The backstory is nice, but what about the pen itself? First of all, the Japanese are really into the presentation aspects of their products. The pen arrived in a hermetically sealed plastic bag, which was secured within a hinged box (along with a couple of black ink cartridges, an ink converter, and unintelligible instructions written in Japanese).
Note that the hinged box shown in the picture was wrapped in tissue paper and surrounded by a nice cardboard box. It really made for a dramatic unboxing experience, and the tissue paper was effective at wiping away the tears of joy. Seriously; just look at the thing:
The silver colored trim really works with the flat black color of the body. It doesn't look too aristocratic, and it doesn't look cheesy or old-fashioned to my eyes. The thick silver band is inscribed with "Sailor Japan Founded 1911" (it's a subtle detail that is easy to miss). The clip and barrel rings are also silver colored. The body and cap are made of resin, and I like the matte black finish because it reminds me of a rat rod and it does a good job at hiding fingerprints. I'm very happy with my decision to get this finish rather than the standard "gloss" black.
The next picture shows Sailor's standard anchor logo atop the cap. The emblem is gold/brass colored, which goes against the silver trimmed theme of the pen. It's a minor aspect that doesn't really bother me (too much).
Sailor is well known for its nibs, and the reputation is deserving. The bi-colored nib is really nice to look at, and it writes as good as it looks. The gold highlights and design details on the nib are very impressive, too. The nib says "H-M" on it, and I assume that stands for "Hello Mate" or "Happy Monday" (LOL, some experts think it means "Hard Medium"). See for yourself here:
The build quality and fit and finish of this pen are top notch. It is not a very heavy pen (it weighs about 23.3 grams with the cap on and the ink cartridge almost full), yet it feels sturdy and solid in the hand. There is a thin o-ring seal between the body and the nib section to provide a stable seal after filling the converter or replacing the cartridge. There is also some type of compliant seal inside of the cap; I can feel something compressing when I twist the cap onto the body. I assume this keeps the nib from drying out.
The Pro Gear may be a little short for some people to use unposted. Although I usually post the cap, it's totally comfortable and easy to use unposted. Here's a nice picture of the pen uncapped, with absolutely no scale or object for use as a sizing reference. Sorry.
Writing with the Pro Gear is a treat. The nib is noticeably smoother than most if not all of my other fountain pens, the medium size is nearly perfect for me, it always starts right up, and it hasn't skipped or stopped writing on me yet. Maybe I got lucky, but this pen worked perfectly out of the box, and I wouldn't change anything about the nib.
I'll end this post with a writing sample on Rhodia paper. It was written using the black ink cartridge that came with the pen (Sailor's black ink is a nice, deep, and uniform black). I'm currently using the converter (by the way, the converter is pretty handsome too . . . the silver trim on the converter blends well with the silver accents on the pen) filled with Diamine Eclipse ink. The Diamine ink also performs very well with this pen.
I'm glad that my torturous pre-purchase routines and thought processes resulted in a stellar writing instrument and zero buyer's remorse. I can highly recommend this pen without any reservations. Go get one!
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