Biographical Information
Name: Chuck Carnes
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Height: 6'0" (1.83 m)
Weight: 175 lbs. (79 kg)
E-mail address: ctcarnes1(at)yahoo(dot)com
City, State, Country: Greenville, S.C.  USA

Backpacking Background
I love the outdoors – I’ve spent time camping in the outdoors since I was born, and have been actively hiking and backpacking for the past ten years. I consider myself a lightweight hiker, usually carrying 20 – 30 pounds (11-13 kg) for hikes up to a week in length. I hike at an easy pace, averaging 2 mph (3 kph). I am a one-man tent camper for now until a lighter two-man tent comes along and will give me more room. I like to carry a single trekking pole when I hike to help relieve stress to my legs and knees. I like to get out on the trail as often as I can.

Product Information
Manufacturer: Inka Corporation                                  
Year of Manufacture: 2005
URL: www.inkastore.com                         
Listed Weight: No listed weight         
Weight as Delivered: 0.7 oz (0.19 g)
Length: 3.17 in (8.05 cm)
MSRP: $25.00

Product Features:
(taken from the web site)

Versatile:
A quick pen when you need one, or a full size writing instrument; compact design attaches to anything.

Reliable:
Writes in heat, cold, upside down, at high altitudes and underwater with pressurized ink cartridge.

Innovative:
The patent pending design, developed in Boulder, Colorado, optimizes form and function.

Resilient:
Closed pen is o-ring sealed and watertight – built to withstand harsh environments.

Precise:
Machined from hardened 304 stainless steel and cast from a high-strength lightweight composite.
                      
Initial Report:
          The Inka pen arrived in a mailing envelope that contained a yellow folder and the Inka pen enclosed in a molded plastic case. Inside the folder was a letter from the Public Relations representative stating the Inka's features, press release material, copies of magazine covers stating their advertisement in the selected magazines and a business card from the president. The Inka pen was incased in a molded plastic container ready for display. The molded plastic was easy to separate and retrieve the Inka pen unlike some of the molded plastic containers that take a knife or scissors to retrieve the product. The container has a full color display card stock that has a picture of the pen on the front and short descriptions of the pen. The back of the card shows the pen dissected and labels the parts of the pen and its features. It shows that the pen can function as a full length pen in three steps. Below this, the material and features of the pen are described. Inside of the card states the lifetime warranty and describes the pens anatomy and the steps on how to build the full size pen.




          At first glance, the Inka pen seems to be very well engineered and very well constructed. It feels very light in the hand and seems to be small enough to fit anywhere. The key ring on the end is a nice touch to the looks and it does serve a purpose when the user wants to place it on another key ring or clip it to a carrabiner. I would rather see a carrbiner on the end instead of a key ring. I think it would be more useful to be able to quickly clip it on an object instead of having to rotate the key ring around and around. The user is also limited to what the key ring can be attached to. I wasn't sure how the pen was released from the pen sleeve, since I did not read the directions at first, so I started twisting the end of the base cap. That wasn't the solution so I decided to pull on the end of the base cap and that exposed the pen base. I knew that from seeing the web site that somehow the Inka pen could be turned into a full size pen. After a lot of twisting, turning, pulling and pushing of the pen, I finally figured out how this thing goes together. Below, I have described in steps on how I managed to change the pen from its initial compact form to a regular length pen.