Updated Travel Kit 2024: Packing Pens, Pencils and Notebooks for A Road Trip

I had a request a couple of weeks ago that I write an updated piece about my “travel kit” - namely the bags, pens, and notebooks that I bring with me when I hit the road. Obviously, it depends on the trip - when I travel to pen shows, I tend to bring a a lot of stationery for the sake of stationery. Work trips - or as with the trip I’m taking today, combination work/family trips - are much more difficult because I have to balance practicality with my own preferences. I’ll be on the road for just under a week, traveling in two different contexts, to two different cities, so I’ll need to be much more selective in choosing what to bring with me. As I pack, I thought it might be fun to document what I’m bringing and why:

The Filson Zippered Tote holds an insane amount of gear, and the straps are a perfect length for use as a classic grip bag or for over-shoulder carry. Use it as an overnight bag or a big briefcase.

Bag: Filson Zippered Tote

• What it is: A long-handled tote bag from Filson with a zippered closure and multiple side pockets. Featuring Filson’s heavy duty twill fabric and durable construction, this bag epitomizes the term “workhorse.”

• Why: While I sometimes wish I’d purchased a darker color, this versatile bag pulls double duty as a carry-on and a briefcase, once I arrive at my destination and have to attend meetings. In addition to serving as an exceptional travel companion, it’s a great everyday overflow briefcase for when I need to tote around binders and larger files.

Notebooks: Roterfaden, William Hannah, and a Plotter

• Roterfaden A5 with Three Clips (SO_20 Slim Leather with Suede)

  • What it is: The cover for my Hobonichi Cousin, which is my time-blocking notebook and primary “Work Notebook” for managing my day. This notebook goes with me everywhere. Currently, the Roterfaden cover contains a Hobonichi Cousin; Roterfaden A5 sheet protectors to hold notes, papers, and business cards, and a Midori A5 Softcolor Slim Notebook in blue.

  • Why: I’ve long used Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter covers because of the flexibility. Especially when I’m doing extended travel, I can clip individual notebooks in and out of the protective cover. With this setup, for example, I can add the thicker Hobonichi for a working session, and take it out to create a slimmer notebook profile if I just want to take the A5 Midori notebook to a coffee shop to do some brainstorming.

• William Hannah A5

  • What it is: a disc-bound A5 notebook that’s a powerful organizational tool, provided you have a hole-punch that can be used with the Levenger Circa, Staples Arc, William Hannah or other disc-bound systems. For professional use, I need the flexibility of being able to move around individual pages, and even to remove them for storage/records management purposes.

  • Why: This notebook contains all of my law practice and professional development notes. It’s a work trip, so a bit of a no-brainer that this notebook goes with me on the road. (My Plotter binders contain all of my TGS and personal notes, and may or may not come with me depending on space since it likely wouldn’t get too much use this week.)

Pens and Pencils: Cartridge Fountain Pens, Ballpoints, and Mechanical Pencils

• Fountain Pens on a Work Trip = Keep it simple.

  • Kaweco Art Sport and Gravitas “Dinky”. Cartridge fountain pens tend to travel well, since there’s not much ink in the cartridge and I’ve found that they tend to resist changes in temperature and air pressure quite well. The Kaweco Sport is a versatile pocket/travel option, and I’m testing out this Gravitas “Dinky” pocket fountain pen in “Cupronickel” that Ben was kind enough to give me for review at the LA Pen Show.

  • Pilot Custom 823. Ok, so I want at least one fun nib for journaling and playing around, and here I opted for my Pilot Custom 823 with a Mark Bacas medium blade nib. As I discussed at my California Pen Show seminar, vacuum-filling pens like the Custom 823, TWSBI Vac700R (or Vac Mini!), or Nahvalur Original Plus make great travel pens because they incorporate a shut-off valve that helps prevent major leakage on an airplane or when the pen is jostling around in a bag.

• Two Ballpoints. I always carry two ballpoints, especially for conferences and work trips where I’ll be in meetings and don’t want to have to fiddle with a fountain pen and bad paper. For this week’s trip it’s the Uniball Jetstream Prime in .5mm, and the recently received Lamy Noto, an insanely comfortable triangular pen. Neither of these pens is particularly expensive, making them good candidates for a conference where things can unfortunately “wander off” from time to time.

• Two Mechanical Pencils. When I’m on an airplane, I tend to work with a tablet/stylus or with a mechanical pencil, just to keep things simple and any mess to a minimum. Lately, I’ve really been enjoying the Uni Kuru Toga Alpha Gel Switch, which I first picked up at Kinokuniya in NYC last year and loved it so much that I brought them into the shop and promptly “bought” a yellow and black model for myself. I have two with me this weekend. Again, these are inexpensive writing instruments so they’re perfect for airplane and conference use.

So what’s the deal when I’m traveling? This trip is only a few days so it won’t throw off the blog schedule. Shop Orders placed late this week might take 1-2 extra business days to fulfill, but whenever that happens I always throw something extra in the box like a sticker, ink sample, or extra refill. I’m really looking forward to a couple of days off, and I’m in New Orleans so I plan to visit our friends at Papier Plume!

New Arrivals: Yamamoto Fountain Pen Friendly Papers, Viarco Pencils, and TWSBI Preorders!

Lots of news today! First Up: It’s been a long time since we’ve had a dedicated Tomoe River Paper writing pad available for purchase - the availability of this paper has been the subject of much discussion over the past few years - but as of yesterday, we now offer A5 writing pads from Yamamoto Paper containing two different versions: The “New” Sanzen S Tomoe River Paper or the prior version of Tomoe River still made by the Tomoegawa Paper Company. These pads have 200 sheets, and the Yamamoto Bank Paper version has 100. We also have limited availability of the Yamamoto Paper Fountain Pen Friendly Paper Sampler, which features 16 different types of fountain pen friendly Japanese papers, including a handful of which are being discontinued. (For those looking for the heavier 68g Tomoe River Paper, we recently received a restock of Lochby A5 notebooks and pocket notebooks).

View fullsize

This might be my favorite of the six Viarco pencil designs. I ended up getting one of the half-gross sampler packs.

Viarco Pencils and Pencil Accessories from Portugal

We now have most of the Viarco vintage-inspired wood pencils in stock, in 7 different finishes and retro packaging. Viarco graphite is pleasantly tactile to use and isn’t waxy or smeary - it’s the type of graphite I used to love seeking out in school because it sharpens well and retains a point. These pencils are made in Portugal, in one of the last remaining operative pencil factories in Europe. To go along with your new pencils, why not pick up a NJK long-point sharpener from Japan? To see how this sharpener compares to other options out there, you can check out this post from a few years ago when I first received one from C.W. Pencil Enterprise.

View fullsize

TWSBI ECO “Dark Sapphire” Pre-Orders

Last but not least, the TWSBI ECO “Dark Sapphire” is in-hand and ready to ship on tomorrow’s release date. We also have additional stock of the TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR in Black, which sold out nearly instantaneously the first time around. The 580 ALR Black will ship out today, with the Dark Sapphire ECOs going out the door tomorrow morning.

Note: We will be traveling for the later part of this week, so if it’s important for you to receive your order this week, please get it in by Wednesday morning so we can ensure it ships out. Many thanks for your support!

Sunday Reading for March 3, 2024 (The One Where I Take a Short Break from Pen Shows)

1. On the Future of Fountain Pens (via SBRE Brown). A timely topic, especially in light of the attention that the Lamy Dark Lilac “controversy” has recently drawn to the community. I would ask a broader question - is this a niche community drawn to antique-ish writing instruments? Or does the renewed interest in fountain pens (and related analog things) indicate a broader social movement?

2. Mitsubishi Buys Lamy (via Lamy Press). The other Lamy news is that the Company was acquired by Mitsubishi, which owns, well, Uni-Mitsubishi and many, many other brands. While I want to await additional details before offering my thoughts, I suspect not much will change, and those changes that do occur will be for the better (i.e., better distribution, more consistent availability, and fewer consumer relations foot-faults).

3. Fountain Pen Adventure (Denali!) (via Inky Rocks). Community interviews are always fun, especially when they offer some insight into the people behind popular accounts.

4. A Portable Sanctuary (via A Gathering of Curiosities). I completely relate to this. Even if I can’t use them, taking a handful of pens on a work trip - especially if it’s a difficult one - has a grounding effect and centers me, knowing I can come back to something I care about at the end of the day.

5. 2024 California Pen Show (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I know we’re a ways out from CAPS, but this was a great show and Kimberly always has a thorough write-up. The number of new attendees was astounding.

6. Journaling: Paper or Digital? (via Stationery Pizza). Do you use digital journaling apps? I’ve found I could never get into them properly. Part of it is the fact that I have a hard time thinking as freely on the computer as I do on the written page.

7. Business Hours: Pentel Calme Multi-Pen Review (via A Fleeting Ripple). I’ve not tried the Pentel Calme - it must be a relatively new multi pen release, but then again, it’s been a while since I’ve delved into the multi pen world.

8. Even More Indie Makers (via Rachel’s Reflections). Rachel does a great job of keeping track of all of the new indie makers entering the community, and I look forward to these posts.

9. Ensso XS Minimalist Fountain Pen Review (via The Poor Penman). Ensso is getting some renewed attention after the launch of their retractable pen Kickstarter.

10. Kaweco Sport Royal Amethyst (via Figboot on Pens). A beautiful new release from Kaweco via Goldspot!

In Case You Missed It….

This week I took a break from Pen Shows: The 2024 Baltimore Washington International Pen Show is ongoing (Go Sunday if you can!) but I couldn’t make this one work, not after Philadelphia, CAPS, both a work and family trip next week, and the Arkansas Pen Show in Little Rock coming up at the end of the month. Instead, I’ve been working on orders, listing a ton of new shop arrivals, and catching up on content/reviews. This week I reviewed a new stationery product I’ve shockingly never used: the Tombow Mono Graph mechanical pencil featuring a “shaker” mechanism, and I also answered the #17inkquestions challenge.

We’ve also received additional TWSBI 580 ALR pens in matte black!

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop (Pen Show Flash Special and Clearance!)

March and April are gearing up to be big months for us. We’re winding down the Winter/Spring pen show season, but we have a lot of new arrivals in the queue, including a new 849 release from Caran d’Ache, a bunch of new pens and notebooks from Lamy, and what I’m personally most excited about, the arrival of NJK Long-Point sharpeners in our Pencil section. We also received a full restock of Caran d’Ache and M+R favorites, Kaweco Clutch Pencils and Highlighter refills, and more!

Since it’s a pen show weekend, a few of you reached out to see if there were any specials. We did announce earlier this week that we have a lot of older items on clearance, which will be marked as such in the shop pages.

NJK Sharpeners

Caran d'Ache

Lamy

TWSBI

Support us on patreon and get access to our monthly meetup and extra content!

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), there are several ways that you can support us. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, consider joining the T.G.S. Patreon, which also includes early access to quarterly gently used sales. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. Patreon supporters also get access to any pen show-exclusive specials and promotions, such as that offered to course attendees this weekend.

No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!

#17InkQuestions from The Gentleman Stationer

So ever since my friend Lisa over at Olive Octopus came up with this #21penquestions-inspired challenge, I've been thinking on my answers. Hopefully my responses add a bit of a different perspective, since I'm primarily a pen-and-paper-focused enthusiast. Sure, I use a lot of ink everyday, but it tends to be straightforward “pen company” ink without special properties or truly wild colors. Where possible I’ve tried to link to the products I reference or past reviews I’ve written. Enjoy!

1. What was your first (memorable) ink? This one is pretty easy: the Montblanc Alfred Hitchcock limited edition from the early 2010s. (I think it was released in 2012?) I have a limited amount of this ink remaining, and it remains one of my favorite shades of dark red, almost red black. While other companies have brought many similar shades to market in recent years, none have nailed the exact same tone. This is the only ink I've ever "hoarded" (3 bottles). I consider a dark red-black to be my "signature color" and I'm always looking for a true Hitchcock replacement. I hope I never find it because the search is most of the fun!

2. What is your favorite ink bottle design, and which bottle (or cartridge) is your favorite to use? I love Lamy and Iroshizuku ink bottles, both of which are deep and wide enough to fill almost any pen, and which have a small depression/indentation in the bottom to accommodate the nib. It's helpful to be able to get as much ink as you can out of the bottle before having to decant the ink or use a syringe. Both of these ink bottles also feature an interesting visual design that's a good conversation piece.

3. What's an ink you love or find useful, but would not use for everyday writing? My response to this is identical to R.B.'s over at A Gathering of Curiosities: If I can't use an ink for everyday writing, I move it along. I nearly exclusively use my pens for writing so anything I can't use for that person doesn't stick in the collection.

4. How do you discover new inks? Mainly word of mouth. I honestly don't buy many inks since I have most colors in my collection already. I don't even try to follow all the "ink release" news since there are so many inks being released on an almost daily basis, and I typically rely on people telling me about inks they think I would enjoy or discovering ink serendipitously at pen club or a pen show.

5. Do you use inks for anything other than writing? Occasionally drawing or sketching, but I don't buy inks specifically for any purpose other than writing.

6. What's an ink that's worth hoarding (whether you actually do or not)? These days I'm opposed to hoarding stationery in general, and especially ink. There are so many different inks out there that you’re always going to be able to find a replacement that’s close to a specific color, and that’s if you ever actually finish the bottle of ink that you’re looking to replace.

7. How do you choose which ink goes into a pen? Do they have to match? Do you always use the same ink in a particular pen? I go through phases. Sometimes I'll match pens to inks randomly; other times I'll choose colors that are complementary to the pen. More frequently, what affects my pen/ink pairing is the nib: Some inks look better on paper in a broader nib, as lighter colors in a fine or extra-fine present legibility issues.

8. Do you use ink samples? If so, is your goal to find an ink to buy a bottle, or just get a smaller amount of ink to use? I typically purchase bottles. I don't buy enough ink (maybe 5 bottles per year?) to have to worry about storage space, since I regularly sell off what I'm not using. If I do purchase a sample it's because someone has recommended an ink that I'm curious about and I want to try a smaller amount.

9. Is there a popular ink that's just not for you? What underhyped ink would you like to see more people try? I've never been a fan of the super-saturated boutique inks with special properties (waterproof inks, colorfast inks, etc.). While these appeal to many for different reasons, I've found these inks to be higher maintenance and finicky in terms of things like slow dry time and smearing. Since most of my everyday writing is work-related, I dislike having to think too much about the ink part. Relatedly, in terms of underhyped inks, I always recommend that people who are focused on writing with their pens use more basic "pen company" inks such as Waterman, Pilot Iroshizuku, Lamy, Caran d'Ache, etc. You can typically find any color you want and you can use the inks in your pens without worrying about whether they will cause performance issues.

10. What do you do with any unused ink when you clean a pen? I flush it down the sink. Ink is relatively inexpensive. That said, most times I will write a pen dry or mostly dry before cleaning an re-inking.

11. What is the most unique ink you've used or seen? The entire Vinta line. Vinta inks have a more muted color palette that I really enjoy, and they come up with unique color combinations and shades that you don't see elsewhere - something that's difficult in a market that's oversaturated. (Pun very much intended.)

12. How do you catalog, swatch, track, and store your ink? I don't. I have a Fountain Pen Companion account that I need to finish building out and be better about using, but at the same time I find that I enjoy the spontaneity of digging through my ink cabinet and pulling out a handful of bottles that I haven't used in a while. If I can't make it to a pen show or a physical pen store, to me it scratches that itch of "shopping" for a new color.

13. What is your favorite ink color/color family? Dark Reds and Dark Blue-Greens, but I have favorite inks in all the color families that I rotate through.

14. What ink-related tool or accessory can you not live without? A syringe for refilling cartridges, and my Kakimori metal dip nib for sampling bottles and comparing colors. I've come to really enjoy the Kakimori nib because it allows me to quickly compare inks if I'm having trouble deciding which one to ink - especially when I'm filling a higher-capacity pen like a Pilot Custom 823 or an Opus 88 eyedropper that will remain inked for a long time.

15. Have you ever mixed inks or used shimmer additives? I've never used shimmer additives, but I have used the Platinum Mix-Free ink mixing kit and had a lot of fun with it, especially when I’ve tried to create “replacements” for favorite discontinued inks! I've also mixed Waterman inks to create some fun combinations.

16. What is your favorite ink delivery system (cartridges, type of filling system for bottled ink, etc.)? I don't really have a favorite and use them all. Honestly, for most purposes, I'm happy with the standard cartridge/converter filling system, because it's so easy to clean. I wrote a post a while back walking through the pros and cons of the various filling systems.

17. What ink(s) are you excited about right now? Pilot Iroshizuku Sui-Gyoku. It's one of the new Iroshizuku inks that Pilot released last year, and it's a beautiful bright teal. I currently have it inked in 4-5 pens but it’s time for a break. :)

If you missed them, you can check out my responses to #21penquestions and #5morepenquestions here.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you enjoyed this content, please consider supporting us and keeping T.G.S. going!

Thursday Drops: Caran d'Ache 849 "Blue Lagoon", The Return of the Kaweco Sketch-Up, Art Sports, and More!

It’s all about the gradients these days, and the latest release from Caran d’Ache is a gorgeous blue-grey-white 849 ballpoint and mechanical pencil set, which they’ve dubbed “Blue Lagoon” to reflect the colors of the polar lagoons that inspired it. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a limited 849, and this one follows up the Keith Haring and Paul Smith special releases from late last year, of which we still have some in stock!

View fullsize

We’ve also received more Kaweco Sketch-Up Clutch Pencils, which you can find in our dedicated pencil store! These can be used with standard leads, highlighter leads, or even with the Kakimori Dip Nib to create a portable ink sampling tool.

A Pen Show Weekend Clearance Special

While we’re disappointed that we can’t make this weekend’s Baltimore Pen Show, we always like to offer some sort of special offer for pen show weekends! This week, we’re in the process of listing a bunch of new arrivals (as you’ll see below), and noticed that a fairly significant amount of shelf/storage space is being taken up by older items of which we only have 1 or 2 pieces remaining in stock. I’ve created a “Clearance” tag in the Pens, Notebooks/Paper, and Desk/Reading Accessories sections, for those items which won’t be coming back so take advantage of your last chance. Discounts of up to 25% available! We don’t do clearance sales very often, so now’s your chance….

1. Caran d’Ache “Blue Lagoon” Ballpoint and Mechanical Pencil Set. It’s been a bit since we’ve seen a new special release 849 from Caran d’Ache, and this one is all about the gradients! Each set includes a Caran d’Ache 849 ballpoint pen, as well as a matching .7mm mechanical pencil. (I say “matching” in that they feature the same colors, though the gradients are slightly different.)

2. Lamy Studio “Glacier” Fountain Pen. While we’re on an “Arctic Blue” theme, why not pair the “Blue Lagoon” Ballpoint and Mechanical Pencil Set with a Lamy “Glacier” Fountain Pen? These were an older special release so I’m not sure how long they will stick around.

3. Kaweco Art Sport Fountain Pens. Did you miss out on the Kaweco Art Sport fountain pens the first time around? We have more, including the Terrazzo and Hickory Brown, which sold quite fast.

4. Kaweco Sketch-Up Clutch Pencils. It’s not just for drawing anymore! Many people use the Kaweco Sketch-Up clutch pencil as a nibholder for their Kakimori Brass and Stainless Steel Dip Nibs, which you can now purchase directly from us. For more info on how to make that work, check out this post here.

5. Lamy Safari Special Edition Fountain Pens and Rollerballs. The new Lamy Safari “Pink Cliff” and “Violet Blackberry” are in stock and ready to ship!

6. Lamy “Noto” Ballpoints in Deep Blue and Chocolate. I’ve been writing all week with the triangular “Noto” ballpoint pens, and after going back and forth, I finally selected a “Deep Blue” version as my personal pen, so it’s going into the pen case.

7. Lamy “econ” Ballpoint Pens. Characterized by their bright colors and matte textured grip, the round “econ” ballpoint features the same M16 refill as the Lamy 2000 ballpoint, the Noto, and others!

8. Lamy Notebooks. Lamy’s proprietary ruling is quite unique, featuring a mix of grid, lines, and dots. The paper is absorbent, so it dries relatively quickly compared to many other fountain pen friendly options.

9. Nahvalur Nautilus “Ruby Koi” Fountain Pens. We have two remaining “Ruby Koi” special release fountain pens, including one gold and one stainless steel nib version.

10. M+R Brass Pencil Sharpeners. We received a full restock of M+R Brass Pencil sharpeners in all the various forms, including replacement blades!

View fullsize

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer. The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.