAS and I’m surprised to see they have improved so much in recent years. And it’s now been one of my favorite wood pens. I enjoy writing with the pen and I also admire the design and construction of it. I hope you enjoy my review as well. I will write reviews about their 90th Anniversary set and Icon set later.



Edited by freakman, 30 December 2015 - 17:55.