Twsbi Vac 20 Travel Inkwell Review

[sannidh]

The review is a part of the larger TWSBI VAC700 review. You can go to the original post here.

I thought that this review could be useful for people, who like me are searching for an inkwell, that's okay for travel, holds a fair amount of ink and does not exactly make a hole the wallet.

 

The full review is also live on my personal blog. Click below if you enjoy pics in a tablet/mobile optimized view:

TWSBI VAC 700 with a VAC 20 Review

 

I was looking for an inkwell at a decent capacity & price (that's why skipped the Visconti Travel Inkwell), which could fit comfortably inside the visiting cards slot of my laptop backpack.

 

So here goes the review. The VAC 20 inkwell comes within a small cardboard box. Unlike the well packaged Diamond 50 bottle, the packaging is pretty plain. It’s made of plastic and weighs around 20 grams without ink.

 

 

Ink Capacity is 20 mL, of course (Thus VAC 20, but wait, what about VAC 700! ). The below bottle is around two-thirds filled.

The bottle used to come in five simple variants - black, orange, red, green & blue top-caps and occupies a fraction of space taken by the Diamond 50 inkwell.

The new one however is called VAC 20A and it has an additional insert for the VAC Mini.

You have to remove the top cap for filling the VAC 700. The base cap has the threads of the VAC 700 pen inside, so as to fit the pen precisely.

And with an inverted configuration you can pull/push the plunger to suck the ink to full capacity of the pen.

And there is no need of cleaning the VAC700 after filling ink, as only the feed area is exposed. Cool !

The outer cap has a good sealing tube and I never found any ink leakage from the bottle itself, even after keeping it inverted in my backpack for 2 days of travel.

Personally, I find it comfortable as a travelling inkwell since the dimensions are minimal and the base bottle offers the height of ink to completely immerse nibs of most pens with standard nib sizes. The only quibble I have is: when you fill ink in any other pen, the base cap (black) has to be unscrewed and it exposes the broader opening of the bottle. The secure bottle acting as a pen stand is now gone. The inner taper of the base cap block sections of most of the similar sized pens (except VAC 700 & a few slimmer ones). Besides it’s priced pretty decent (in US), and you do travel with 20 mL of your favourite ink.

So, I give an Overall Rating of 5/6 to the VAC20. The VAC20A has an additional insert, so it would stand a bit taller compared to the VAC20.

[mehandiratta]

Thank you again for mini review....

[sannidh]

Thank you again for mini review....

Thanks Vaibhav

Got it from Manoj (Mumbai) @ 1500

 

also available in amazon

http://www.amazon.in/TWSBI-EMPTY-INK-BOTTLE-ORANGE/dp/B00B5L3AUU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1464767856&sr=8-3&keywords=twsbi+vac20

[mehandiratta]

Thanks Vaibhav

Got it from Manoj (Mumbai) @ 1500

 

also available in amazon

http://www.amazon.in/TWSBI-EMPTY-INK-BOTTLE-ORANGE/dp/B00B5L3AUU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1464767856&sr=8-3&keywords=twsbi+vac20

 

Thank you...

a review after a long time... you have been busy...

[sannidh]

 

Thank you...

a review after a long time... you have been busy...

 

Thanks Vaibhav

A bit of travel + lack of new pens to review

[stephanos]

Thank you for the review.

 

I can only agree with your sentiments - based on my own experience, it's an excellent travelling inkwell, particularly if you're using it in combination with the Vac700. Unless you're going on a 6-month expedition, you should have ample ink and not need to encumber yourself with additional materials.

[sannidh]

Thank you for the review.

 

I can only agree with your sentiments - based on my own experience, it's an excellent travelling inkwell, particularly if you're using it in combination with the Vac700. Unless you're going on a 6-month expedition, you should have ample ink and not need to encumber yourself with additional materials.

 

Thank you stephanos

Echo your comments here - 20mL is indeed a lot of ink

Found visconti travel inkwell to be pretty convenient & sleek, but did not end up buying it because of 1) ink capacity - 5-6 ml 2) comparative price..

Edited June 13, 2016 by sannidh