Customer Reviews

LED Pen, the Pilot's Pen, LED Powered Ink Penlight Night Writer

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

My first impression is that this pen/led has avoided the pitfalls that have ruined similar products.

1. The led light is super bright and doesn't appear to rely on the ink cartridge to carry the electrical charge.
2. The ability to turn on and off the led light is independent from the pen.
3. The pen is retractable and the ink is easily replaceable.
4. It uses the widely available AAA battery - a few of which you probably have a few sitting around the house.
5. The metal clip is well made and surprisingly compact.
6. The footprint of the pen is also compact.

If you are looking for a pen/led combo, I highly recommend this one.

Okay, I'm gushing on this product. No I am in no way connected with the sales of this. You can check on my bio if you wish. I review products I am downright enthusiastic about. This pen is one I am downright nuts over. Why? I am a mobile executive-writer-idea person. The app for me is not connected to flying but writing various dimly lit environments. I coach many similarly minded people. This piece of equipment is worth crowing about.
1. It just plain works. In a day of under-performing when something comes along that meets a high felt need it is worth getting on the soap box and crowing. This one has me extending my credibility over.
2. It is bright but not blindingly bright. I use it in lots of environments that are dimly lit - it is 'Just right' as Golidlocks stated so well.
3. It feels great - writes well.
4. It comes with two refills (which is plenty of ink to last me for a while about enough ink - I'm probably in good shape with this thing unless I decide to write my next book by hand and entirely in dim lighting!)
5. It is sustainable. There are plenty of cool-looking pens out there under the 'fancy schmancy' heading. The catch however is the battery must be replaced sooner than later. All of those batteries I've been into are relatively costly and difficult to find. Over a couple of years of usage the previously 'Cool' pen becomes a pain in the tail. Before buying another light up pen / your next light up pen, ponder your inevitable trek to the mall to a 'Batteries R Us' kind of kiosk. Do you really want the pain and hassle of that rigamarole? It's not for me. I would rather write, get ideas than feed the pen's hunger for obscure batteries.

This pen takes AAA batteries you already have in abundance in your office or home!

If you are an idea person like me who gets thoughts at various times and places and must capture them whenever and however those ideas fly your way - this pen is the best one on the market. I use a laptop continually, but ideas are like manna - they come as provision for my concept jigsaw puzzle. I can't fire up my laptop when I'm watching a film, concert, listening to someone chat on a plane on a dimly lit flight. Such a pen is invaluable.
I have a couple of them. I've given a few away a couple. If it were slightly less in price I would show care to others by giving this away regularly I suspect.

This pilot's pen is fantastic: I'm an academic and I grade exams, proof-read my own writing or mark up books and articles wherever I go. This pen has a great feel, writes well, and most importantly, it provides that extra light when I need it - - on airplanes, in the car, at the doctor's office in the waiting room, and everywhere else. This pen beats any of the high-priced name brand pens I have on my desk. I also bought the pilot's pen as a gift for my 75-year old father who uses it every day for crossword puzzles and sudoku. He just loves that pen and he tells everyone proudly that he is using a pilot's pen. It's so hard to buy a gift for him and for not even $20 I found something that he uses every day and that makes his favorite pastime easier to see. Moreover, the battery and the ink last forever. Both my dad and I have been using the pen daily for over six months now and we're still on the original battery and ink. Two thumbs up for this great pen! Buy more than one!

As a pen this one is a little bit heavy feeling in my hand. I'm not sure for the reason for this, possibly it's the battery. I have other pens with lights in them and they don't have nearly as much "heft" in proportion to the size. This is not a flimsy thing, so far it's survived being dropped from about 3 - 5 feet onto a hardwood floor a few times, it's also been knocking around loose in my purse, and I don't see any signs of damage or cracking.

The light is bright, but not so bright as to be harsh.

I'm not sure if perhaps I just got a bad battery or if it's the brand of battery they include with the pen, but it went through the first battery alarmingly fast. After I got the pen I used it several times over the course of a few days and was very pleased. I turned it off and it sat on a counter for about three days before I had an occasion to use it again. When I went to turn on the light, it didn't come on.

I really like that it comes with a battery and an extra ink refill. But if the battery it comes with konks out on you quickly, it's only marginally helpful. I'm happy to let this slide though, because the battery it uses is a standard AAA. (I despise those button watch batteries for reasons I've never been able to articulate.) So it's easily replaced since I keep AAAs around the house as a rule. I've since replaced it with new battery and it doesn't seem to be draining the juice any faster then any other LED device.

I suppose there other light up pens for less out there but this one is really quite sturdy and well made. If you're a pilot, go camping a lot, or any sort of activity where you're out in the dark and in need of light and a pen; this is a good choice.

EDIT: 11/2010
I've now had this pen for two years. I use it intermitently and I have yet to replace the battery I mentioned above. I love this pen, the light comes in handy on camping trips and late night car trips (passengers use it of course).

I am an EMS Helicopter pilot and half of my time at work is during the night hours.

I purchased 20 of these pens for all med crews and pilots that work at my base as a Christmas present since we do a lot of writing in low light or no light conditions.

The light is very good and illuminates the Hobbs meter when I need to write down my Hobbs times and my aircraft data. It uses a AAA battery which is easy to find and keep on hand.

The problems we have had:

1) The pen itself skips a lot. You have to really work it to make it write and when it does write it skips. I had to really work it on a piece of paper to get the ink flowing, so the company needs to develope a pen stylus that lets the ink flow smoothly. I've tried several refill cartridges and they all do the same think. It writes better when used on a hard surface, however, much of our writing is done on medical tape that has been taped to our knees. The softness of this type writing surface probably keeps the hard tip from letting the ink flow. It would be nice if the pen could come with a soft tip or felt tip.

2.)The light is turned on by pushing down the button at the top of the pen. That's great, however, to get the ink pen down you have to twist the top of the pushdown button to extend the writing point. This is inconvenient when the nurses are in a hurry writing down vital signs, medications, etc. or in my case writing down distances, weights, clearances and engine data. I have started leaving the pen head rolled down while I'm on duty so that it will be ready to write when I push down the light button. The only problem with this is that the pen itself tends to dry out and you have to go through the break in again to get it to write.

3.) This pen is a little pricy for the quality of the ink cartridge.

With the exception of the above mentioned complaints, the pen is very handy to have on board. Each pen was delivered with a nice case and an additional refill. Some are blue while others are black. If you require black ink you should probably call the order in and specify black ink cartridges to the company. They were nice enough to send me about 40 extra refills, I guess because I bought so many.

While the LED lighting works great, and the pen is very functional, I would however, like to find a similar product with a lot better writing quality.

I agree with the other 5 star reviews; I would only add:

I keep this next to my bed attached to a pad of paper to write down things that come to my mind after I've gone to bed that I want to remember.

It is a little bighter than I would like but not a major issue. Maybe I will try to disconnect one of the LED's.

I had a few dollar lighted pen before. It did not last long and the button batteries cost a fortune.

I was surprised that this LED pen works as well as it does. I work at night and have found this to be a very easy way to make notations in our vehicles without using the overhead cabin lighting. Definitely a handy item. It comes with an extra battery and ink but I haven't found a need to use them y yet. Nice product.

The good: The Pilots Pen works and preforms fairly well. The light is balanced not too brite/dim and casts a consistent light that makes it possible to write in less than traditional conditions. The housing is thicker but I don't find it to be very much of an issue. The pen came with a slightly bent pocket clip not un-serviceable but enough to be a bummer after the cost; it is however sturdy. The clip sits in a groove that keeps it in place. I find it comfortable to write with and I like the very small extra heft.

O.K. I do have a few "issues" with The Pilots Pen so lets get to it. Number 1 on my list the click/plunger light switch should be for the pen the main function. Number 2 the rotating switch should be textured to facilitate one handed operation. The light should also be on the rotating switch so there is much less of a chance of accidental activation.

Bottom line a bit pricey for the product but over all I like it I just don't love it.

On the plus side, this is a fairly solid lighted pen. The LEDs are bright and work well, and it comes with an extra battery and four ink cartridge refills.

However, the design of the pen is odd, and that makes it difficult to use. In order to extend and retract the ballpoint, you have to twist a knob on the top of the pen. Except the knob doesn't look like a knob, and barely functions as one. No knurling or other grip to make it usable. As a result, you'll want to leave the ballpoint out, which means it will probably dry up quickly, or just forget about it and use this pen as a flashlight.

I'm keeping it because there doesn't seem to be a better option on Amazon, but that doesn't make this a good pen. I'll be replacing it as soon as I can find something better.

Light works really well, but the pen doesn't. Lasted about two days and now useless.