21% of 386 verified Lamy Safariowners don't recommend it, and 1 describe specific problems — based on real owner comments from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube.
For balance: 69% recommend it. This page collects the complaints so you know what you're signing up for — read the full owner report for both sides. How we score
“they would always bust ink everywhere in my pockets or worse your school bag”— @philipwillingham5950 on YouTube
“Lamy safari for long term reliability? Mine dries in a month”— UnknownPlayerBoy on Reddit
“Lamy Safari/Al-Star. If I don’t write with it daily (no exaggeration), it dries up, even with a fresh cartridge. The stock nib was so scratchy.”— Sterling2k on Reddit
“to be honest Im not a big fan of Safari, its big, not fitting well in hand, but I won't change it until it die”— mageKee on Reddit
“My gf has a Lamy safari in F and M, where the F one feels too scratchy for me.”— Untiring on Reddit
“there is a squeakiness that happens when I write with a medium nib Lamy safari that I don’t care for”— bisabrwn on Reddit
“I have noticed that after not writing for a minute or so the nib begins to dry out.”— Ronnie_J_Diodorant on Reddit
“I have 6 different Sports and they're all better than the Lamy Safari I started with.”— lyonaria on Reddit
“Barrel size is perfect for me, because with my lamy safari i feel like im constantly out of ink”— _Rikabooo_ on Reddit
“Yes, I had a Lamy Safari, the strawberry red in EF nib and it never worked well.”— kathrynloveslife on Reddit
“My genuine Lamy Safari dries up like a motherfucker too, especially with sheening inks like Lamy’s very own Dark Lilac.”— Perry4761 on Reddit
“I then discovered that every other brand of pen I bought after that wrote far smoother than my Safaris. I have now given away all of the Safaris as I feel they are style over substance and scratchy.”— dilithium-dreamer on Reddit
Not complaints — practical notes from owners that didn't affect the score.
“LAMY often tests its pens with blue ink, so if you are going to use anything other ink than the blue cartridge it came with, you need to flush out the nib with water first”— velvet-goldmine1999 on Reddit
“More recently the introduction of the Lamy Safari got me back into it and then faded again.”— two-wheel on Reddit
“Make the slightest change in the angle and it gets scratchy and inconsistent with ink flow”— anonymous on Fountain Pen Network
“Find a pen sleeve to protect the pen to protect it from objects in the bag or pocket.”— jacr14 on Reddit
“I bought a gift set Safari. It came with ink bottle, converter, and certridges.”— Lazy_Physics3127 on Reddit
“They are relatively dry writers and are easy to change nibs!”— cefotetan2gq12 on Reddit
“This is what every new fountain pen user needs to hear.”— SpockIsMyHomeboy on Reddit
“Not my favorite color but now I kinda want one”— JayRen on Reddit