Hitting The Road With Pens

By Jennifer Houghton

Summer is here and I, for one, am ready to get away from home. As soon as I start packing, I’m torn over how to handle my fountain pens.

If I’m skipping town for two or three days and I know I won’t have a lot of time to myself, I’ll generally grab one of my smaller Galen Leather (Galen Leather Collection) or Esterbrook (Esterbrook Nook Collection) cases. I’ll grab one high-end pen and a couple less expensive pens that I wouldn’t be traumatized if I dropped, lost, or otherwise lost contact with them forever.

If I’m going to be gone for closer to a week, I generally pack them all. I understand there is minimal surface level logic to that approach. But, secretly I’m leaving open the possibility that I may permanently run away from home forever and want my whole family of pens with me. Just in case.

Speaking of cases, for this type of travel, I’ll grab my Girologio case because it accommodates all of my heavier pens with those super sturdy double elastics.

I don’t have any airline travel booked at the moment, but I will pass along the advice I’ve heard forever: store those pens upright, preferably uninked. Folks, I know this is standard advice and I’m not recommending you not adhere to it, but I’ve traveled on planes inked and flatly in a bag. I’ve not had a problem. Try that at your own risk, though.

My biggest challenge is ink. I prefer glass bottles, but those don’t travel so well. So generally, when I head out the door, I will grab more Robert Oster inks (Robert Oster Bottled Inks) than any others. However, I just returned from a road trip and took multiple ink brands with me. I loaded a small cardboard box and arranged the contents like a million dollar game of Tetris. Clearly, I’m still working out the details.

Tell us about your tricks on traveling with fountain pens and inks. Happy summer, friends.