Noodler's Green ink review

Back to another green ink and this time it's Noodler's Green. In what has almost become a tradition these days, I'm reviewing a sample of this ink in my Pilot Varsity.

Bottle
A bottle of Noodler's Green will run you the usual $12.50 for 3oz (90ml) or $0.14 per milliliter. Cheap as rainwater... well, almost.

Color and saturation
Noodler's Green is well saturated and dark in color. It is very similar to Noodler's Green Marine, the other recently-reviewed green ink. Sometimes I wonder why Noodler's keeps producing such similar-looking inks. But then of course, Green Marine is much more water resistant. On my sample I've also compared it to Noodler's Gruene Cactus Eel, of which I own a bottle. You will notice that the Eel ink is lighter in color.

Shading
Though the ink is dark and it's harder to notice, Noodler's Green does have some shading. This is more obvious with a thicker nib.

Feathering
I haven't noticed any feathering.

Bleedthrough
As is the case with most dark inks, this one ghosts a little on cheap paper and may even bleed if applied liberally. With a dip pen or flex nib that's almost a given, but, I repeat, on cheap paper. There aren't such issues on something more decent like, for example, Rhodia or Clairefontaine.

Flow and lubrication
While in general it flows on the semi-wet side, I can't say I was very impressed with how well Noodler's Green flows on Rhodia paper where it felt dry. Even on photocopy the flow was sometimes erratic. When it flows, though, it feels quite smooth.

Drying time
Perhaps due to its rather dry flow, Noodler's Green dries quickly, around the 5-second mark on photocopy and in about 10 seconds on Rhodia.

Smearing when dry
None.

Water resistance
While its almost identical brother (sister?) Green Marine seems to have some hidden waterproof qualities, Noodler's Green is much more down to earth in that most of it washes off when exposed to water. However, all is seemingly not lost, as a light green component remains on the paper. I guess that you might be able to recover some of your precious manuscripts if it comes to that and you move fast enough.

Conclusion
Sometimes it's hard to come to a definite conclusion regarding an ink. Noodler's Green is one instance where I'm not very happy with how the ink performs but I can't call it terrible either. For someone who likes dark green, this ink might do the trick. On the other hand, having reviewed Noodler's Green Marine, I very much prefer that ink. The bottom line, and my recommendation, is to simply go with Noodler's Green Marine.

Here are the two samples on photocopy and Rhodia 90g, respectively.