Ink Review: ColorVerse Pen Chalet Special Edition

By Jessica Coles

In the latest newsletter from Pen Chalet, I caught a glimpse of their newest ink.  However, this ink had a special twist – it is a collaboration between Pen Chalet and ColorVerse and a limited edition as well.  Only 300 boxes of the ink duo will be available and only from Pen Chalet.

The name of the inks are Monsoon Storm and Monument Valley (80mL for $36). They come together in a large-ish cardstock box with labels portraying scenes that have inspired the names of each ink.

As usual, there are plenty of little goodies included inside the Colorverse box.  First, these cards show a larger image of the drawings from the outside of the box – each card matches the color of the ink.

A small packet of items is also included – two sets of stickers, a clip bookmark, a pen stand, and a napkin.

The napkin is useful to wipe off your pen if you want to fill up as soon as you’ve opened the ink.  I’ve always thought it was a rather strange addition, however.

One card has detailed information about the inks including their RGB code, Pantone number, and pH of the ink.

At one point in their past, ColorVerse had an issue with bottles occasionally breaking during shipment.  In response to their customers, they changed the packaging to better protect the contents and they’ve done a great job with it.  Each bottle is snug in foam cutouts.  I’ve also found this useful for holding bottles securely while I am making ink swatches – cats can be cruel when it comes to open bottles of ink.

The two bottles are of different sizes. Monsoon Storm comes in a 65mL bottle while Monument Valley contains 15mL.

Monsoon Storm is a beautiful dark teal that leans towards green.

Below are a few comparisons to other inks in the same color area.  Private Reserve Ebony Blue is a very close match including a slight red sheen.

The sheen in Monsoon Storm can be tough to see – no sheen monster here.  The subtle sheen that is produced can be seen but takes a backseat to the true color of the ink.

The flow of Monsoon Storm is a bit on the wet side of medium.  I found it quite pleasant to use in a medium Pilot Metropolitan.

Now for Monument Valley.  Usually, in ColorVerse ink sets, the smaller bottle is my favorite color and this set doesn’t disappoint there.

Monument Valley is a rusty orange that leans towards yellow.

Comparing the ink to other colors, I found it closest to Monteverde Copper Noir, but the shading reminded me of Noodler’s Habanēro. Perhaps related to Noodler’s Apache Sunset as well.

The shading shows colors from the rusty orange to a yellow that leans heavily to orange.

A very slight silver sheen occasionally showed up and reminded me a bit of Pen Addict Fire on Fire.  The flow of this ink was on the dry side and would best be used in a pen that can compensate for that characteristic.  I used a TWSBI Go with a fine nib and the dryness bothered me a bit.

Here is a double swab of the two colors together.  I love the contrast of the two inks and I think both the colors and the names were well chosen.

I hope this is not the last collaboration ink we will see from Pen Chalet! They’ve done a great job with this one.