Staedtler Triplus Moble Office

This one is a bit of an odd tale. I was on the JetPens forum when I came across a post by mackemsam, a gentleman from across the pond. I saw in his signature that he had a blog called Future; Nostalgic. So I followed the link to his blog and read a few things. There I learned about number one cat who had perished recently. He was an old cat, which hit home as we have an old cat who is sickly and probably won't live another year. So right off I had a connection with Sam, the owner of Future:Nostalgic. So I signed up to follow Sam's updates. Turns out I was the first one to sign up. I thought that was neat but no real big deal. Little was I to know what that would lead too.

I received a PM on the forum from Sam thanking me for following his blog. He also wanted to send me something to review if I would mention his blog, Future Nostalgic, in the review. I was both flattered and intrigued! Gifts from strangers from across the pond! He wouldn't tell me what it was which peaked my interest all the more! How could I refuse? So in a few days a package arrived from England. In the package were 2 gifts. One was an English mouse, a gift for Spencer, our aging cat. The second was the Staedtler Triplus Mobile Office featured here.

When I saw the TMO I was excited as I have a set of the Triplus Finelines in 0.3 mm and I like them very much! So I was very interested in doing a review of the product.


The entire set weighs in at 63.6 grams. The case weighs 24.6 grams and measures 168,3 mm long by 46 mm wide. Just the right size to fit into a jacket pocket. The case also doubles as a stand for convenient access to the four instruments inside while working. A very clever idea by the folks at Staedtler.

The contents of the Mobile Office are a Triplus Fineliner 0.3 mm porous point pen, with black ink. A Tripuls Ball(point pen) in medium point with blue ink. A Triplus Micro 0.5 mm pencil with a hide away conical point. And lastly a Triplus Textsurfer fine point highlighter in fluorescent yellow.

The Fineliner is 161.9 mm long, 8.8 mm across the flat to the apex of the triangle, and weighs 7.4 grams. The Ballpoint pen is 161.9 mm long, 8.9 mm across the flat to the apex,and weighs 11.8 grams. The 0.5 mm Micro Pencil is 161.9 mm long, 8.8 mm across the flat to the apex and weighs 12.7 grams and the Textsufer (highlighter) is 161.9 mm long, 8.8 mm across the flat to the apex and weighs 7.1 grams.


The Triplus Fineliner is a porous point pen with a 0.3 mm tip which to me is perfect for writing. The triangular shape makes it easy to hold. The ink is very dark and dries in an instant so there is no smudging. I like the triangular shape of the pen. It helps not only in griping the pen but helps keep the pen in the correct orientation. The lack of a textured or rubber grip does not affect my ability to hold onto the pen.

The ballpoint pen is touted as a medium but to me it produces a thinner line than 0.7 mm. The ink in this case is blue and is fast drying so again no smudging.

Staedtler has this to say about the ink in the ball point pen: "STAEDTLER's ballpoint pens with indelible ink corresponding to ISO 12757-2 are lightfast, waterproof, chemical and solvent-resistant, smudgeproof and non-erasable. " I can't test all of these qualities in a very short time, so I'll just have to take their word for it. I did find that the pen wrote very smoothly and the ink does not smudge. The body is rubberized, something I find nice. It helps a great deal in holding onto the pen.

The stud on the back of the pen is cylindrical and has a groove around the base. The groove matches the lip on the cap. However when the cap is posted it wobbles! Unless the cap's pocket clip is resting on an apex. Then the cap rests nicely.

The refill is accessed via the cylindrical stud on the back of the pen. Just unscrew the stud and pull the refill out. The reverse is necessary to replace the refill. Just push it into the inside of the stud, insert it into the pen and screw the stud tight.

Here's a little something extra. If you can not find a refill for the ballpoint pen, the refill for the Pentel RSVP fits it perfectly!


The Micro 0.5mm pencil is a writers pencil, not a drafting pencil. It has a conical hide away sleeve that projects out with the first press of the push button. To retract the lead and point all one does is press the button and while holding it, push the lead and point back into the cone sleeve. This makes it a safer pencil to carry around than most mechanical pencils.

The pencil is a pleasure to wright with the triangular shape lending it self to helping keep the lead sharp. Simply rotate the pencil 120 degrees, one rotation of the triangle, and continue writing. This is not unlike the principle behind the Kuru Toga pencil. The eraser twists up from the push button and is actually large enough to erase medium areas of text easily. The pencil separates at the plastic spring to reveal the lead reservoir. The lead reservoir is large enough to hold about 10 pieces of lead easily.


The last item in the case is the "Textsufer" as Staedtler calls the highlighter. It has a tapered finepoint so that you can high light with a single cross through by using the side of the tip you can cover the entire text.


All three writing instruments left a line between 0.3 mm and 0.4 mm wide. The Fineliner ink proved not to be waterproof and the ink bled through 3 additional sheets of paper when held on the top sheet for 10 seconds using normal writing pressure. The ballpoint pen ink was a different story. It seemed to live up to the hype about it. The ink is free flowing and the pen writes smoothly, almost effortlessly. The pencil works flawlessly as well. The first click pushes out the conical lead sleeve and a second click produces enough lead to write with. While writing the lead can be kept sharp by rotating the pencil 120 degrees, 1/3 the pencils diameter, every now and again.

Last words: The quality of the product is what I have come to expect from the Geman company, having aquired several Steadtler products over the years. All in all the Staedtler Tripuls Moble Office is a unique and handy office tool for the busy business person on the go as well as the less mobile of us who just like to have the most useful office tools handy in one spot. I think just about anyone from the casual letter writer to the business professional will find the Staedtler Triplus Mobile Office well worth the cost.


Rudy, the English mouse.