The Cross Apogee is a great pen that is within most people’s budget, with a very sleek, modern design. Taking the cap off reveals the rhodium plated gold nib, although it looks a bit on the small side. This, I feel adds to the design, although some people may not like it. I would also add this is one in the heavier fountain pens that I have used. This gives the pen the feeling of substance, this weight does not make it uncomfortable when writing.
The Apogee comes with a converter and a couple of cartridges. The converter screws into place and is very sturdy and easy to use. The only downside with this is that I feel it could hold a bit more ink. I’m not sure it holds enough for a full day’s writing.
So how does it write? I must say first impressions were excellent. As soon as I put pen to paper there was no scratching but a smooth and pleasant ink-flow. The nib isn’t really that flexible, however it does give enough to allow some variation in the ink line. In general I found this pen extremely easy to write with. I was using a medium nib, however I would recommend a fine nib. I suppose this all depends on your writing style. I found the medium nib did give a very clean line with a nice amount of wetness. Here is an occasional skip, but not enough to cause a problem.
The only real complaint I had about this pen was the clip, as I found it very difficult to operate. Being spring loaded you need to push down on the clip at the end of the pen, which is very difficult in one handed use. The fact that this is quite a slippery pen makes it difficult to clip it into your shirt pocket one handed. Overall though I would definitely recommend the Cross Apogee as I’m extremely pleased with it.