I travel quite a bit for work, but one thing I’ve managed to avoid thus far is extended work travel, which I consider five days or more at a stretch. Not only is this type of travel a pain because I prefer to travel light and I end up having to check a bag with multiple days worth of work clothes, but I also have to be quite intentional about personal effects, making sure that I carry enough essentials with me to maintain my sanity while not over-complicating things. This latter part boils down to three things: stationery, books, and coffee.
My Travel Stationery Setup
Way back when I first started the blog, I wrote a piece about my “travel kit” that I took with me on the road, which consisted mainly of rollerballs, gel pens, and a pocket notebook. I updated this post last year, reflecting a bit more confidence in myself traveling with fountain pens, and adding the Nanami Paper Cafe Note B6, which I still maintain makes for one of the best travel journals out there. I figured that since I’ve kicked off January with nearly two full weeks away from home, why not revisit this topic again and discuss the pens and stationery I’ve chosen for extended travel, and how they’ve fared so far?
Lamy 2000 Bauhaus 100th Anniversary, EF Nib. Since I’ve chosen this pen as my “2020 One Pen Daily Carry,” I couldn’t leave it at home. But a Lamy 2000 with an extra fine nib also serves as an excellent workhorse for conferences and business meetings. The Lamy 2000 holds a lot of ink, and the EF nib helps stretch the supply a bit longer. I unfortunately had to take a break from my Leonardo Momento Zero Grande, since that pen hasn’t fared well with air travel. The Lamy 2000, on the other hand, remains free from major “inksplosions.”
Matthew Martin OG1. Maybe this is nothing more than recency bias, but paired with a Franklin-Christoph EF SIG nib, my newest Philly Pen Show acquisition is turning into a favorite. Its durability is a plus since I can pocket carry or bag carry this pen around a conference without worrying about damage (or self-defense).
Kanilea Pen Co. Mauna Kea. I’ve tried to use my time at night to get caught up on journaling and letter writing, and my Kanilea Mauna Kea is one of the more comfortable pens I own for longish writing sessions. It’s also not a coincidence that the Kanilea and the Matthew Martin pens both accept cartridges, which have always been my preferred method of refilling fountain pens when traveling. Not only do you not have to worry about bottled ink or traveling inkwells in your carry on, but in my experience pens filled using cartridges are less susceptible to burping ink on airplanes.
Montblanc Classique Rollerball. Always carry at least one rollerball or ballpoint when traveling. There will be forms to fill out. Without fail.
Rotring 800 Mechanical Pencil. Along with a rollerball, I carry a mechanical pencil for drawing and reading notes. I prefer the retractable tip of the Rotring 800 over the fixed pipe on the Rotring 600, especially for travel.
It’s not going to win any awards in the style department, but this BUBM (“Be Unique Be Myself”???) electronics organizer has been one of the better inexpensive purchases I’ve made lately.
The Nock Co. Sinclair still serves as my primary travel pen case, holding the three fountain pens along with a pocket notebook and some notecards. As I noted above, the Nanami Cafe Note is still my primary personal notebook, but this time I also brought along my Jibun Techo planner, my A6 Hobonichi, and an Endless Recorder A5 notebook for work. One piece of gear that I added to my backpack this time is this double-layer “electronics” organizer, which not only does an excellent job of holding things like cords, cables, and chargers, but also has loops that can be used to secure pens and pencils, zippered pouches for things like ink cartridges, post-its, and headphones, as well as a zippered pocket at the back large enough to hold a Kindle or a small notebook.
Digital meets analogue? Cables on the left, stationery on the right.
Personal Observations and Requests for Suggestions
Because I write first thing in the morning while drinking my daily coffee(s), I’ve found that travel is MUCH less stressful to me if I can maintain this simple routine. It’s also much less expensive to not have to purchase decent coffee outside the hotel, not to mention more convenient than stumbling around looking for a coffee shop at 6a.m. (or earlier). People have been recommending that I do this for years, but I finally splurged on some inexpensive travel coffee gear, consisting of a collapsible travel kettle and a small hand grinder. (I’m considering an Aeropress but for now I just went with a simple pour-over and some filters that I already had lying around the house.) I don’t consider myself a huge coffee snob, but the ability to have your own coffee in the morning on the road is revolutionary, and I’m kicking myself for not doing this earlier. I’d be interested in hearing other suggestions for mobile coffee setups.
New York City Meetup Friday!
Speaking of more travel, tomorrow I’m flying to New York City for the 2020 National Stationery Show, and Lisa Vanness and I will be hosting a meetup with the Big Apple Pen Club at Grand Central Oyster Bar on Friday night at 7:00pm. Let me know if you’d like to attend so that I can give Lisa a proper headcount!
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