Noodler's Triple Tail / Noodler's Gruene Cactus / Fountain Pen Review

Review of the Noodler's Triple Tail fountain pen and Noodler's Gruene Cactus ink.

What I Ink: Episode 99

[katiecutts]

I loved the modern vs flex demo. It was wonderful to have the visual demonstration of the difference.

[MrAndrew]

Never had a problem with ink flow on my Triple Tail, it wrote wet and very well out of the box. It has been one of my all time favourite pens. I found the vintage flex pen vision pretty amazing. The nibs seem so soft and effortless the way they work.

[edgars.rainesjr.]

A very interesting review. One point to make from my personal experience with 9 Noodler's Ahab pens, I have only had to clean my feeds with dishwashing soap and a little ammonia in water, scrubbing with a toothbrush, and they have performed flawlessly. I look forward to soon buying the Triple-tail pen. I really enjoy your videos; thanks for making them.

[matthewbeddow]

Thank you for the honest review. I have had to tinker with all my Noodler's pens except the nib creeper, i don't mind tinkering personally and this new pen looks interesting especially the nib.

[forgotMyUsername]

Thanks for the review -- I was eyeing this pen but haven't seen much about it since the announcement. The comparison with other Noodler's pens was particularly helpful.

[kpurpose]

Really like the point you made on the subtle variation with vintage flex vs modern. The Noodles Triple Tail looks like a good value buy. Thanks for the review.

[x-changex-outx-oner]

I saw this pen at the Colorado Pen show in early it was displayed next to the blue transparent Boston Safety Pen. The Boston Safety Pen won that decision for me (since I have the Chestnut and Black versions).

Thanks for the informative video. The Triple Tail will be on my list of "fountain pens 'needed' "

I enjoy the Noodlers products....and tinkering with them.

Enjoyed your video. Keep up the great work.

[tjojones]

I got the Tripletail also. It worked first time out of the box. I did clean it first. My Ahab was definitely not writing first time out of the box though. I am very impressed with the nib on the new pen. I like the green ink a lot too. I want to get some green.

[GonzoTheRosarian]

Actually got mine today. I cleaned it real well before using it. Does very well without heat setting and actually was impressed with the performance. I use it with RO Sydney Lavender and it shows the color very well. And...truth: it does not smell!

[raphael]

I've never had an issue with any of my Noodler pens. The one pen that skipped and railroad often was due to my laziness of not cleaning the pen prior to use. Thanks for sharing. Getting ready to order me one. i

[danmagoo]

Interesting - you inspired me to give the Triple Tail another try. I like the shape, size and feel very much. It's a smooth writer, flexible and the line's not too thin, never scratchy. What concerns me is that sometimes the line is just too thick, and I find it's hard to control the thickness -- when I put it to paper I just don't know if it will start out fine or super-broad, and a slight change of angle can change the line radically and unexpectedly. (I draw cartoons with it - it's too wet for a lefty to write with.) Maybe this pen just needs a few hours of practice in how to control it? That might be worthwhile, if it would help. There's a lot that's good about it.

[j.vincent]

Oh yeah!...I gotta get one of those. Good job. Great vid with info and tips.

[veronical]

I just got my Tripletail yesterday. It was pretty traumatic right out of the box. At my normal writing speed, the pen will gush out loads of ink and then the ink flow would stop all together with both Diamine Autumn Oak and Citrus Ice.

I washed the pen with warm water and re-inked it with J. Herbin Emerald of Chivore. The ink flows nicely and I can write at my normal speed, but you won’t get thin lines because of the generous ink flow.

When I went back to both Diamine inks, o found the solution was to write very slowly, I mean painfully slowly, to keep a stead flow of ink. If I pick up my speed, then it seems to create a vacuum effect and stop the ink from coming down.

I have not heat set the nib because I think it is going to make the ink flow worse.

[WaskiSquirrel]

This was useful. I've been curious about the pen but have not yet decided whether or not to pursue one.

[bryanmarsh]

My kids bought this Tripletail pen for me for Christmas. Mine wrote out if the box absolutely perfectly. No messing around heat setting or anything. I didn't even wash it out first - tempting fate, I know! My Neponset, however, is crap. Same size pen, and more expensive but just won't work even after a new feed and nib from Luxury Brands.

[shanewells]

IMO the Triple Tail costing more than double the price of the Ahab and Konrad I don’t think tinkering and heat setting should be necessary out of the box. I understand it’s supposed to be an affordable flex pen but in the $55-$60 area there are a lot of great pens that work out of the box.

That being said I’ll probably still get one eventually because tinkering doesn’t bother be and I really want a flex nib.

[abdielacosta]

Great video. I would love to see a brown ink comparison. Thank you.

[aumshanti]

That pen looks very exciting and I am delighted it's a big one like the Neponset! Did you find any issues with the nib springing? Please would you consider panning out from the pen and writing sample a little more in future videos. I'm struggling with a 4.5 foot pen on my screen... 😅 I love that gruene, it's a beautiful shade. Thank you for the review.

[rashone]

I had a Noodler's Ahab which never flowed smootly. I fiddled and fiddled, but it was always a disappointment since I really wanted a flex nib. I would hesitate to buy another pen I'm supposed to fiddle with. If I pay $50 or more, I think the pen should work out of the box. But maybe that's just me. Excellent review! I wonder whether the wetness has to do with how hard the pen is pressed...

[bananaskin]

I like Guene Cactus too. In my experience, it's the wettest.