Reviewer  information

Name	Marie-Noëlle Augendre	I started backpacking eight years ago, day-hiking in Ile-de-France all year round, and doing several one or two-weeks trips in more mountainous regions (Corsica, Pyrénées, Cévennes, Lubéron, etc.) each year. In the past two years, I have gradually lightened my pack load as I went for a hammock, an alcohol stove, a light pack and trainers. Nowadays, I am more and more attracted to the outdoor way of living, to the point I am moving to northern Quebec in a few months, in order to spend as much time as possible not only backpacking, but also kayaking, canoeing, snowshoeing, dog-sledding, etc.
Age	48
Gender	Female
Height	about 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Weight	152 lb (69 kg)
Email address	augendre.bgt@gmail.com
City, Country	Paris, France

Product Information

Manufacturer	Inka
URL	http://www.inkacorp.com
Listed weight	0.60 oz (17 g)
Actual weight	0.51 oz (16 g)
MSRP	$25.00

This is the closing report of a series of three:

• for a complete description of the Inka Pen and my first impressions, please refer to my Initial Report

• field testing during the first two-month period is related in my Field Report

• this last report closes the four-month testing period and has two main purposes: confirm or invalidate the observations made during the previous period, and report on the condition of the Inka Pen after a prolonged usage.

During the past four months, the Inka Pen has been the only pen I have taken everywhere with me. It is permanently clipped to my keyring, so there is no way I can forget and leave it at home. Thus, it is always handy when I need to take notes on the move. I don't keep a trail journal, so I only bring writing gear in the field in case I need to write something down.

The last two months gave me the opportunity to widen the testing conditions, especially in the very cold environments I encountered during a two-week dog-sledding trip in northern Quebec. There, the Inka Pen has been exposed for several hours to temperatures as low as -13°F (-25°C), without affecting any of its capabilities. Unfortunately, I got no opportunity to use it in salt-water environment, so I cannot assure it is really corrosion-proof.

All but once, I've used it in its short size, as the assembly requires handling several parts at a time. The only time I set the pen up for writing, I was about to copy a long recipe (see top picture), and I did it inside, on a table where I could work properly.

Conclusion

I am very satisfied with the Inka Pen, which has proved its efficiency in every condition encountered during this four-month testing period. Without having first tested the Inka, I am not sure I would have fully appreciated its assets, and, so, may not have bought it.  Now I have grown accustomed to having the Inka with me all the time, and it is part of my essential gear.

I still question the usefulness of the PDA stylus tip, however. And I wonder somewhat about the cartridge life-expectancy, as there appear to be no way to estimate the ink consumption.

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I would like to renew my thanks to Inka Corp. and BackpackGearTest.org for giving me the opportunity to value the Inka Pen.