Noodler's Army Green Ink

Someone e-mailed and asked if we had the new or the old Noodler's Army Green - and actually suggested we could do a review on it, since there seem to be two different versions of the same ink. It's about to rain where we are here in Toronto - and the dark, gloomy clouds make the trees in our neighbourhood look a little like this green, so it's the perfect time for a review. Noodler's Army Green underwent some changes in formula a couple of years back, and after some rather unfavourable feedback from Army Green users, Noodler's ended up changing their formula back to what they started out with.

Reading up on some of the original reviews on the first colour, people found it a little too drab, or not vibrant or green enough, not actually a true "army" green colour. After Noodler's Nathan Tardif changed it to a brighter green, I think some people changed their minds and decided that the olive green actually had something appealing about it, not being a more typical, bright green, or maybe people had just gotten used to the olive. Noodler's, after hearing that feedback again, changed it back to the original formula. I guess if you look at the Canadian soldiers' camouflage has a several different green shades on it, so you can pick the one you like! While I haven't checked every bottle, from the ones I have checked, it seems like we have all new stock. We got our first batch of Army Green in April 2013, and I think most of the old formula stock had made its way through retailers. If you'd like me to double check yours, just leave a note on the order form.

Noodler's Army Green is a rich, warm green - a bit like a dark olive green. You can compare it with the Rohrer and Klingner Alt-Goldgrun, which is a bit more of a golden-yellow-brown-green. The writing sample was done with a Kaweco Sport Fine Nib and on Rhodia 80gsm paper.

This is an all-purpose green ink: it's got that seriousness that makes it okay for the office, it's got shading and character for any sketcher or artist, and it's just right for your notes or journaling. I think the shading adds quite a bit of character to this subtle, classy olive green. Of course it has no feathering or bleeding at all on the Rhodia, but this ink performs quite well even on cheaper quality paper. It's a bit of a wet ink, and it flows very well. With the Kaweco Nib, which is generally a wet writer, it flows beautifully. Army Green has fairly good dry time - again depending on nib and paper, but there are no real drawbacks to this ink.

You can read more about this ink: Inky Journal Fountain Pen Network: Penguinmaster Fountain Pen Network: Umenohana (Great Semi-Flex Handwriting Sample!)