Benchmade 1100 Pen Series

The 1100 is the first pen produced by Benchmade a company that is famous for its cutting instruments. The 1100 is a tactical metal pen intended to double as a writing intrument and self defense tool.

The pen is made of anodized aluminum in charcoal black or a combination of black and blue. The finish is non-reflective which is good for tactical applications. The writing tip is in one and and a pointed kubaton style is at the other. The pen closes with a charcoal black cap that can be used to cover either the writing tip or the kubaton end when you are writing. In the cap there is a stainless steel pocket clip that can be removed in case of need.

The pen writes using a fisher space pen refill, the ink is pressurized so it can write upside down, under water, over greasy surfaces, at high altitudes, etc. The grip is very confortable and the pen is heavy but well balanced for writing. We have the feeling that it will be a little too heavy for very long sessions of writing but who writes with a tactical pen for hours?. With the cap closed the kubaton has a good size, probably a little small for very big hands but perfectly grippable for normal hands. The tip is very very pointed and can certainly produce massive damage with only small force applied. The appeareance of the pen is intimidating, that is good for self-defense but is certainly a problem for airports and other locations with strong security measures, this pen looks as something that can be confiscated.

The cap fits very well with an o-ring to seal the tip completely, it adjusts well to both the writing end or the kubaton end. The pocket clip is strong and has a good size, it maybe too strong for a shirt pocket but is very safe for a pants pocket.

The 1100 is an expensive pen to be made in aluminum having a price similar to Titanium made pens or higher-end instruments. We have the feeling that it is an excellent combination of a pen and kubaton but it is not very discrete has a strong risk of confiscation and it is too expensive for what it is and what it does.

You can read more and order for $120 from Benchmade.

Pilot Petit1 Mini Fountain Pen

The Petit1 is a mini version of a fountain pen. It is as small as a cross ion and about 1cm in diameter.

The pen has a stainless steel system and writes very well without smudges, it is one of those modern pens that makes hard to know if you are using a fountain pen or a gel roller. The nib is fine and the ink flows smoothly without getting dry.

The pen uses ink refills, they can be refilled if you want or you can't get a replacement with your favourite ink using a syringe. The body is nice to the hand and with the cap at the back the size is very good for writing. The cap clip is a little fragile so don't use it for a pocket.

For its price this is an excellent EDC writing tool if you like fountain pens, it is very affordable, writes very well and it's amazingly small.

You can order from JetPens in several different colors for $4.50. Make sure to get some refills too (3 for $2).

Wagner Swisspen

The Swisspen combines a multi-tool and a pen, it can be seen as a Victorinox classic mounted on top of a pen with the addition of a LED flashlight.

The tools included are scissors, letter opener and the file, the section of the pen with the tools can be detached to help using the scissors. The cross logo can be pressed to activiate a small led flashlight that can run for about 10 hours using a coin cell battery.

The pen itself uses a twist mechanism to hide the writing tip and the ink cartridge is pressurized meaning the pen will write in difficult scenarios such as upside down or over greasy paper. We found the writing fine without smears the trace is thick and clear and the ink doesn't get dry if you don't use it for some weeks.

The weight is balanced to make writing pleasant even having some tools at the pen top, as a result the pen is quite heavy and might be used as a kubaton by trained hands. The tools work well as expected but the pen is sometimes a very strange grip so you are not as confortable using the file or the scissors as you would be with a SAK.

We found this a combo that priorizes the pen over the multitools so it is a good gift for people that want a pen and would like some extra tools handy in case of need.

You can read more and check different models from Wagner's website, or order for about $40 from knifecenter.

Moleskine Pocket Notebooks

Moleskine notebooks are famous by the quality of its construction and its paper, they have been used for years in Europe by Journalists, travelers and writers to take notes on the go.

The pocket moleskine is 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9x14 cm) and weights 5oz, each one is 1/2 inch thick (1.3cm) and has 192 pages. There are several versions including ruled, squared, plain, music paper, sketching paper, storyboard, travel info, address book and japanese book. The ruled, squared and plain versions are the most popular because they can be used for all kinds of notes.

The notebooks open completely and the sheets will not fall, the paper offers excellent writing quality, fountain pens or alcohol based markers may leave some traces. The journalist version flips at the top instead than on the sides and also comes with many different paper types, can also be good for detectives. The last 24 pages are deattacheable.

With 192 pages per notebook a single Moleskine notebook can be used to organize your activities and your on-the-go notes. In the modern world of cellphones and PDAs it is still a good idea to have a notepad that can be quickly used for notes without needing batteries and the moleskines resurrect the pleasure of writing, it is up to each individual to create their system of notes and symbols and there are plenty of ideas on the web to research.

An excellent quality notebook for those that still love to write.

You can read more and order for about $10 from moleskin-us.

Pilot's Pen

This is a pen with a green led tip created for Pilots and other professionals that may need to write at night without losing adaptation to darkness.

The light is activated twisting the tailcap, just the basic on-off-on-off without brightness levels. Without the cap the tip of the light can be used to see where you are writing, the green light is very dim and won't affect dark adapted eyes.

Green is a good color since the human eyes will see many shades under green light and if you need to see a map you won't have a problem with red marked roads or other symbols. With the cap attached there is a small lens in the cap so you can use the pen as a small flashlight, the light is very dim and will be useful to check out a map, a list of instructions, flight plan etc.

A good pen with a good selection of color and brightness for night notes. You can get it for $7 from Pilot Essentials.

Paper Cartridge Pen

This is an interesting novelty pen, it works as a normal pen with the adition of having a retractable scroll of paper inside the cap.

The pen uses a cartrdige of paper 2 inches wide and 24 inches long, you can write with the pen in the scroll of paper and then either cut it or retract it inside the cap.
The top of the cap rotates to scroll or unscroll the paper inside.

The pen is very useful for shopping lists, taking quick notes in a hurry, phone numbers, email addresses or things you need to remember like an improvised to-do list. You only need the pen to have both a writing tool and some paper.

The pen is made of brass and chrome parts with a laquered finish, it weights about 2 oz and feels solid in the hand.

The pen comes with two refills and black ink. You can order for $20 from this site.

Fisher Space Pen Trekker

The Trekker is a new model from Fisher Space Pens. As in every Fisher model the trekker uses a pressurized ink cartridge that will write in many circunstances that are impossible for other pens like being upside down, under water, over a greasy surface, etc.

The pen itself is a small keychain pen. The body is made of aluminium with a rubbery tip to improve the grip we liked the texture and pattern of the rubber it helps grip the small pen well enough to write and is confortable in case you need to use the pen for a long time.

The cap has a splitring, so you can have the Trekker in your keychain and remove the writing part while leaving the cap in the keychain, you use the pen and then insert it back in the cap.

The attachment of the body to the cap seems to be strong but it will not resist and accidental strong pull so there is a little risk of losing the pen. It comes with a quick-break lanyard and a simple carabiner as accesories.

The Trekker is a good keychain pen, a good choice if you like Fisher Space Pens and need something for your keychain.

The Trekker can be ordered from Amazon for $25 you can read more in Fisher's website.

Fred Perrin Concepts Defensive Pen

This is a pen created by Knife maker Fred perrin to double as a defensive weapon.

When the pen is closed the metal body can be inmediately used as a kubaton or impact device, this is also valid for other pens but this one is built and designed not to break in pieces if you use it as a impact tool. The pen weights 25 grams if that is important to you.

If you open the pen removing the cap you will see that the cap has a very acute angle of contact with the body, this acute angle can be used as a cutting weapon and might really produce a lot of damage, this is affectionly known as a DNA sampler.

When you are not trying to save yourself from a fight with the bad guys you can use the pen to write notes, it writes well and it uses standard ink cartridges that are easy to get for refills.

The pocket clip is short but strong, not good for a jeans pocket but certainly fine for a shirt pocket or a notepad.

You can get it for $20 from this site.

Zebra Penpod

The PenPod is a collapsible keychain pen by Zebra. Extended the pen is 3 1/2'' long. When you want to close it you push the pen inside the cap collapsing it via a spring inside and then twist to secure it inside the cap. Once collapsed the pen is 3'' long.

The spring and twist mechanism seems to be solid. The pen has a small hole for a splitring in the cap. The cap does not fit the end of the pen so the idea is to leave the cap on your keychain when using it.

The length of the extended pen is fine to write for me and the ink runs well but there is a lot of subjective factors so you probably need to try it to judge. The pen is nice to hold and the best thing is that it is very easy to remove and put in the cap so it is very handy when you need something to write in a hurry. It doesn't add a lot of weight to your keychain either. The only drawback is that the difference between the collapsed and extended pen is not a lot and you still have to push and twist to store it, only for half an inch.

You can order the PenPod from JetPens.com for $3.50

Rite in the Rain Pocket Notebook Kits

Rite in the rain products are excellent for outdoor enthusiasts, camping and backpacking as a provider of writing notepads that can be used without getting damaged by the weather.

This kit features a pocket notebook, a pen and a cordura nylon cover, it can be carried in your pocket or in a backpack and will not get damaged by daily use, rain, humidity or sunlight.

The notebook is the go-anywhere notebook it has a polydura cover and will be able to write even under water. The notebook has 50 sheets for a total of 100 pages, it does feel a little waxy when writing and it is not recommended for gel ink pens but it will hold very well if used with ballpoint pens. This kit came with a 4'' x 6'' notebook but other sizes are available.

The pen is a pressurized ink black metal body pen that will write in all weather conditions, even under water or upside down. It has been tested in very low and very high temperatures and kept writing without any problems.

The cover is a cordura nylong strong cover with a zipper closure and slots for four writing utensils.You can keep the zipper open if you are using the notebook and close it to prevent losing your pens when you store it. This kit is available in green, yellow or tan colors and you can choose different sizes and different kinds of notebook refills. Getting soem notebook refills is definitively a good idea.

You can read more and order for $22.95EA from Rite in the Rain's website.

Fisher Bullet Pen

The "bullet" is proably the most well known model of the Fisher space pen family. This small pen is just 3.75'' closed and 5.25'' open, and comes with a Fisher PR4 refill. As widely known the fisher refills are pressurized meaning the pen will be able to write upside down, under water, in greasy paper and many other adverse conditions like for example without gravity. The pressure makes the ink flow regardless of the writing surface or the conditions.

The bullet can be ordered optionally with a pocket clip, you may want to secure the pocket clip with some drops of super glue because it has a tendency to fall and that can be a problem. The shape of the pen is very confortable for writing. If you are used to long heavy pens this may not be your best choice.

The bullet can be get from $10 to $30 or more depending on several options for the finish and materials, there are silver models, brass models, matte models, laquered in different colors, titanium coated models and many special editions. You can check options in the Fisher official website or order some different models from Penwa.

Metal Pen

A long time ago artists used to use silver pointed pencils to create some beautiful drawings. This pen while not using silver is based on the same principle.

The Pen is made of stainless steel with a solid metal compound tip, there is no ball, no ink, nothing just plain metal at the tip. When writing the pressure of the pen over the paper will leave microscopic traces of the metal on the paper producing the writing. Since there is no ink the pen will never dry and the tip will write for a very long time before the metal is consumed. You can leave the pen for years get it back and it will work in the same way it works today.

The metal alloy employed for the tip writes on almost any paper surface and produces a good writing as long as you remember this pen is not for writing the story of your life but more a backup or a novelty pen. The absence of ink makes the pen an all-weather and conditions instrument and the solid stainless steel body works well as a kubotan.

You can read more and order for $30 from grand illusions. Another source for about $25 here.

12 in 1 Pen Tool

This is a pen-sized multi-tool, it's basically a pen that carries inside several accesories. It includes a short blade and a long blade x-acto style. A hole punch, phillips screwdriver, a file, a flat screwdriver, scraper, tweezers, a small fork,a pen,a saw and a wire-stripper / staple-remover.

The tools are as expected not the best in each category but they can be used to do the job, the blades are very useful for precision cutting and small cutting jobs. The process to switch from one tool to another takes about 20 to 40 seconds, the biggest problem being the storage of all the small accessories that can get lost in the process.

It is a nice gift and as the size this tool is it will probably be an excellent addition to many EDC kits, think about all the pen holders in clothing or bags that you are not using. The tools work great for hobbyists, specially when you frequently deal with micro repair jobs and small things.

You can get it from Duluth Trading for $17.50

Fisher Telescoping Pen

This is a telescoping model from Fisher Space Pen, it uses a Fisher universal pressurized refill so it can write under water, upside down, on greasy surfaces and in very cold climates without problems.

This telescoping model goes from 3.90'' closed to 4.75'' when open to offer a longer surface for holding it when writing. To open and close it you just push and pull. When the pen is collapsed the writing tip will be hidden and appears when you extend it so you can only write in the extended configuration and there is no cap.

The pen has a very nice looking and is confortable for writing but it doesn't have a pocket clip or a hole for a splitring so the carrying options are limited.

You can order it for $27 from Penwa.

Zebra Telescoping Pen

The zebra telescoping pen is a small and affordable pen that goes from about 5cm to 8cm when extended. To extend and collapse the pen you just push or pull, when expanded the pen is ready to write when collapsed the tip of the pen is covered so you can't write with the collapsed version.

The pen is made in aluminium and uses common refills, it is compatible with Fisher Space Pen Universal refills (not the ones for the Fisher Bullet Pen).

This pen has a pocket clip of good quality to clip the pen to pockets, wallets or a notepad, it does not have a small hole or attachment point for a splitring or a lanyard so it is not suitable for a keychain or neck carry. It writes fine with the normal refill and that can be improved changing to a Fisher refill as mentioned. The grip is very good and the pen is really nice to carry and use.

Retailing for less then $5 in most supply stores and supermarkets the Zebra Telescoping Pen is a small and affordable pen for EDC carry. You can read more in Zebra's website.

Cross Ion

The "Ion" is a small pen from Cross that can be carried in a keychain or a neck lanyard if needed. Some of the models actually include the lanyard.

The Ion is a gel ink pen, this means the writing will be dark, smooth (very smooth) and will flow easily. It writes really well but the gel ink takes some time to dry so you have to avoid smears being careful not to run your hand over your writing.

The pen is opened pulling the ends and closed snapping the ends it extends just an inch or so. The grip is very nice and the style is very suitable for pocket carry since it won't leak and you can't get stabbed because the pen is quite stubby. It's a thick and short pen so you will have to check it you like it for writing, not everybody likes the same style of pens and grips.

You can get it in several different colors and styles and with several different ink colors from almost any office supplies store, you can read more about it in Cross website.

Tombow Object XL

The Object XL is a telescoping pen by Tombow. The pen measures 4'' when closed and 5'' when opened the mechanism is a simple push to close/pull to open.

The ObjectXL uses a pressurized ink refill, this mean that as the Fisher space pen products, the Tombow can write upside down, in wet surfaces, waxy paper, etc. There are two color options, black as in the picture or silver both in metal finish. The metal finish will definitively wear down if you use it in your pockets or keychain. There is no pocket clip but you have a hole for a lanyard or splitring, to my taste the pen is too big for a keychain so I would have liked a clip.

The retail price is $24 you can get it for Penwa.com or other dealers.

Notesaf tablet holder

The notesaf is a practical holder for your notepad, It can be used with regular notepad refills or with special write in the rain refills. The write in the rain refills are specially useful for edc since they will resist accidental spills, rain, humidity and other common accidents.

The only drawback of the write in the rain refills is that the pages can get sticky after being for a long time in a pocket.

It has a velcro closure snap and 3 front pockets, two small for pens or pencils and one larger that can carry cards or other small flat items, for example a card-sized multi-tool or a quick reference card for something.

The material is very resistant this can ride in your pocket for years before showing any signs of degradation. A PDA without batteries :-). They cost just $8 and you can get them from this site.

Rick Hinderer's Titanium Kubaton Pen

Rick Hinderer is a very well known artist that makes beautiful knives and other objects. One of his greatest products is the modular kubaton, made of Titanium the kubaton is basically a hollow body where you can attach different end caps.

One of the end caps that can be added is a pen cap, this makes the kubaton an everyday Titanium pen. The pen accesory uses a fisher space pen universal refill (not the ones for bullet pens) and comes with a threaded cap and a threaded end to screw the cap when you are using the pen.

There are two ways to purchase this; one is to buy the body ($40), and then the pen accesory ($175) for a total of $215 or you can buy a deluxe set for $295 that will include a pocket clip, the body, the pen and two optional end caps from your choice inside a pelican 1010 case. This can appear to be expensive but is the price to pay to get a top quality custom made titanium pen that can also be used as a kubaton and that is modular and can be combined with different ends and accesories.

Rick makes this kubatons and pens in different finishes, the one in the picture is the "strider" finish but there are more. To purchase or browse different models you can visit Rick Hinderer's website.

PicoPen by TEC accesories

The PicoPen is a really small keychain pen. The cap with the small split ring is magnetic and that is what holds the pen inside the cap, no pressure or threading.

The pen comes in a very nice mettalic box with a nice set of accesories: a claw clip and a twisty keyring. The pen writes well and the small size and design is great for a keychain.

The magnetic cap is not a problem for credit cards or thumbdrives because the magnet is not very strong but can be used to attach the pen to some mettalic surfaces if you want.
You can get it for $20 from TEC website.