Today’s Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster Monsoon Clouds ink review features one of the newest additions to the Exclusive line of Robert Oster inks only available at Pen Chalet. If you didn’t know, we love Robert Oster inks. And we’ve partnered up with Rob Oster himself to create a growing collection of Arizona themed inks, which we are so happy with! We love hearing that our pen and ink loving customers are just as happy with them. If you haven’t had a chance to try Monsoon Clouds, here’s a more in depth look at what you’re missing!

All About the Ink Maker: Robert Oster

Before we dive into today’s Exclusive Robert Oster Monsoon Clouds ink review, let’s chat for a second about the ink maker! A standard (and dare we say it, trendsetter) in the industry, Robert Oster Inks (named after the founder himself, Robert Oster) is an Australian ink company known and loved by most fountain pen enthusiasts. Robert Oster inks are both made in Australia and inspired by the Australian landscape. The result is an extensive line up of dependable inks offering good shading traits, vivid colors, and stunning, usable characteristics. At Pen Chalet, we currently offer around 150 different Robert Oster ink colors. You’ll find them listed under a few different ink series:

• Robert Oster Signature Inks (the majority of ink colors are found here)
• Robert Oster Shake ‘N’Shimmy Inks (inks that shimmer)
• Robert Oster 1980’s Ink Series
• Robert Oster Australis Ink Series
• Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster Inks

This week’s featured ink, Monsoon Clouds, is from the very popular Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster ink series.

All About The Ink Series: Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster Inks

Monsoon Clouds is one of the 2021 releases in the Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster ink series. As you know, Robert Oster is a prolific Australian ink company that mainly produces inks inspired by the reflection of the landscape and scenery of Australia. However, through a Great Partnership between Pen Chalet and Robert Oster himself, we have collaborated to build a collection of exclusive inks. Each of the Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster inks pull their inspiration from a piece of the beautiful, unique Arizona landscape (the home base of Pen Chalet).

The Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster Ink Series includes:

• Antelope Canyon
• Sedona Red
• Monsoon Sky
• Saguaro Green
• Monsoon Clouds
• Havasu Falls (JUST released earlier this week – Oct 2021)

This week’s featured ink is Monsoon Clouds ink.

All About This Week’s Chosen Ink: Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster Monsoon Clouds Ink

The Exclusive Robert Oster Monsoon Clouds ink review results will really give you a good look at this gorgeous dark purple shade reminiscent of the beauty and danger contained in Arizona’s monsoon clouds. If you are not familiar with Arizona, each Summer, usually during the months of July through mid-September, Arizona can have some of the most wild and majestic monsoon storms in the entire country. The dark purple billowing clouds roll in bringing haboobs (a massive dust-storm), torrential downpours, floods, and powerful winds. The monsoon clouds tend to roll in and hover in warning for hours until eventually, when you decide it’s not actually going to rain at all, they release every tool in their arsenal all at once. The Arizona monsoon storm, once it strikes, is typically in and out with clear skies by morning. Many would agree that the true majesty of monsoon season lies in the monsoon clouds that contain the fury of the storm.

***Looking for the giveaway that usually accompanies our weekly ink reviews? As always, we’ll forgive you if you skip straight to the bottom of this Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster ink review and enter to win. But remember, winners are no longer picked weekly! Instead, we will include ALL of the inks featured in our weekly ink reviews as giveaway prizes during our NEW monthly 15 on the 15th: GIVEAWAY DAY with Pen Chalet. Check it out: 15 on the 15th fun (you’re going to love it). 

It’s Time: Exclusive Robert Oster Monsoon Clouds Ink Review

For this Exclusive Robert Oster Monsoon Clouds ink review, we put the featured ink through our standard ink review tests. Check out all the results!

Ink Review Testing Factors (to keep things scientific):

As usual, we used a French-made J. Herbin spiral glass dip pen (with a tip comparable to a medium-fine fountain pen nib) on French-made Rhodia dot pad paper. As always, we want to remind you that different papers or different nib sizes may produce different results!

What Sort of Ink Bottle Does Robert Oster Use?

The Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster ink comes in Robert Oster’s standard PET environmentally friendly plastic 50 ml. bottle with a leak proof cap. Each bottle is identical with the traditional Robert Oster gold label on the side of the bottle and a simple white label printed for the cap showing the color (Monsoon Clouds), and text reading “Pen Chalet.com Exclusive.” There is no additional packaging, which keeps the ink’s costs down and avoids unnecessary waste.

How Much Do Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster Inks Cost?

Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster fountain pen inks are available at a very reasonable, mid-range price for the 50ml quantity. Look for the best prices at PenChalet.com.

How Did This Week’s Ink Fair in the 1-Dip Test?

We use the 1-dip test to see how far one dip can write on paper (dipping the pen into the ink only once). During our Monsoon Clouds ink review, the ink was able to write across the paper very easily on all three writing samples with lots of ink to spare. (Using only one dip per writing sample “S” “X” and scribble lines, see the image above). 

How Fast Does the Exclusive Monsoon Clouds Ink Dry?

During our ink review, Robert Oster Monsoon Clouds fountain pen ink showed a dry time of approximately 10-11 seconds with medium saturation. The dry time results are right at the top of the range we feel is appropriate for use as an everyday ink.

Does This Week’s Fountain Pen Ink Bleed Through?

We saw absolutely no bleeding during normal use on Rhodia dot pad paper. However, we did see some slight bleeding during the cotton swab test (but only at the wettest points).

Was There Any Feathering During the Exclusive Robert Oster Monsoon Clouds Ink Review?

We saw no feathering during normal use, but we did see some slight feathering during the water test. (Although it’s typical to see some feathering during the water test with non-waterproof inks).

How Does the Ink Stand Up to Water? 

Robert Oster Monsoon Clouds ink is not waterproof, but we like to put all our inks through a water test to see how well (or not) they withstand exposure to water. For the water test we let our ink sample dry for about 3 minutes before we run a wet cotton swab over the sample to observe the effect. Here are the results we saw during our Monsoon Clouds ink review water test:

• dark color smearing
• lines still very legible (with some slight distortion and line fading)

Does Robert Oster Monsoon Clouds Ink Have Good Shading Traits?

During the Monsoon Clouds ink review, we saw some possible shading traits with the right nib and penmanship, but this exclusive Robert Oster ink is mostly a consistent dark purple shade.

Final Conclusion on Robert Oster Exclusive Monsoon Clouds Ink:

This week’s ink is a reasonably priced ink for the 50ml bottle size. The nice, dark purple color is deep and majestic and dark (with some possible shading traits). Monsoon Clouds is made by a well-regarded and prolific Australian ink company, Robert Oster Inks. Robert Oster uses simple, effective packaging. This dark, dark purple ink came in right at the top of our dry time range we consider appropriate for everyday use (approx. 10-11 seconds). Monsoon Clouds is a recent addition to the Exclusive Special Edition collaboration ink series between Pen Chalet and Robert Oster. Happy writing from Down Under and Arizona!

Enter to Win This Week’s Ink, Next Week’s Ink & More

Look for the bottle of Exclusive Robert Oster Monsoon Clouds Ink used in this week’s ink review as one of the giveaway prizes in our next 15 on the 15th: Giveaway Day with Pen Chalet! Enter to Win now at PenChalet.com.