A few months ago Ana let me use her lime green Diplomat Traveller and I liked it quite a bit. So I thought it was very sweet when she presented me with a Diplomat Traveller in Flame ($52.00) for my birthday (and review!)
Back in 2017 I reviewed a Diplomat Excellence A, and the thing I love most about that pen were all the details that went into it! In some ways the Traveller feels the same, albeit at a much lower price point. So let’s start at the beginning.
The Traveller is a sleek and slim designed fountain pen. It features Diplomat’s signature clip and imprinted nibs, in a smooth body design. The Traveller comes in a variety of colors including Black Lacquer, Black Matte, Stainless Steel/Gold, Lumi Blue, Lumi Green and Flame. The Flame colorway is achieved by treating the body with fire which creates a unique finish for each pen. Ana knew I had a Kaweco Liliput in Fire Blue and knew I loved it; this has made the perfect set with the two!
The Traveller measures approximately 4 5/8″/11.75cm end cap to nib tip, and 5 3/8″/13.5cm from end to end when capped. The cap is a snap cap (with a satisfying snap!) and is postable. The pen takes standard international cartridges or a converter and, when full, weighs about 20g. That puts it squarely inline with many other popular pens.
I’ve compared it to some of my favorites (L to R: Retro 51 Tornado Fountain, Pilot Metropolitan Retro Pop, Diplomat Traveller, Sailor Pro-Gear Slim, and Pelikan M200). The Traveller is the slimmest of the bunch, but is fairly comparable in terms of length to all of them.
So let’s get down to why I like this pen so much. The Traveller is super slim, which works beautifully in my small hands. It is also a super smooth writer from the get go. The nibs are made by Jowo (rebranded for Diplomat) and aside from being slightly wider western-style nibs, are beautiful. I got a medium in this pen which is probably a bit wider than I normally go, but everything is just so smooth and the lines it puts on the page are beautiful.
Even though the market has lots of options in the $50-75 range, I just feel that this is a really nice option for someone looking for a more modern, sleeker fountain pen. It feels like a quality pen in my hands, and the attention to the little details really make me love it that much more.
Tools
- Paper: Ghost Paper Notebook ($25)
- Pen: Diplomat Traveler in Flame ($52)
- Ink: Monteverde Smoke Noir (30ml for $8)
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
This is my favorite modern pen.
I’m new to the world of fountain pens, but I also prefer a slim as I have small hands. Can you suggest any others?
The Traveler is probably one of the most economical models I have found. Other pens that are fairly slim are the Caran d’Ache 849 and the pricier (but lovely) Sailor Pro Gear Slims.