Noodler's Fox Red ink review

Ah, Noodler's Fox Red, an ink that I wanted to test for a very long time. Its turn has finally come. Being a red ink, I didn't have much use for it, except in my red fountain pen that I use at work. I use red mostly to underline stuff and make small notes so it takes a long time before I exhaust the pen's supply. As usual, I use yet another Pilot Varsity for my red inks.

I didn't buy a full bottle of Fox, but merely a sample. It's just as well, because this ink is expensive. What makes it so special though? Read on to find out.

Bottle
Fox Red is one of the few (and exclusive) inks that come in Noodler's dainty little 1oz (30ml) bottles. The bottle itself costs the same as a 3oz bottle, $13.50, which actually makes it 3 times more expensive than one of Noodler's regular inks, at $0.45 per milliliter. Nathan Tardiff, Noodler's creator and owner, opted for this solution to keep the ink relatively affordable.

But why is this ink so expensive? I tested another ink in this series, Hunter Green, but there's also La Reine Mauve, Luxury Blue, Periwinkle and Whiteness of the Whale. The simple answer is that the components which go into these inks are very expensive. I don't doubt that for a minute because Noodler's is known for its wide range of inexpensive inks but sometimes there are exceptions.

Color and saturation
Fox Red has a very... foxy color. Forgive the pun but it is rather deceiving. I wouldn't call it a pure red by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, it is warm, tending a bit towards orange. Overall it feels a bit vermilion if you ask me.

In the writing sample I compared it to Noodler's Nikita (of which I own a bottle). The two inks are very different, both in shade and in their properties. While Nikita is red-pink, Fox is red-orange.

Shading
Noodler's Fox Red doesn't have any shading. It is a flat color. Incidentally, the liquid is milky and rather opaque.

Feathering
I haven't noticed any feathering.

Bleedthrough
It ghosts strongly on cheap paper (but not on Rhodia) but it doesn't yet bleed through. Both sides of the paper remain usable. With the dip pen it bleeds copiously but then again, most inks do.

Flow and lubrication
Noodler's Fox Red flows well in the Pilot Varsity. I would easily give it a 6/10. On the other hand, it feels just a tiny bit dry. It's hard to describe exactly but to me it seems that the chalky nature of this ink has something to do with this. It still writes very well but it doesn't glide as well as, say, Bad Blue Heron that impressed me so much.

Drying time
Drying times are brisk on both Rhodia 80g and photocopy. While on Rhodia is requires just a little over 10 seconds, on photocopy it is dry within 5 seconds.

Smearing when dry
None.

Water resistance
I saved the best for last. I didn't breathe a word about this until now but Noodler's Fox is a water resistant red ink. While this may not seem very special, consider the fact that there aren't many waterproof red inks out there. In fact, there isn't another I can think of off the top of my head. This, alone, may be what makes Noodler's Fox so special, and may also provide an answer as to why it costs so much. As you can see from the sample, the water resistance is exemplary. But wait, there's more! Noodler's Fox is also forgery resistant, which means that you can use it to write important and/or official documents.

Conclusion
Taken separately, none of Noodler's Fox's features stands out. But together, it makes for a very compelling package. While it behaves well in most aspects, the most important feature is its water resistance. I don't know of another red ink that is also forgery resistant to boot. If you do, please drop me a line. If this is a definite requirement for your red ink, Noodler's Fox is a buy. If you can live without water resistance, there are other, much cheaper, inks out there. Then again, even if you buy it purely for its color, you can't go wrong with Noodler's Fox.

Following are two writing samples on photocopy and Rhodia 80g paper, respectively.