The Surefire Pen: 2 Year Review w/ 20+ pics

[mark greenman]

I’m a gear nerd at heart, and a writer by trade, so over the last 2 years I’ve looked at the Surefire pen from both perspectives. I've used this pen every single day, more than any other piece of kit in my EDC, and it is now my favorite piece of gear.

The most obvious feature of the Surefire Pen is its durability. The shaft is made from hard anodized aircraft grade aluminum, while the nib, pocket clip, and end cap are made of 303 stainless steel.

The result is a 1.8oz bruiser of a pen that will probably last as long as the written word.











My Montblanc developed a hairline fracture in the cap after only a few months of back pocket carry, and had to be sent back to the factory to be repaired. By comparison, in two years of serious use, my Surefire barely has a scratch on it – proof of the excellent hard anodizing used in its construction.

When you consider the Surefire costs about 1/3 the price of a Montblanc, and is made in the USA, it’s even more impressive.







I realized just how ludicrously tough the SF pen was a few months ago, when I visited a camping store in lower Manhattan. The owner showed me his own EWP-01, and how he practiced striking by smashing it over and over again into a 2×4. This is the second 2×4 he has gone through, and he told me he has also struck concrete blocks a few times- and chipped the concrete!



The other famous feature of the SF pen is its “glassbreaker” end cap, which is actually why I bought the pen in the first place. This ended up being rather ironic, as the glassbreaker is the least useful feature of the surefire pen — its just a 3/16” stainless steel ball bearing built into the cap, rather than a purpose built glassbreaker.

I went to a junkyard and tested it on some loose automotive glass and was unable to break the window. However, other people have managed to break windows with theirs when they tested glass still attached to a car, so the glassbreaker does work, just not very well.

Here it doesn’t work- if that car was under under water he would be dead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LePGf94tYaY

Here it works, although not as well as the Benchmade with tungsten tip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfzdZyQOjAY

I believe that Surefire should either re-design the glassbreaker so that it works reliably, or they should remove it entirely. Unreliable tools can get people killed, and this glassbreaker does not jibe with Surefire's legendary adherence to high performance and reliability.

One simple way to improve performance is to replace the Stainless Steel BB with an ultra hard ceramic BB. Added cost per unit would be less than $1.

I pimped mine out by adding a silicone nitride ceramic BB to my end cap, and that worked much better.

Here's a photo from the prototype glassbreaker, which was just a ceramic BB in an aluminum rod. Notice the powdered glass from the impact.

[mark greenman]

More importantly, the Silicone Nitride BB has a much higher cool coefficient.



An interesting thing I discovered when working on the glassbreaker is that the EWP-01 has a “secret compartment” under the cap.

I don’t believe this was intentional, rather, it is caused by the hollow cavity beneath the glass breaker and the space above the ink adjustment screw. Regardless, it gives about 1″ of space for hiding a small object.



I was originally going to glue a miniature firesteel into mine, but decided that was kinda mallninja so I decided to go for something a bit more practical, a folded up piece of paper for taking notes should I not have my notebook handy. The cap holds half a sheet from my Molleskine notebook.





So far I have never had to use this backup piece of paper, because I always carry my SF pen in my red Molleskine Vollant notebook. Carrying a pen and paper is infinitely more practical than just carrying a pen, and it also helps keep the pen from getting lost, since the notebook is bright red.







What makes the Surefire Pen such a pleasure to write with is its ability to adjust to almost any ink cartridge in the world. Let me repeat — the Surefire Pen has an internal screw that can be adjusted to allow it to use almost any ink cartridge you want.





This is, far and away, the best feature of the Surefire pen. While there are many durable pens on the market today, to my knowledge the EWP-01 is the only pen that has this magnificent capability. If you’re a gun guy, this is the pen equivalent of having a handgun that can shoot every pistol caliber in the world.

This capability cannot be overstated. The ink cartridge is the soul of the pen. It’s what people are talking about when they say, “wow, nice pen,” which is what people tell me when they borrow my Surefire.

Instead of using the standard “tactical” Fisher Space Pen refill, which provides a mediocre writing experience, I use the delightfully luxurious Montblanc Medium Ballpoint refills. Made in Germany, they write exceptionally smoothly with a sexy, metallic flecked black ink that makes writing a pleasure.

[mark greenman]

And I would know. I just wrote the rough draft of my first novel in long hand, using my Surefire Pen and Montblanc refills. Here is the typed up version – 265 pages, not including all the other writing I have done with this pen over the last 2 years.





The ability to accept “battlefield pickups” is an essential feature if you like to write while traveling. While Fisher Space Pen cartridges, or the factory Schmidt® brand are available here in the US, they are not universally available all over the world. I spent 9 months living abroad last year, and being able to use locally available ink cartridges was essential.

Part of the reason this is necessary is because if you drop the pen while the ink is extended, the heavy mass of the pen will cause the tip of the ink to become dented and dysfunctional. I have broken several ink cartridges in this fashion and it is an annoying, but unavoidable byproduct of the heavy-duty nature of the SF pen.

Another annoying habit the EWP-01 displays is that the stainless end caps tend to come loose. I wrapped mine in teflon tape, but the problem persists and I have to periodically tighten the caps.

Other than the unreliable glassbreaker, my only real complaint is with the pocket clip. It is the best pocket clip I have ever had on a pen, but its still not perfect. My first clip broke after being clipped to a thick pair of Duluth Firehouse Dungarees, and while Surefire did replace the clip free of charge, it took them a while to do so, and I ended up spending the first leg of my Europe trip without my SF pen, until my family mailed the clip out to me.

The other issue with the clip is that it has the Surefire emblem laser engraved in the clip. Now, this is a cool, discrete logo, but it does open up the possibility of the pen being confiscated if a security officer recognizes the logo, and deems it a “tactical pen.” For this reason, I would prefer a sterile pocket clip in the future.

Still, in the grand scheme of things, these are two minor flaws in an otherwise outstanding product. The Surefire Pen is the toughest, most versatile pen I have ever come across, and as a writer, it has become a very sentimental item for me.

There will be a follow up article which will discuss the tactical use of the Surefire Pen, and compare it to other pens in its class.

[SQSAR]

Thanks for the insights, , ,makes me want to run out and buy one.

[Rwb1500]

Slick. I just could never justify that kind of cash on a pen. I just wouldn't use it enough. On a knife? Definitely.

I'll stick with the Stainless Steel Sharpie and my Zebras;

http://www.zebrapen.com/products/pen/f-402-0?c=30

[Simple Man]

I agree the Mont Blanc refills are the best on the market by far and I have modified several pens/refills to accept them.

Alas, I finally end up resorting to the Pilot LB-5 V-ball pens for daily use, just for ease of use.

[Dr. Snubnose]

What a great review Mark!....you should consider becoming a writer :p ...Now I want to run right out and get one of those Sure Fire Pens For Sure. Congrats on finishing your first novel on Long Island...What! Wait!! Long Island... and you didn't stop by to say hello to me? all right, you can do that when it gets published, that way when you visit, I can get an autographed copy) :D :DDoc :D

[cosmo7809]

Mark, you did a terrific job reviewing this pen!

Thank you so much for your time and input.

[amar]

You are most capable person to review a pen - so far all I have read about was its tactical capabilities, and it indeed a pleasure to read about its main capacity. :-) Terrific review, and thanks for sharing.

[skatenut]

Excellent review Mark, thanks!

My desire to own a Surefire Pen took a nosedive after I saw the price here.

[Donut]

Very nice review. I have one of these pens and everything seems to be true.

The tip portion of mine has some trouble staying put. Anodized aluminum doesn't seem to provide much friction. How well does yours stay on?

[Mr Blonde]

That was a very good and enjoyable review! Thanks a lot for sharing your insights. You've obviously used your SF Pen way more than I did mine. I'm happy my small collection of Surefire Pens will stand the test of time.

[Mako109]

Never had much interest in tactical pens, but this wonderful review has peaked my interest. Thanks much!

[OverkiLL]

cool pen. are there Extra Fine cartridges for this pen? I always carry a Pilot V5 extra fine and have issues using anything thicker...

[skatenut]

OK, I give up. Some lights I ordered :mad: will not be available so I ordered a Surefire pen. Thanks for the review, again. :)

[enduraguy]

Maybe some blue loctite for the end caps?

[4077th]

Thanks for the great review. Methinks I'll test drive one of these. What's the diff between Montblanc rollerball and ball point refills? I'm going to order the ballpoint but still would like to know the difference. thanks.

[mark greenman]

Very glad you guys enjoyed the review! :) I've been on a bit of a review binge as of late, but this was one of my favorites to write.

I know its not a cheap pen, but considering what we spend on knives, I don't consider it unreasonable considering its unique high performance, and the fact that we use pens more often then we use knives. Much like cutting with spyderco military is more satisfying than using a 99cent snap off box cutter, using a high end pen makes writing much more satisfying than when using a Bic disposable. Also, unlike knives, you can (usually) stop after one nice pen :D

Overkill, not sure if extra fine cartridges are available for montblanc, but I'm sure some company makes them, so you could find some type of extra fine cartridge for the SF pen, although its honestly a pen more suited to bold flourishes of the wrist rather than intricate writing- I prefer the narrow Zebra 701 for that honestly.

4077th, I'm not really sure what the difference is between rollerball and ballpoint, but I read rollerball is considered to be more luxurious, as it offers the convenience of a ballpoint but the luxurious writing experience of a fountain pen. It deff putts more ink on the page than any ballpoint I have used, although I have not used a MB ballpoint.

Enduraguy, I've considered blue locktite for the threads, but was worried about doing anything permanent. Right now the teflon tape prevents it from unscrewing all the way, but I may go with locktite if it becomes a more serious issue.

Doc- I will happily stop by with an autographed copy. I already have the pen to sign it with, just need to get the book published