OK, I went all over hell and back last night to find space pens. Can anyone tell me decent places to look that might also have decent prices?

Hi Yeti,

What country do you live in, I have some suppliers in Canada?

I also like the Space Pens and have used them daily for 10 years. I prefer the black, fine point; the unique thing is that when they run out of ink, the run out right now with no warning, so I keep a second one in my EDC kit.

There are many versions of Space Pen around plus I think the Fisher refills will fit in any Parker type pen. There was a post on this about 3 months ago, try the search function of this forum.

Good Luck shopping, it may be difficult ordering one in before Christmas.

Mike

I should have asked my other question...with the myriad of styles and shapes...are there any suggestions for models? Do the colors/chrome wear off over time?

Hi SD...I'm in the US

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fisher-Space-Pen-SM4...1QQcmdZViewItem


http://cgi.ebay.com/Fisher-Space-Pen-400...1QQcmdZViewItem


here's two good deals on Ebay, they have 8 pages of them. Prices seem fair. Some have free shipping. I bought one of mine at Staples, the other at Brigade Quartermasters.

http://www.rei.com/search?vcat=REI_SEARCH&query=space+pen

What about the Rite-In-The-Rain all weather pen, it's about $10.

Frankie

Thanks!

BTW, any feedback on classic, bullet, etc?

http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/tame.exe/agcatalog/results.tam?rlk=8856970

Mail order from Brigade Quartermasters, they are faster than the speed of light. I ordered stuff from Canada and received it 2 days later without additional fees.

I EDC a bullet. The only issue I have had is that because of its shape, its tends to fall/slip out of my front pocket when I sit down. Other than that, it is a great pen and I am never without it. I have had the chrome (which finish hold up great), the blue (which wears next to my keys, but not too bad) and now black (which finish is not wearing at all after 2 months in my pocket with keys).

Our local REI has them. I've also seen them at some mall stores like Sharper Image and Brookstone. They always seem to go for $19.95 or very close to that.

I have a chrome one for years and years. The finish stayed just about perfect. I have a camo colored one now, and the finish did not last long. Of course the pen still works, but it looks pretty bad. I've always had the bullet style.

I have found that Fisher ink cartridges tend to glob up pretty bad. When you start writing you (very often) end up with a glob of ink at the start that smears everywhere. I have three Fisher refills - two glob horribly, one works well (almost no globbing at all).

The bullet pens are small and fit nicely in pants pockets. If you have even the smallest hole in you pocket though, they'll find a way to escape, assisted greatly by their shape.

Many years ago, in a small regional airport, years and years before all this terrorist crap, security pulled everything out of my carry-on at xray because they thought I was carrying ... a bullet! Gotta tip my hat to those security folks down there in Shreveport - their diligence beats anything I've seen at my local airport (Denver).

I usually go to either staples, office depot or office max to get mine, I hope this helps!

I have bought them at brookstones at the mall

REI

Brigade Quartermasters

Discovery Channel Store

I have a bullet, and one like the model that REI calls the military pen. Of the two, my favorite is the military pen. My preference is only due to appearance and size though. Both work well on my Rite in the Rain Field Books.

Or you can also order from here of course.

http://www.spacepen.com/Public/WhatsNew/index.cfm

another alternative is the Soviet "space pen"

aka, a pencil

That Trekker looks very similar to the 'Inka' pens.

SwampDonkey is right, when the ink runs out its runs out without warning, so carry an extra refill. The Bullet pen is great, but I wind up using my Military style much more since its a clickie, and they're only $10 as opposed to $20 or so for the Bullet.



http://www.rei.com/product/691132


http://www.rei.com/product/691135

Well of course it's similar to an Ink pen...what other kind of pen would it be except an Ink pen? I mean somethings that people say just really...

Oh...

You said "Inka", not "Ink"...OIC!

Hi,

My primary pen carry is the Fisher 0 Gravity/Police Pro pen in black, it is a clicker, slightly trianglar in shape, has a pocket clip and a rubberized exterior. After about a a year of daily use the rubber wears off in patches but I prefer the thicker, trianglar barrel shape. Here is a link to this pen on the Fisher website, http://www.spacepen.com/Public/Products/PoliceandFirePen/index.cfm?productID=177

I drove over one of these pens with my truck once and crushed it some; a little straightening with the Leatherman, some GOOP glue and it was back on the job.

My back-up Fisher pen is the smaller, thinner Military one that I keep in a spare pocket. Like I said before and LED seconded the Fisher refills run out without warning so you need to carry a spare.

I have also put Fisher refills in cheap Dollar Store clicker pens and used them for a while. It does not hurt nearly as much to drop a $6.00 Dollar Store/Fisher Refill pen in the lake as it does an expensive Fisher Pen.

A Fisher refill is also a good core to wrap duct tape around for multiple use in a PSK.

Mike

For those who might not have heard the (probably untrue) story, in the 1960's space race, it was discovered that the pens of that time would not write in weightless conditions. The NASA approach was to spend $250,000 in 1960's bucks to develop the "space pen." The Russian approach was decided by a General who said "F*** it, use a pencil!"

There actually is a survival lesson in this, resulting in my signature line, attributed to Soviet Admiral Gorshkov, but he probably heard it from somewhere himself...

That is not exactly true, in the early days both used pencils. Then when fisher came up with a "space" pen both space programs used space pens. Much safer than having a pencil lead break off. Having a conductive bit of trash float in behind a panel with all sorts of electrical connections in it is not a good thing.

http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp

Don't buy Write in the Rain pens. They stink. I had one that lasted less then a week this summer at boot camp. Their notebooks and paper are the bomb though, highly recommended!

I like the Red Army (or was it Adolph Hitler?) saying that can be the best approach to self defense.

"quantity has a quality all of it's own".

Never mind getting the black belt; just turn up with 20 pals :-).
The Sock

does yours have the removable clip? I ordered some bullets and they had removable clips.

I guess it is clear from the above msg that I went with the space bullets. The shape and closed size made it most attractive. I'm going to try it with the clip for a while...then without. I tried to get them locally but everyone was sold out. Luckily, I found a shipper who was ready to send and got them in time.

Thanks all for the input. It was truly appreciated.

BTW, I didn't go with rite In Rain as I've had some poor results. I didn't try any of those with rubber grips/parts/etc. Over time they will come off and why replace when I don't have to? In the short-term they sound like they would be a little better though. As for the longer pens, or those with more classic shapes, I wanted something I'd be likely to carry, and full-sized pens (when closed) didn't really work for me in any of my experiments. I also found them more likely to catch on stuff, where ther shape of the bullet might not creaqte the same issues.

You're right, it is untrue. People like to hear about the government spending outragous amounts of money on ordinary items but most of those stories just never happened.

Originally both NASA and the Russian space agency used mechanical pencils. The Fisher pen company developed the "space pen" independantly and asked NASA and the Russians to try them out. They both used them and paid $2.39 per pen.

Here's a good account:

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa004&articleID=9CF01C5C-E7F2-99DF-3EEFFCD06138AEC4

Interesting. I'm just wondering why NASA had their space pens for $3.98 (before the "in bulk" discount), but we have to pay "the low, low price of $50.00"?

Also, why not a pencil? We don't have to chase the chipping graphite particles flying away and straight into our cell phones circuitry...

Personally, I prefer a sharp point permanent marker.

The ultimate survival 'pen' is still a pencil. Little known fact: A pencil, as long as it is gently sharpened, will write more pages and last longer than any pen. Pencils are usually lighter, they never freeze or leak, they are still usable if broken and they provide a ready supply of tinder if your in a bind.

I have also used the graphite in a pencil to keep a firearm going after it gummed up from dust and sand. I removed the bolt assembly, wiped everything dry and spent some time rubbing the side of the pencil point on the pieces until they developed a shine from the graphite. Put back in the mechanism worked smoothly and shrugged off the dirt.

That said, I usually have a pen in my pack. But I always have a pencil. Don't look down on the simple reliability of a pencil.

I agree with SwampDonkey. Find a pen you like for weight, style, size, etc., then just get the Space Pen Refills.

I like a thick, heavy pen (easier to write with when using a wrist brace). I've received several as company promo gifts. After I'd been embarrassed enough when it stopped writing on paper with hand oils, I got a Space Pen refill and have never looked back. Much cheaper than the full pen, especially when I've lost them.

Space Pen has refills for Fisher, Cross and other brands.
http://www.spacepen.com/Public/Products/PenRefills/

Tirec

rei has a nice model...all black about $10