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Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
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| Biographical Information |
Name:
|
Mark
Wood
|
A Brief
Introduction
I grew up camping with my
parents and had taken a few short backpacking trips, as well as a
couple of 10-day trips before I got married. While my wife and I have
enjoyed car camping and day hiking for close to 5 years, this year we
have decided to make backpacking a permanent part of our lives. Our
trips are generally shorter (2 - 5 days) over rocky, hilly terrain. My
general pack weight for a 3 day trip is around 35 lb (16 kg) including food
and water. |
| Age
/ Sex: |
25 / Male |
| Height: |
5' 11" (1.8 m) |
| Weight: |
240 lb (109 kg) |
| Email
Address: |
woodmark0 at yahoo dot com |
| Location: |
Chenango County, NY, U.S.A. |
| Product
Information |
| Manufacturer: |
Inka Corporation |
|
| Year of Manufacture: |
2005 |
| URL of Manufacturer: |
http://www.inkastore.com |
| MSRP: |
$25.00 US |
| Listed Weight: |
None listed |
| Weight as Delivered: |
0.63 oz (18 g) |
| Listed Dimensions: |
None Listed |
| Materials: |
Hardened 304 stainless steel and a
high-strength lightweight composite. |
The Inka pen came nicely
packaged in a clear plastic hanging display case. There was a
nice, informative cardboard backing which states pretty much the same
information as can be found on the manufacturer's web site.
Contained within the package was the pen itself, configured in
its smallest state, complete with a keychain ring. The Inka is a very simple
and attractive product, I might add!
Upon removing the product and glancing over the instructions, I began
to play with the pen. The pen itself is quite small at only 3.125
in (8 cm) when fully closed and easily fits on my keyring. At one
end, there is a 1 in (2.5 cm) keyring affixed through a hole in the
plastic end cap. The pen body itself is made of stainless steel
and sports the words "inka" with the company logo. The other end
cap has 3 grooves cut all the way around it to make it very easy to
grip.
When pulled by the grooved cap, the quick-use pen slides from the
stainless steel body. Happily, the body can stay securely
attached to the keyring, pack or wherever it was attached to begin
with. The quick use pen measures approximately 2.75 in (7 cm) and
has 4 grooves cut in it to make it easy to grip. Unscrewing the
end cap (which is still attached to the quick-use pen), the PDA stylus
is uncovered. The stylus is made of a yellow plastic and feels
quite smooth to the touch, which should keep it from scratching the
PDA's screen.
At this point, if the user desires to have a full size writing
instrument, the stainless steel body unscrews from the end cap with the
keyring. Screwing the stylus end of the quick-use pen (with the
end cap still removed) onto the stainless steel body and inserting the
end cap which used to cover the stylus in the other end of the
stainless steel body yeilds a full size writing instrument
approximately 5 in (12.5 cm) long. To revert the pen back to the
closed form, one simply reverses the above procedure.
It should be noted that all joints are sealed with a rubber o-ring to
keep the elements out. |
| Initial Impressions |
I tend to have an affinity for
pens. I enjoy writing with a quality pen as I feel it enhances
the entire writing experience. While it is quite easy to find
quality pens for home and work use, I have found it hard to find a
quality pen to take into nature and still have it perform.
When I first opened the Inka pen and began assembling it into its full
sized form, I was worried that all these steps may prove difficult for
everyday use. However, after assembling the pen a few times, it
becomes much simpler and takes less than 10 seconds. While this
is not nearly as fast as grabbing a favorite pen from its resting
place, the beauty of the Inka is that it can be carried everywhere. A big plus! Overall, I find my initial
impression of this pen favorable and will discuss each aspect of the
pen in details below.
The
Closed Pen
The closed pen is small! It fits easily on my
keyring and creates no noticeable bulk. Granted I don't exactly
have a streamlined keyring, but I find that the pen fits nicely amongst
my keys in my pocket. Also, I find that the force required to
deploy the quick-use pen is great enough that I don't have to worry
about the pen opening while in my pocket. Since this secure
closure relies on the o-ring, time will tell if sufficient wear will
prevent this from being true later in the testing period.
The
Quick-Use Pen
While the quick-use pen won't fall out of the
stainless steel sleeve, it certainly isn't difficult to remove.
Though I have only carried it on my keyring for a few days, I
find that it is really nice to be able to access a pen so quickly.
I have quite large hands and though this pen is short, I find I
can easily jot down a note with no trouble.
The
PDA Stylus
My initial impression of the stylus is not
as
favorable as my impressions for the rest of the pen. This isn't
to say that the stylus doesn't work. To the contrary, I tried it with
my Palm Tungsten T and found it to have
a very good feel for both writing and tapping screen
icons. However, my problem with the stylus is that since you
remove the
end cap from the already short quick-use pen to access the stylus, you
end up with a cap in your hand and an even shorter stylus. The
length of the stylus is just enough so that I end up writing on my
index finger while holding the stylus normally. Also, it takes
considerably longer to reach in my pocket, access the stylus and use my
PDA than simply using the stylus which comes with the PDA and rides
with the unit. At any rate, the stylus is really not the main
feature of the Inka pen.
The
Full-Size Pen
The full-sized pen is actually quite nice to write with. It's
approximately the same length as my regular writing instruments and has
a nice feel to it. It's not overly heavy and I find it very
comfortable to write with. The barrel is slightly small for my
large hands for long term use, but I think it will prove perfect for
journaling or other activities.
Writing
Characteristics
The pen itself writes very smoothly. Because this ballpoint ink
dries almost immediately, it does not seem to smear. I haven't really
looked into writing underwater or in extreme conditions yet but will
report further on these characteristics in my later reports. For
being picky about pens, I'd have to say that I'm most impressed with
the quality of writing produced with this ballpoint! |
| Field
Conditions |
While I feel that the true test for the Inka pen is
everyday use, I will use it on any hiking and other adventures I may
take. This should amount to a couple trips each month either car
camping or backpacking. Most of these trips are two nights and two days
long and during the testing period, the pen should receive both rain
and some mild snow. I also propose to attach the pen to my key ring
and carry the pen with
me every day. It will see use during work as both a pen and a quick
stylus for my Palm Tungston T. At the end of four months, this pen will
see a lot of use and some mild abuse!
|
| Test
Plan |
The Inka is advertised as being able to write "at any
angle, temperature, altitude or even underwater", as well as being
watertight. This is a pretty big claim as I've had pens freeze up on me
in the winter as well as dry up in the summer. I would test this claim
the following ways:
- Leave the pen in my black car on the seat during a hot
summer day
- Leave the pen in the car during a cold winter night (or a
freezer if the weather doesn't cooperate).
- Leave the pen submerged under water.
After each of these scenarios, I will test the pen to determine if it
was affected in any way.
The Inka pen is supposed to be light and strong.
- Will it hold up to the constant abuse of being in my pocket
almost every day?
- Does the light weight make it difficult to write with?
- Do I notice any corrosion or other deformities on the pen
after submitting it to the harsh conditions it claims to survive?
- If clipped to my backpack or day pack, will I find that it
falls apart when hiking?
The pen is supposed to be able to be assembled into a "full-size
writing tool".
- Is it big enough to avoid hand fatigue?
- How much effort is needed to assemble and disassemble the
pen?
- Does it join together securely or does it have a tendency
to "bend" or fall apart when assembled fully?
The website advertises replacement pressurized cartridges for the pen.
- Will I need to purchase refills during the four month
testing period?
- With the short size of the pen, how long does each
cartridge last?
- Are they hard to replace?
Finally, a pen is of no use to me if it doesn't write well.
- Does the Inka write smoothly on all types of papers I
normally encounter?
- Does it bleed through thin papers such as found in a Bible?
- Throughout the testing of this pen, will the writing
characteristics diminish, or will it still function as designed?
|
| Summary |
I am very impressed with this little piece of
engineering! The Inka lives up to all my expectations thus far, and I can't
wait to try it on the trail!
Likes:
- Writes very well
- Compact when closed
- Very attractive with great workmanship
Dislikes:
- The stylus is really not needed. If people have their PDAs handy, they most likely have access to styli.
|
I
would like to thank Inka and
BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to participate in this test!
Read more reviews of Inka gear
Read more gear reviews by Mark Wood
|
