*notcot in playful , 17:41

Inka Titanium Review- 08.26.06

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Inka Special Edition Titanium Pen review! First impressions? Love it. Anything that i can sit here and not stop playing with for a good hour or so while working must have something going for it. Silly details that grabbed me first - the design, its sleek yet rugged - it feels like quality in your hands, and it is everything i always wished the space pens were. (those were far to slippery and shiny feeling)… Granted i also have a soft spot for titanium and carbon fiber. Also it looks a little like a titanium/carbonfiber cig hanging from my keychain… love that it doesn’t scream PEN.

Inka was founded by Greg Adelman, an engineer/entrepreneur with a good number of years working military and oceanographic industries designing and developing instrumentation and equipment… so is it any wonder that when he failed to find a suitable pen that could withstand the harsh marine environment he developed the concept for the Inka Pen? (I love product design which emerges from a genuine need, not simply an idea to fill an assumed niche.) Packaging + pictures + more thoughts below.

The Inka pen comes in Stainless and Special Edition Titanium (seen here) - with a lifetime warranty - “The barrel is machined from solid aerospace-grade Titanium and pen components are built from carbon fiber composite. This makes the pen: Impossibly light at 0.45 oz., Extremely strong and durable, and Corrosion resistant in any environment.” It certainly sounds as if this will outlive my keys on my keychain!

Much like the space pen, the pressurized ink cartridge allows you to write anywhere (upside down underwater apparently) will not leak, and can take on any weather conditions you throw at it… i don’t think i will go out of my way to test that right now, but if i happen to end up in some, will certainly let you know how it holds up.

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Clamshell Packaging - nice simple design, love the iconic silhouettes for hiking, sailing, scuba, and flying.

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It arrived in a white manila envelope sealed with the Inka Sticker.

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From having it on your keys, for quick use, simply pull out the pen, the green o-ring holds it in snugly. Its a nice size on my keychain, about the same length as the Suck UK Bottle Opener, and a tiny bit longer than the Toyota Key. Also, its not too short in this form (for me!) to use to write comfortably… certainly couldn’t write a novel with something of this length, but good for quick notes. I like the subtlety of the logo on the Titanium model, the spiral is also engraved on the base of the pen, and Inka is also engraved on the black pen shaft.

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Here you can see all the pieces taken apart. The screw sizes are all the same, which facilitate the mix and matching… so to make the full sized pen, you take it completely apart, screw the pen to the other side of the barrel, and plug the hole. You can also screw the plug piece that covers the stylus to the keychain, if you like to sit and fiddle with things while on the phone or thinking like i do.

My one question regarding their gorgeously rugged pen, is the stylus, it feels like an afterthought… as far as ease of use, it seems a bit awkward, since you have to pull out the pen, unscrew the smaller plug and then use it? And then plug that little piece into the titanium cylinder, so as not to lose it? [Which! on a sidenote, for anyone who doesn’t want to use this as a pen, can also use this as a watertight keychain tube to hide things in… as theres also a thin o-ring at the base of the threads on the cylinder]

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Press photo… see more here.

Conclusion? I like it, aesthetically and functionally. Now if only it had an led light option instead of the stylus… that could complete my keychain needs. And if only there were less little pieces, and some easier one handed way to assemble/disassemble - its not the most practical if in a real crazy weather situation trying to take notes. Inka Special Edition Titanium Pen

P.S.
So you know those movies where the assassin chick is in the bathroom, and she has to get all the pieces of the sniper rifle that are hidden and duct taped under drawers and behind the bathtub and stuff? And then screw it all together? Well taking this pen apart and making it into the full sized pen, makes me think of that. And then i do it over and over while pondering my next feature to write…

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