Thinking about picking up a small EDC Pen

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Bob6794

Joined
Apr 21, 2013
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Hi everyone I am looking for my first EDC pen. I have a tendency to have pens get knocked out of my pocket when I use the pocket clip. My khakki pants just seem to be prone to losing pens so I am looking for a smaller pen to rubber band to my "wallet" which is nothing more than my cash and credit cards rubber band together. I already do have my traditional knife there and it works quite well, now I am looking for a small pen to add to it.

I would preferably like to keep this cheap as I don't use pens very often or am sure carrying one will work for me, so lets try to cap it at around $20 and the cheaper the better as long as it's of decent quality. I'd prefer something that can be used to write comfortably with which negates a lot of the smaller pens sadly.

Ones I am looking at:
Hinderer Investigator aluminum $70, well over my budget but this will probably be the sole exception as I fell in love with the design of it though it is hitting the limit on how long of a pen I will take.
Fisher Bullet Space Pen with clip/X-Mark Bullet $15-20, just about the perfect size and shape I can't complain.

Zebra 301 compact, the Zebra 301 is one of my favorite pens but I keep hearing reports on how bad the compact holds onto the cap on the tail end of the pen when it's open and ready to write with so it's off my list of potential pens.

I really like the Investigator but I want to experiment with carrying a pen on a daily basis to see if it's practical for me to carry one first so if you have any ideas on other pens I should look at I love to hear your suggestion.
 
I got tired of losing relatively expensive pens so I looked to see if I could find something cheaper at Staples. I found a box of a dozen roller ball pens about the size of Fisher's Bullet pen for about $5. I have these little less-than-50 cent pens stashed everywhere.
 
I have an Inka pen that is really small. It is kind of a pain to screw it together to get a real pen, but for a quick note you can just pull off the cap.
 
Fischer bullet space pen.
I have carried one in my wallet for years, I'm a huge fan of the space pen inserts too, have them in all my EDC Pens
 
The aluminum Investigator pen is awesome. After years of trying cheaper inferior pens I finally understand why the Investigator is so popular. It's light, small, tough, precision perfection.
 
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Shann said:
I have an Inka pen that is really small. It is kind of a pain to screw it together to get a real pen, but for a quick note you can just pull off the cap.
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Clip one of these to your key ring and it will always be there when you need it.
 
Shann said:
I have an Inka pen that is really small. It is kind of a pain to screw it together to get a real pen, but for a quick note you can just pull off the cap.
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+1 on Nite Ize Inka pen. I carried one for awhile. It worked well. I got rid of it when I downsized my keychain.
 
I have a Hinderer Investigator Copper and the Nite Ize Inka. What I carry more in my pocket for work than either of those is a Cross Ion because it is cheap, quicker to deploy (1 handed) and writes better than the other two. They are discontinued but still available on ebay and perhaps other sources.
 
Check out the Lamy Pico. Small and very useful. Click it and it extends for easy writing. Bought one for my husband who never carried a pen and he loves it. Look around and it can be found for $30. In my opinion worth the extra $10 for a really useful pen.
 
I take a closer look at the Inka for some reason I mixed that one up with a different pen. And also the Lammy Pico as that looks interesting.

I think I burn more in gas than I pay for the pens if I try to hunt down the small cheap pens you mentioned Scott Free, plus for some reason I have bad luck when I get cheap pens for some reason. I can never seem to get any that can reliably write. I pass on the mini sharpie as I am worried about what happen if the cap comes loose and ink getting everywhere. Plus I am still in college so I have more use for an actual pen in case something happens to my other pens/pencils. I know for a fact that next Spring all my teachers will want everything in pen and possibly same thing for my main classes in Fall which will be a sad day as I have to retire my kuru toga as that pencil spoiled me and made writing somewhat enjoyable. So right now I pick up a new EDC pen than possibly a nice pen to pair up with my notebook to replace my kuru toga for primary use when the time comes.
 
Had a Fisher Space pen in my pocket every day for years. Use it twenty times a day and love it.

Lost the first few as they were chrome and slipped out of my pocket. The brass knurled ones seem to stay put :)

See if you can find a Parker Sonnet silver pen for best ... that is lovely to write with too
 
Rite in the Rain Black Bullet All Weather Pen. I just slip off the pocket clip and toss it. I just throw it in my pocket. Writes on wet surfaces, upside down, and from -30F to 250F. Never leaks. Have never heard of one leaking or blowing up in pocket. 3 3/4" closed and 5 3/8" open --- small when in your pocket but a regular sized pen when you write with it. You can find them for $15-$20.

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I think the Rite in the Rain Bullets are the Fisher Bullets just re-branded.

So far it looks like the Bullet is well loved and I will probably go that route. The Inka looks cool but after seeing what it took to assemble it to a full pen that killed any desire for me to own one. And I think I have pass on the Pico as it a bit too thick for my taste for how I want to carry this.
 
Bob6794 said:
I think the Rite in the Rain Bullets are the Fisher Bullets just re-branded.
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Yep, that's all it is. I've been carrying a Bullet for the past few months and it's an awesome little pen. I put a big dent in the cap after dropping it, but other than that, it's a super tough little pen.
 
Zebra makes some really good pens, and it's a bummer when you lose one it will not break the bank. Coincidentally. I will no longer buy pants with the slanted front pockets. They are absolute garbage for keeping things in the pocket. I've lost my pocket change, paper clips, pens, pencils, a knife has even fallen out of my pocket. No more.
 
RevDevil said:
Zebra makes some really good pens, and it's a bummer when you lose one it will not break the bank. Coincidentally. I will no longer buy pants with the slanted front pockets. They are absolute garbage for keeping things in the pocket. I've lost my pocket change, paper clips, pens, pencils, a knife has even fallen out of my pocket. No more.
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Yeah those slanted pockets are annoying in my khaki pants which causes all the problems you mentioned. Unfortunately with my build it's hard to find pants that fit properly so I can't be picky :(. If it wasn't for that problem I probably carry the Zebra 301 without a worry.
 
Fisher space bullet pen for sure! It's so small, I can comfortably wear it in my breast pocket, and it's writes in the rain, freezing weather and extends to full size during use. It was a jackpot for me, I've got one on me, one in the bag and one in the car and I haven't lost a single one in seven months.
 
The Tombow AirPress has supplanted the Fisher Bullet Space pen as my favorite EDC pen. At $10, it too writes at any angle and also smoother, and with less drag, and ink blobs than the Fisher Space Pen and at approx 1/2 the cost.

You can get em' at the excellent online pen shop...www.jetpens.com.
 
Bob6794 said:
Yeah those slanted pockets are annoying in my khaki pants which causes all the problems you mentioned. Unfortunately with my build it's hard to find pants that fit properly so I can't be picky :(. If it wasn't for that problem I probably carry the Zebra 301 without a worry.
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Dockers makes some pants that look like Khakis, but have the round pockets. They are an option, I too have trouble finding good pants that fit well, are comfortable and durable. My only beef with the Fisher pens is that they tend to blob ink out after a month or so. Maybe it's the 110 degree heat here, I'm not sure. I will say that it is highly annoying wiping the ink before writing every time, and if you forget then you have a nice smear. :thumbdn:
 
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