Nahvalur - Atlantic Blue
At the end of 2022, Nahvalur introduced its first series of inks. Called the Explorer Inks, the series launched with 4 colors inspired by the original Nahvalur Explorer Plus fountain pens that quickly put the company on the map.
Nahvalur Atlantic Blue is a lovely peacock blue teal. It’s a deep-water ocean teal, that’s gentle, yet confident. In areas of saturation, hints of yellow bubble to the surface and add an organic quality that balances the cooler peacock blue very pleasantly. On some papers, you’ll find a bit of shading, but overall, this ink ranges from the juicy mid-blue teal to a darker blue that approaches black in finer nibs. Written color is very nib and paper dependent, but it’s a range that many really like. The Explorer inks are pigmented, so they have impressive water resistance. That makes them usable work or play!
In terms of writing performance, Nahvalur obviously took great care to ensure that this is a writer’s ink. It’s nicely wet, flows smoothly, and it’s very comfortable on the page. I didn’t have any problems with feather. Strokes were clean and sharp on all six test papers. There was a bit of show through on some, but no real bleed. Drying took a bit longer on my swatch card, but was average or better on most papers. This is a nice, consistent writing ink.
Nahvalur has done a nice job with Atlantic Blue. Visually, this is a good-looking peacock blue, and it’s a very nice ink for extended writing, too. It comes in sturdy, attractive 20ml bottles for US$12. Ideally, I’d love to see it in 30ml bottles for a couple dollars more, but this is a nice introduction to the Explorer inks. I really like the series' color palette (they plan on releasing more colors this year), and I’m looking forward to the other three!
Note: Nahvalur sent me all four Explorer inks to try, but that doesn’t influence my review. As always, I present my honest opinions, both good and bad.