Fisher Space Pen - M4BMWL– Non-Reflective Matte Black with White Line - EMS - Cap-O-Matic Pen

I wouldn't be without my Space Pen!In my day-job I do an AWFUL lot of handwriting. Quite often this is in less than desirable conditions - wind, rain, snow, etc. I work in and out doors in Fife, so I get all four seasons well and truly flung at me.This pen will write on wet paper, without tearing holes in it. It will write when the temperature is too low for normal pens. It will even write over greasy spots or marks on the page.The ink is a good solid colour, and the nip runs smoothly. The ink lasts a long time - about the same as any other 'quality' pen refill. However, every inch of that will be good solid writing, with no scribbling about trying to get it to work.You know it's empty when one day, all of a sudden, it just stops. There's no fading out or anything like that. This is good, as you get every last drop out of the barrel, but it means it's a good idea to have a spare to hand.The barrel of this pen is a good design too - it's solid, and well made. Six years after purchasing it, mine is still going strong. It has been with me in all weather conditions, and seems to be as reliable as the ink within it!I know there's the old joke about NASA using this, whereas the Russians used a pencil... however, in many situations a pencil is neither desirable nor allowed (the latter in my workplace), so this is useful, even here on terra firma.

I spent ages trying to remember what these pens were called . I had one in about 1983 and thought it was brilliant so now I thought I would track them down again. Well first of all they do write anywhere as stated. But the pen seems very thin and slippery. So the grip for me isn’t the best. I went for an all metal one, because I new my old half plastic one snapped last time. But even being metal it doesn’t have that quality feel to it I’d expect. Even a cheaper Parker pen feels better.

I've had a few "space pens" from Fisher and they have all been great and fully lived up to expectations, until this one. As a pen which will write on wet/greasy surfaces in all positions it would seem to be the ideal pen for use out doors or in industrial environments. My previous pens we indeed ideal in these environments. What totally lets this pen down is the retractable feature. When kept in your pocket or used with dirty hands dirt and grit soon gets into the pen and due to small clearances, quite quickly jams the top part of the pen. This means you either cant get the point out or in. After some time the clearance open up allowing the top to move freely, Oh great you think. No, this allows the grit into the inside of the pen and whilst the top moves the "insert" gets jammed so still no good.It will probably be fine in an office but I will be going back to the pull off cap type pen which is reliable and works great in rugged environments

I bought this pen a year ago and I still carry it with me everywhere. It's comfortable to hold and pretty strong, I don't think I'd be able to snap it easily as it feels like it's made of metal.It also looks quite nondescript, so although it's more expensive than the average throwaway ballpoint pen, I don't think people would notice unless they recognize it as a Fisher. Maybe that's why mine hasn't been stolen yet, even though I never hesitate to lend people my pens. Other people tend to pocket flasher pens like Parker rather than give them back.I'm writing this review today because I just used it to sign the back of my bankcard. You know those anti-tamper signature strips on the backs of bankcards that are almost impossible to write on? Well, it wasn't entirely easy to write on, but I managed to write something that mostly looked like my signature on it using this pen.

I've been buying this pen for the guys in my life one at a time & they're enjoying them. With my Dad having to keep track of his work miles in the car & my brother having to lean on windows to write things down in his truck (he's a truck driver), the anti-gravity definitely comes in helpful. I've just bought one for my brother-in-law who runs a business at home & will also be keeping track of his work miles, & other men in my life will be finding helpful too when I buy it for them. The guys absolutely love them & they're really good quality. Plus, the refills are reasonably priced (around £5) & available here on, so no expensive price or hassle when it runs out. Makes a great gift.