I've read some posts.

What type of pens and pencils do you carry? I've read some posts about INKA pens and others. I've always wanted a good pen. I've seen some for over $300 dollars. But I think it is quite a bit of money for an every day pen.

The Inka gets very high marks. I want one.
http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/...nts/Inka%20Pen/

Fisher Space Pens (the "Bullet" model) are nice. http://www.spacepen.com/usa/index2.htm

I've passed this on before, but it bears repeating. Rite in the Rain, manufacturer of waterproof paper & pens has a great Sample Special that includes a couple waterproof notebooks and their rugged All Weather pen for $12 (shipped!). It's not an Inka but too good of a deal to pass up. For something smaller, the Fisher Space Bullet Pen can't be beat.

I carry a Pentel Uniball because I can't write decent with anything else and the office will only buy crappy ball point pens. I've started carrying red so it gets "borrowed" less.

I've carried a pen everyday for 20 years. Pens rarely break or fail. You don't need a space pen or any other fancy one. For emergencies, a ball point will do, or get a pencil.

Here is a Space Pen from REI that I keep in my pants pocket (EDC). With Rite-in-the-rain paper it will write under water and not smear.

I've had too many regular ball point pens leak on me to not use a sealed cartridge ball point. If I need to carry it in my pants pocket it is either a sealed pen or a pencil. I really don't like leaky bic pens.

I carry a pencil in my EDB packet (a really small camera pouch I found at Target that fits easily in my pocket).

As far as pens go, my favorite and smoothest writing instrument is a plain old Parker $8-ish metal barrel model. Your standard click-in, click-out thing. But I wouldn't carry that in my pants or shirt pocket for fear of leaks.

That's why I now pocket-carry the Fisher Space Pen (Bullet model). Even if the thing leaked, it would be totally contained within the very tight fitting endcap. I had a Fisher Bullet Pen years ago and due to the pressurized cartridge, the tip of the pen would gunk up a bit and make blobs on the paper when you first started to write. I just bought a new Bullet Pen on a whim Saturday and while it's only two days old now, there is absolutely no indication of globbing like the old model. Either I've gotten lucky with this new pen (cartridge actually), or Fisher has improved their cartridges in the last few years. I've read of others having the ink blobbing problem in the past.

Let's hope my new one stays clean! I found it for $16.99 at www.edcdepot.com In a neat camo coloring. That coloring is actually quite inefficient - who wants their dropped pen to blend in with the landscape? But it looks pretty cool!

I've had my Space Pen in my pocket for over a year in 110+ heat. It has never leaked or had gunk on the end. It is dented and the finish is worn off in some places. When you are with the Boy Scouts you often need to sign things in the oddest places. I don't normally wear shirts with pockets.