Here is another great project that is going strong on Kickstarter. It is "The Ultimate Clicky Pen Project" which is a pretty descriptive name. This pen is from the same people that brought you the Tuffwriter line of tactical pens which I am a big fan of, here is our review of the Tuffwriter Frontline Tactical Pen. Lucky for me, Jack from Tuffwriter and the designer of this pen was kind enough to send over one of two of the prototypes for me to try out…so here it is for you to get a better look at as well.
You can find all of the details about the stainless steel and aluminum construction of this pen on the official Kickstarter page which I linked to in the first paragraph there, but I can also cut to the chase for you. If you don't know anything about different grades of metals (like myself) I can tell you that having this pen in my hand tells me that all of the technical mumbo-jumbo essentially means that this is would it would feel like to strap a fisher space pen cartridge to the cannon of a tank. I'm pretty sure that you could drop this pen off the top of the Grand Canyon and it would still not break. "Solid" is the best word to describe this pen, yet I feel that is still a bit of an understatement.
Another amazing aspect of this pen is the plunger. Visually I love the clean smooth lines and almost seamless separation of where the plunger disappears into the top of the pen. The real amazing part though is how smoothly the plunger depresses. The first time I pressed it down I thought that I had either broken it, or that there was no spring in there because of how smoothly and effortlessly the action was.
After feeling how smooth the plunger was, I couldn't resist the urge to take it a part to get a better look at what was going on inside there to make it so smooth. I'm by no means an engineer, but you can see that the inside of the plunger clearly had some thought put into it, and just like the rest of the pen, it is all metal and very solid. This is definitely a pen that will last a lifetime, maybe several.
At 6″ and 1.9 ounces, the Ultimate Clicky Pen is certainly a meaty and substantial writing instrument, but I will say that it was not overwhelming in my average size hands. It also has a pretty nice balance to it, which made for a comfortable and non-tiring session of writing. The above picture shows that Front Line Tactical pen from Tuffwriter as compared to the Ultimate Clicky pen for some perspective on the size. When it comes to the writing quality, it is fantastic, which is what everyone has come to expect from the Fisher Space Pen refill …check that link for visuals of a writing sample.
Overall I'd say that the The Ultimate Clicky Pen is a very unique and high quality pen that relies on one of the most durable and reliable ink refills around. If you want a no-nonsense pen that will last forever, this is a great option for you to explore. It will also give you the opportunity to own an awesome pen that I'm willing to bet 99% of your co-workers and peers will never have…there is something to be said for standing out and this pen is just the tool for you to do that with. One small side note is that they did clarify for me that this is a prototype so there are some minor details that rae being worked on, but all for the better. Big thanks to Jack for sending this sample over, sadly I'll be sending it back tomorrow though.
