What Pens Do You Travel With?

[DrAtomic]

What fountain pens do you travel with? I’m headed overseas again and learned from my last trip that some pens just don’t travel well. The challenges of pressurized airline cabins, jostling luggage, and adequate ink supply are just a few of the issues I ran into. I'm trying to learn from past mistakes and I’d appreciate any input on decent, well behaved traveling pens.

 

The pens that fared the best for me were ones that had a method of sealing the feed. I’m looking at packing one of the Opus 88 Koloro Demonstrators, an Omar, a Pilot 823, TWSBI Vac Mini, or…? As much as I love my Italian pens, they didn’t do terribly well on the road.

 

I suppose I could bring a traveling ink vial, like the Visconti or Pineider, and fill as needed. Or even buy ink upon my arrival. Maybe even a pen! Lots of options.

So, any tips on traveling with pens? Besides bringing towels?

 

Thanks for the input!

 

[Jerome Tarshis]

I began traveling with a Parker 51, because it was my only fountain pen at the time, and I still do that. As my pen accumulation has grown, I've traveled with an assortment of c/c pens (Aurora Hastil, Aurora 88, Montblanc SlimLine and Noblesse, among others) and piston-fillers. No particular problems. On one flight a Parker 51 gave me a stained shirt pocket, but that happened once at sea level, so I don't see it as an air travel problem.

 

Cartridges are the simplest way to carry ink, if one wishes to carry it. I tend to buy a bottle at my destination and leave it at the hotel. Compared with airfare and restaurants and hotel rooms, ink is cheap.

[TheDutchGuy]

I’ve travelled with many different modern fountain pens and never had any problem whatsoever. I put them in a pen pouch, carry them in my hand luggage and stow the pouch in the seat pocket in front of me during flights, with the nibs upwards, and I make sure the pouch stays in that position.

 

Vintage pens (with an ink sac and/or gravity feeds) I leave at home.

 

If you want to be double safe, buy a pen like the Pilot Custom 823 or an Opus 88 because those pens will allow you to block ink flow to the feed.

[alexander_k]

The Pilot should be a good choice. I've travelled by air with various Pilots, from MYU to VP, and all behaved well, especially if stored with the nib up and fully inked. The 823's capacity is an added plus. I do have a Visconti travel inkthing but never used. Instead, I used to take along one or two of the small, plastic Diamine bottles on long journeys.

[sansenri]

Pelikan M200, has literally travelled the world...

I've also travelled with several other pens, Aurora 88 for example.

I also stow the pens in a pen pouch and keep them in a nib up position

I don't ever stow the pouch in the seat pocket in front of me during flights...

lost my cell phone that way once...

[WalterC]

On my latest trip, I flew with cheaper pens: Wing Sung 698, Italix, Pilot Prera and Pilot Plumix.

[langere]

I have a different philosophy - I want pens that are tough and easy to replace if I lose them. Thus, I have taken Kaweco Lilliput, Sport, a Lamy 2k and an Opus 88 Fantasia with me. Because of the replacement rule, I just don't even consider vintage anyway.

 

Either piston or cartridge is best. A Visconti inkwell, if the trip is long enough, will suffice.

 

Erick

[Karmachanic]

Same question was asked earlier in the day:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/349261-travel-with-your-pens-what-do-you-carry/

[Runnin_Ute]

This trip:

Parker 45 Flighter

Parker 51 Special

Pilot Metropolitan

Pelikan M150

Jinhao 599

[DrAtomic]

Same question was asked earlier in the day:

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/349261-travel-with-your-pens-what-do-you-carry/

Later in the day, actually... Thanks for the link; there's a lot of good info in that post!

 

I’ve travelled with many different modern fountain pens and never had any problem whatsoever. I put them in a pen pouch, carry them in my hand luggage and stow the pouch in the seat pocket in front of me during flights, with the nibs upwards, and I make sure the pouch stays in that position.

 

Vintage pens (with an ink sac and/or gravity feeds) I leave at home.

 

If you want to be double safe, buy a pen like the Pilot Custom 823 or an Opus 88 because those pens will allow you to block ink flow to the feed.

Sadly my experience wasn't the same. Two eyedropper pens didn't behave and even though it wasn't a disaster (discolored my pen case), I am being more careful now. Agreed on the vintage pens.

Also, my destination is Copenhagen, (and surrounding destinations of interest). There are pen shops around, which is a good thing as I'll be looking for a memento of the trip. Well, that and I'll need some ink. And maybe a B5 notebook. And on and on. Damn this affliction anyway.

 

... Cartridges are the simplest way to carry ink, if one wishes to carry it. I tend to buy a bottle at my destination and leave it at the hotel. Compared with airfare and restaurants and hotel rooms, ink is cheap.

Brilliant idea on the purchase of ink! Although it will break my heart to leave it in the room.

 

Thanks for the great info and insight. I'm setting on an Opus 88, maybe a Prera, Custom 823, or Lamy 2000. I've decided to bring at least one of the Italian pens (Van Gogh Maxi, Voyager, or?) just because it brings so much joy to write with them.

[jchch1950]

Traveling now with a Lamy Aion and carts,No problems.

[oldrifleman]

Conid Regular Bulkfiller.

[eharriett]

I’m out of town right now and I had to pick some pens that won’t go batty on a plane. Most of my pens are vintage, but I still tend to use pens that I know won’t make a mess. So in my 3 pen case I am carrying:

 

TWSBI Vac mini (shutoff valve closed)

Noodlers Boston Safety Pen

Waterman 42 safety pen.

 

When I travel, I’ll ususally use something like that. Almost always the TWSBI, and usually a Noodlers safety, but the third alternates.

[BDarchitect]

When I fly with fountain pens, I put them all in a 16oz Nalgene bottle, each in a small plastic baggie (just in case). I can get 6 or more pens in it as well as a travel filler, too, like the Visconti or Pineider. With the lid screwed on tightly, the rigid plastic body will resist the air pressure changes in flight, and assuming you are landing somewhere near the same altitude as where you took off, they should all be fine. The downside is you can't use them in flight, but for that short time a ballpoint or gel tip should suffice. (I find felt tip pens dry out quickly in the arid cabin atmosphere). If you put them all in nib up, then it is also easier to make sure the whole lot stay that way in flight as extra insurance against leakage.

[sandy101]

Tombow Object 101. Light aluminum with cartridge, that has proved to be durable and an easy writer.

[BDarchitect]

I should add that I have twice traveled recently with the smaller (20oz) TWSBI bottle filled with ink, stored in a doubled ziplok baggie in my carry on luggage (not the Nalgene bottle mentioned in my previous post), and both times it leaked badly. Fortunately it did not escape the plastic bags, but know that their cap seal threads will not withstand the pressure drop on ascent.

[FlyFast]

Pilot 823

Pilot Vanishing Point

Lamy 2000

 

Never had a problem traveling with any of them. I’m a pilot, so I fly and travel constantly.

[ethernautrix]

Landed yesterday a smidgen over 6,000 miles away with six inked pens - the P823 travelled in my dress's pen pocket, the other five in a case in my carry-on which meant that those five pens flew flat, horizontally, from take-off and landing (twice each).

 

Zero leakage.

 

In my checked suitcase, a dozen bottles of ink of various volumes in a bag and then douple-"wrapped" in plastic bags -- zero leakage.

 

Packed separately in a much smaller "ziploc" bag, one of five sample vials of ink leaked. User error. I'd failed to ensure the cap, tightly screwed, wasn't ever so slightly askew. Less than 1 ml of leaked ink looks like much more, but it was easy to clean up.

 

So...full pens, all modern, flying horizontally mostly, no problems. One minor leak from a sample vial caused by a tiny lapse in care.

[ethernautrix]

Ah! The pens:

 

Pilot 823

2 Nakaya Piccolos

Pilot 912

Pilot Falcon

Kaweco Liliput

 

Oh hold on! Seven pens! I forgot to count the Moonman Wancai Mini. On the longer leg of my flight, I used the P823 and Moonman Mini.

[eharriett]

I suppose the problem is more for vintage pen carriers than people who carry new ones.

 

While Im usually a vintage pen carrier, I generally travel with newer ones because of the leakage problems (which are a thing). I have a Snorkel I used to travel with that invariably opened as a mess once I got off the plane. Same with my older Watermans. But I suppose this is correct, newer pens seem to have this problem mostly licked.