Fisher Space Pen: A Writers Pen
Written: Dec 28 '03 (Updated Dec 28 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Durable, Can Write Anywhere, Lifetime warranty
Cons: Ballpoint may not write as smooth or dark as gel
The Bottom Line: The Fisher Space Pen writes well and feels good while I am writing – and that is all that I can ask for in a nice pen.
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| mookiekong's Full Review: Fisher Space Pen Bullet Pen with Clip |
I received the Fisher Space Pen (www.spacepen.com) as a Christmas gift from my fiancee and have been using it extensively since. I bought myself a Moleskine (www.moleskine.com) a month ago, but did not start writing in it. All I did was write my name in the front with my information, but I did not have any motivation to start writing in it. The Cross Ion pen that I wrote my name with is a great pen, but sometimes the gel ink runs a bit thick and goes through pages – and I was worried that it would bleed through on the somewhat thinner pages of the Moleskine. So, when I got my Space Pen I was quite enthused about it and I started writing and drawing in my Moleskine ever since.
Technical Stuff
The one thing that Fisher Space Pens are known for are the pressurized ink barrel. Also it is known for the ink and the extreme conditions in which the pen will function. The pen was designed for NASA (Fisher designed it out of the goodness of their hearts with no funding nor a request from NASA, try that for being a good corporation). The pen is named space pen because it is used by astronauts in space. The pen can write in very extreme conditions: freezing (like when in shadow on a space walk), boiling (like when in direct sun in space), on any surface (including wet surfaces), upside down (any angle), zero gravity, and even in a vacuum.
Most pens cannot do this because of the way they are designed. The ink in the Space Pen is pressurized so that nothing will go inside. The ink is actually being pushed out of the tube and it is with the design of the ball that the ink stays inside until one starts to write. Most of the extreme conditions that are listed will not matter to any of us. But, writing on a wet surface certainly is one that we encounter. There is one benefit of a pressurized ink barrel that a like a lot: since no air is going into the barrel (which can happen with normal pens), the pen can sit around for 100 years without drying out. Now that is nice.
Performance
I am used to my Cross Ion pen, which is a gel pen. The ink comes out smooth and thick. The lines are nice, dark and continuous. The drawback? The ink is wet for a while, meaning that I often smear ink all over the place if I don't keep in mind that it is drying. I can't write on some surfaces (like the shiny magazine pages). And the ink bleeds through easily to other sides of pages (and sometimes through to another page). But, it is still a great writing instrument. The other thing about the Cross Ion is that it is short and stubby and not really made for writing for long periods of time.
The Fisher Space Pen on the other hand is a ballpoint pen. Its ink is thick and requires some getting used to when writing (more pressure to lay down ink). The lines it draws are often dark, but sometimes there are skips and stuff when I write with the pen. There is a little bit of start up writing to get the ink fully on paper. But, the ink does not bleed through a page and it dries rather quickly.
The one problem that I had with the Cross Ion that I have yet to have with the Space Pen after a few days use is the “globbing effect” as I name it. When I write a lot with the Cross Ion, a glob of ink invariably will develop at the tip of the pen. This then needs to be “deglobbed” by smearing the glob on another piece of paper. The Cross Ion has yet to dry up on me from being left unused, but it does have its own problems with skipping and weird drying problems. I think that stuff does get back into the ink barrel on the Ions and that causes problems for the pen. In my silver Ion, I replaced the ink the other week and it wrote fine for a day, then the next day, after being in my pocket, it started to skip and then just died. I have yet to put a refill back into that Ion. My blue Ion still writes fine on its original ink barrel. So far, nothing with the Space Pen.
I would say that the Ion gel ink writes darker and smoother. The Fisher ballpoint is a bit more skippy and not as dark. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. Overall though, I prefer the reliability, so far, of my Space Pen. The refills for the Space Pen are a bit on the expensive side. From Fisher themselves, the refills cost $5 a piece with $5 shipping. There are other shops like TheWritersEdge.com that sell the refills for $4.75 with $2 shipping. I have yet to find a retail store that carries the refills. Staples carries the actual pens though.
Design
The design of the Space Pen is at once beautiful and functional. The pen, when closed is a little shorter than my Cross Ion pen retracted. The pen, when closed is short enough to keep in a pants front pocket. The Space Pen has the same diameter as a regular ballpoint pen. When the cap is taken off the Space Pen and placed on the back of the pen though, it becomes a full length pen that is very comfortable to write with. It even has notches where the fingers are for those of us who perspire when writing for long periods of time. The Ion on the other hand has a thick diameter, which makes it comfortable and rubber where the fingers go. But the Ion, when extended, is not very long and still a bit stubby, so it is not too comfortable to use on long writings.
My fiancee got me the original design pen with a clip. It is an aluminum pen with copper fittings that is chrome plated to make it very brilliant and shiny. I love the look of the pen, you have to see it for yourself to appreciate the design of the pen. If chrome does not fit your taste the have a black classic one, then some that are in an assorted amount of colors, a titanium plated one, and a bunch with military and space insignias on them. There should be a design and color for anyone! The pen is stunningly beautiful with minimalistic look.
The Space Pen itself ships in a heat pack type package. Inside the heat pack package is a single gift box (black) that has a felt like holder for the Space Pen. On the lid of the gift box is a felt insert that holds back an instruction booklet and refill form. The gift box is very classy with “Fisher Space Pen” on the top. The heat pack is terrible though, I hate heat pack type packaging.
Warranty
The Fisher Space Pen comes with a unconditional lifetime warranty. So if anything at all goes wrong with the pen, you can just send it back for a new pen. Now that is taking care of the customer.
Conclusion
The Fisher Space Pen feels and sounds a bit gimmicky from all the stuff that is said about it. The name Space Pen is thrown around by those who have used the pen and for good reason, it is a great pen. I like the pen a lot, I wish that I could lay down a darker line and not skip, but I can't ask for everything. The Fisher Space Pen writes well and feels good while I am writing – and that is all that I can ask for in a nice pen. The warranty is quite good (unconditional lifetime warranty) and the build quality looks exceptional. This little pen is a work of art that actually works when needed too. Watch out for the high cost of refills. If you are a gel pen user, you might not like the way that a ballpoint performs, but if you can get over that this is a wonderful pen. I recommend the pen highly, even over my previous favourite, the Cross Ion pen.
Recommended:
Yes
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mookiekong
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Location: San Jose, CA, USA
Reviews written: 68
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Current Mookie Obsession: Apple iPhone 8GB and Fedora 8.
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