- Joined
- Jan 16, 2005
- Messages
- 2,938
At this point im rarely motivated to do a review on much of anything, because there are so many better reviews out there. however when researching the surefire pen there was really only one good review i could find and that was posted by a fellow forumite on his personal site: http://www.good-kit.com/surefire-ewp-o1-the-do-everything-pen/
however i was so impressed with this product that im going to share my initial thoughts on it. so here goes:
Background:
ive always been a collector of various things and when i was much younger (about 12-15) one of those things was pens. When i discovered the fisher space pen however i kinda petered out and stuck with it. Then i joined the army, the space pen went with me and served me well when paired with write in the rain notepads.
the thing is that despite my love of writing instruments i have terrible handwriting. So while i can effectively write in any condition with a space pen, that doesnt mean its legible.
Lately my urban carry is a moleskin with a v-5 rollerball disposable pen in x-tra fine, find that the thin lines left by fine tips help to make my handwritting more legible. the problem is i like to carry in my back pocket and that destroys both notebooks and pens. moleskin solved the notebook problem for me with the idea of flexible covered notebooks, however pens kept breaking or bending or getting lost. Enter the SF EWP-01.
i found one online for about 100 dollars shipped and pounced, to some (my fiance included who is still screeching at me about it as i type this) 100 dollars may seem steep for a pen, but considering that for even an entry level pen from mont blanc or many other prestigious manufacturers its going to run you at least 3 times as much, its really not bad. also how many times a day do i use a pen versus on of my 300 dollar edc knives.
actual review portion:
Appearance and grip: the pen is handsome in black, and other than the pocketclip devoid of logos. USA is stamped on the back under the glass breaker (i can never complain about Americana as long as it isnt gaudy). the top half is circular and segmented giving you a nice gripping surface to rotate the pen tip out of the capless design. the lower half is vaguely trinagular in cross section. it falls naturally into writing position when you hold it, the triangular idea has been around a long time in pens for the simple reason that it is very ergonomic, and prvides a good grip and solid control of the pen tip. every edge is well rounded and nothing could provide any discomfort in hand or in pocket. all in all a good looking and comfortable pen.
Function: The pen extentends the tip with about a 2/3 twist. its completley unscrews with about 2 1/2 twists. this makes it no chore to get the pen ready to write and changeing ink cartridges is a breeze. speaking of changeing ink cartridges the most interesting feature of the surefire pen is its ability to utilize almost any ink cartridge. a screw in the top section allows you to change the length of the cartridge area thus allowing for flexibility in cartridge options. put bluntly this kicks a$$. the ability to field resupply most anywhere is just amazing. In a few your i plan on doing some traveling abroad and this will be a great boon to that endeavor. i chose to use a fine tipped mont blanc cartridge. mont blanc is renowned for their writing instruments and the heart of that is their cartridges. the pocket clip is nice and secure in a pair of jeans or 5-11 slacks. i almost never wear dress clothes so i didn't feel the need to test it out (that would be more an opportunity for my waterman anyway).
Tacticool stuff: I have fundamental issues with the idea of the tactical pen. there is always going to be a better weapon around even if its just a roll of quarters or lock in a sock. I haven't stabbed anything with it nor will i ever, its silly. however its solid enough that i would not want to be jabbed with it and its better than nothing. the glass breaker is a neat feature that kinda makes one wonder. according to some it is far from the best glass breaker on the the market however i believe if your highly motivated aka in a sinking car you could probably break a window with it in just a few blows. now on to what i think is actually tacticool about it. the fact that there is no cap to loose is great. all to many of these pens that are marketed towards tactical use have pen caps. as a veteran the first thing i think of when i think about the military is crawling on my belly or doing something equally miserable such as climbing a mountain. your going to lose and break things. particularly pens. many soldiers in forward areas have a tell-tale black spot at the corner of one of their pockets from a pen explosion because a cap fell off and the nib got removed, or the pen just got crushed. the surefire pen does not suffer these drawbacks because there is now cap to lose and short of industrial machinery whatever broke it probably killed me first. add to that the wide pocket clip for retention and the ability to loop it through molle gear (which the clip seems designed specifically for, the bend in the material that causes the contact with the pen bods and subsequent friction seens to be spaced at just the right space to overpass most molle webbing by a very small margin thus locking it in place i doubt this is coincidental) and the ability to utilize the fisher space pen cartridges for inclement weather and you have a true tacticool writing instrument.
Overview/ summary for the lazy: All in all i think surefire hit it out of the park with this one, many strengths and few things i would change, if your stradlling the fence on this one or merely thinking of picking up a fine writing instrumetn for edc that will last through years of service then i highly reccomend it. i cant wait to do a review in a few years, but seeing as how i have surefire flashlights that are going strong after five years of military use includeing deployment to combat areas and army schools i believe im safe in my assumption that it will still be around and kicking.
What i would change: the only things i would change would be
1) replacing the steel glass breaker with a hardened ceramic one that would be more effective. if they are going to have it as a feature they might as well make sure it lives up to the surefire legacy.
2) a titanium pocket clip with exactly the same dimensions would be great. Ive broken a few steel pocket clips but never a ti one.
both of these upgrades would most likely increase the cost by about 15 dollars tops and i think it would be money well spent.
thank you for reading this quickie review. if you have any questions feel free to post, or if you like the review you cna just tell me that too
and of course HAPPY NEW YEAR
however i was so impressed with this product that im going to share my initial thoughts on it. so here goes:
Background:
ive always been a collector of various things and when i was much younger (about 12-15) one of those things was pens. When i discovered the fisher space pen however i kinda petered out and stuck with it. Then i joined the army, the space pen went with me and served me well when paired with write in the rain notepads.
the thing is that despite my love of writing instruments i have terrible handwriting. So while i can effectively write in any condition with a space pen, that doesnt mean its legible.
Lately my urban carry is a moleskin with a v-5 rollerball disposable pen in x-tra fine, find that the thin lines left by fine tips help to make my handwritting more legible. the problem is i like to carry in my back pocket and that destroys both notebooks and pens. moleskin solved the notebook problem for me with the idea of flexible covered notebooks, however pens kept breaking or bending or getting lost. Enter the SF EWP-01.
i found one online for about 100 dollars shipped and pounced, to some (my fiance included who is still screeching at me about it as i type this) 100 dollars may seem steep for a pen, but considering that for even an entry level pen from mont blanc or many other prestigious manufacturers its going to run you at least 3 times as much, its really not bad. also how many times a day do i use a pen versus on of my 300 dollar edc knives.
actual review portion:
Appearance and grip: the pen is handsome in black, and other than the pocketclip devoid of logos. USA is stamped on the back under the glass breaker (i can never complain about Americana as long as it isnt gaudy). the top half is circular and segmented giving you a nice gripping surface to rotate the pen tip out of the capless design. the lower half is vaguely trinagular in cross section. it falls naturally into writing position when you hold it, the triangular idea has been around a long time in pens for the simple reason that it is very ergonomic, and prvides a good grip and solid control of the pen tip. every edge is well rounded and nothing could provide any discomfort in hand or in pocket. all in all a good looking and comfortable pen.
Function: The pen extentends the tip with about a 2/3 twist. its completley unscrews with about 2 1/2 twists. this makes it no chore to get the pen ready to write and changeing ink cartridges is a breeze. speaking of changeing ink cartridges the most interesting feature of the surefire pen is its ability to utilize almost any ink cartridge. a screw in the top section allows you to change the length of the cartridge area thus allowing for flexibility in cartridge options. put bluntly this kicks a$$. the ability to field resupply most anywhere is just amazing. In a few your i plan on doing some traveling abroad and this will be a great boon to that endeavor. i chose to use a fine tipped mont blanc cartridge. mont blanc is renowned for their writing instruments and the heart of that is their cartridges. the pocket clip is nice and secure in a pair of jeans or 5-11 slacks. i almost never wear dress clothes so i didn't feel the need to test it out (that would be more an opportunity for my waterman anyway).
Tacticool stuff: I have fundamental issues with the idea of the tactical pen. there is always going to be a better weapon around even if its just a roll of quarters or lock in a sock. I haven't stabbed anything with it nor will i ever, its silly. however its solid enough that i would not want to be jabbed with it and its better than nothing. the glass breaker is a neat feature that kinda makes one wonder. according to some it is far from the best glass breaker on the the market however i believe if your highly motivated aka in a sinking car you could probably break a window with it in just a few blows. now on to what i think is actually tacticool about it. the fact that there is no cap to loose is great. all to many of these pens that are marketed towards tactical use have pen caps. as a veteran the first thing i think of when i think about the military is crawling on my belly or doing something equally miserable such as climbing a mountain. your going to lose and break things. particularly pens. many soldiers in forward areas have a tell-tale black spot at the corner of one of their pockets from a pen explosion because a cap fell off and the nib got removed, or the pen just got crushed. the surefire pen does not suffer these drawbacks because there is now cap to lose and short of industrial machinery whatever broke it probably killed me first. add to that the wide pocket clip for retention and the ability to loop it through molle gear (which the clip seems designed specifically for, the bend in the material that causes the contact with the pen bods and subsequent friction seens to be spaced at just the right space to overpass most molle webbing by a very small margin thus locking it in place i doubt this is coincidental) and the ability to utilize the fisher space pen cartridges for inclement weather and you have a true tacticool writing instrument.
Overview/ summary for the lazy: All in all i think surefire hit it out of the park with this one, many strengths and few things i would change, if your stradlling the fence on this one or merely thinking of picking up a fine writing instrumetn for edc that will last through years of service then i highly reccomend it. i cant wait to do a review in a few years, but seeing as how i have surefire flashlights that are going strong after five years of military use includeing deployment to combat areas and army schools i believe im safe in my assumption that it will still be around and kicking.
What i would change: the only things i would change would be
1) replacing the steel glass breaker with a hardened ceramic one that would be more effective. if they are going to have it as a feature they might as well make sure it lives up to the surefire legacy.
2) a titanium pocket clip with exactly the same dimensions would be great. Ive broken a few steel pocket clips but never a ti one.
both of these upgrades would most likely increase the cost by about 15 dollars tops and i think it would be money well spent.
thank you for reading this quickie review. if you have any questions feel free to post, or if you like the review you cna just tell me that too
and of course HAPPY NEW YEAR
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