I wanted a collapsible pen I could carry in my pants pocket each day just in there with keys and stuff that would be short enough not to create break/poke situations, wouldn't leak or open in my pocket, would have no clip or button to snag on anything, but would still be comfortable enough to use like a regular pen. This does all that.
I don't even care about the "space" aspects of it, how you can write upside down with it. I just wanted it to be smooth and compact, yet expand into a full size pen and also be tough and nice looking. This is perfect.
Someone online warned me that the ink cartridges that come in these things are pressurized, and so they were always pushing out a little bit of ink, leading to regular blobs at the tip that had to be cleaned off. They recommended buying some Zebra G-301 gel refills and cutting off about a quarter inch off the end of the plastic tube so it would fit in this pen. So that's what I did and it works great - no ink problems at all, and the other features have otherwise come through.
The waitress forgets to bring a pen with the credit card bill, the doctor's office sign-in pen has cooties, you need to leave a note somewhere on the fly - it's not like these things happen a lot, but when they do it's nice to have a pen that is always with you whether you've got a shirt pocket to clip one to or not. Keys, wallet, phone, pen. I'm set.
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Had it for 3 years & 7 months as of writing
Let me preface this by saying it's with a heavy heart my pen just came apart :/ I wonder if they can offer a replacement or if I can use some type of glue/bonding agent.. & this is in part as for why I'm writing this review..I left my room to grab something in the kitchen and was confused because I had just taken the pen from a counter and put in on my desk, then came back to something similar to picture #1 (I had to obviously put the tip-end back in frame as it rolled off? I don't know what would've cause this since I've only ever dropped it once -literally- maybe it's because of the heat and twisting motion over time to 'open/unsheathe' the pen to the full length? I don't know.That said, The feel has ALWAYS been superb- the textured rings near the grip for your thumb/fingers is un-parralled to many pens I've used. It's like when you feel the surface of a smooth object versus a knurled textured one; sure subjectively there are preferences - I suppose for my purposes the grip feels useful as I've had moments writing whilst in the cold, or having somewhat sweaty or even dirty hands (using oils, DIY projects, dirt, etc.) and it certainly helps. It maintains your consistency as you don't have to compensate for any slippage or loss of control say by sweaty fingers lol.I have had a broad use-case experience with it for the past few years. This includes writing poetry, compiling/jotting down measurements, and on different writing materials like scratch pads (as seen in the photos), among small journal books, Moleskin Journals, yellow AMPads (they glide nicely on all but particularly on AMP writing paper).I've had success with the medium point but have sometimes swapped it to Zebra-gel catridges (only takes some sand paper and you can literally use whatever preferred point size, ballpoint, gels, etc. It's a mix of the best worlds. Your favorite pen & favorite smoothness/fineness). The idea is simply to get it to the right width to emulate that of the original ink cartridge & length so as to not apply pressure as it's loaded naturally and interacts with the spring. For the original ink cartridge I've had some wiggle but remedied this with a SMALL strip of painters tape. It eliminates wobble and you're good to go! You can do the same with other pens as well, but unironically with these pens the idea is to keep them & dispose the ink cartridge, not the pen itself (at least not intentionally), so 1 fix & you can keep on rocking & writing, is my point ;)I have a rubber band around the top of the pen so as to keep it from rolling right out of my pockets or rolling off any desk. It's a small hack, for those interested :)
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Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2023
Fits nicely in my everyday carry pocket organizer! Love having it on me. The first several days I forgot I had a pen in my pocket because it's not something you're used to or think about. Now that I'm used to it, I can get it in and out of my pocket organizer quickly and have formed a habit of using it all the time. I did get the fine point refill. The medium it came with was a bit too "loose" flowing for me. I need to feel like I'm scratching the paper more than the medium allowed me too. Overall, great buy and great pen.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2017
Perhaps my rating on this pen is skewed due to having grown up using these little guys. It's been a while since I'd lost mine (years or so), so I was pleasantly surprised to be reminded of its quality. I'm happy to know they've maintained its quality as well.
I've never owned a true luxury pen, but as many other have stated, this is the perfect pen of high quality to carry around for use at short notice. It's tiny size is great, even better that it becomes the size of a regular pen with the cap placed on the other end while writing.
The feeling is substantial, and I love the texture. I got the brushed chrome, which I recommended getting, for any gloss finish will scratch quickly.
The price is a little steep, but just high enough to still be justified.
I've never owned a true luxury pen, but as many other have stated, this is the perfect pen of high quality to carry around for use at short notice. It's tiny size is great, even better that it becomes the size of a regular pen with the cap placed on the other end while writing.
The feeling is substantial, and I love the texture. I got the brushed chrome, which I recommended getting, for any gloss finish will scratch quickly.
The price is a little steep, but just high enough to still be justified.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2018
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Steven TREWIN
Great pens. I like the feel and texture of this model.
Reviewed in Australia on June 25, 2020
