When is a pen worth $40? Possibly never, but the GP 1945 makes a really strong case.
This Kickstarter campaign is set to ship out pens starting in November, and the demo unit they sent me is incredibly impressive. My titanium model is very solid and well built (there’s also a lighter aluminum version), to the point that I don’t think I could break it if I tried. The butt cap also doubles as a glass breaker for emergencies, the diamond knurled finger grip works as a small ruler, and you can even blow into the back of the tube to to use it as a survival whistle.
The real star of the show here though is the bolt action method of extending and retracting the tip of the pen. It gives you enough resistance to be satisfying, but not enough to be slow or frustrating, and it makes a very addictive click when the mechanism slides into place. I have no less than four fidget toys in heavy rotation my desk, but clicking this pen was all I wanted to do today.
There’s only about a week left of the campaign, but you can still get aluminum GP 1945s for under $40, or titaniums for under $70. That’s a lot to spend on yourself, but these would make great gifts for the holidays. Plus, if you pledge $8 extra and include a note, they’ll throw in a magnesium pen core that you can use to start a fire. Just take it out and rub it against the finger grip to generate a spark.