It is a difficult task to design a conventional quadrupole triplet as compact and simple as solenoids for high-current ion beam transport. In the design of a quadrupole triplet presented here, we installed three poles with the same orientation on a yoke and these were excited using two coils located between poles. This new design allows the easier fabrication of a compact quadrupole triplet compared to the conventional design. Simple equations for the preliminary design were obtained. A prototype with an aperture radius of 55 mm and a focusing power of 3.3 m(-1) for 50 keV proton beams was designed, fabricated, and tested. The measured field profile agreed well with the calculated profile. The length of the compact magnetic quadrupole triplet was comparable with a solenoid, and its electrical power consumption was about 40% that of a solenoid.