New at Kickstarter: P1 by Premier Pen (and Giveaway!)

The P1 by Premier Pen is the latest Kickstarter project to base itself around the popular Pilot Hi-Tec-C gel ink cartridge. I have been fortunate enough to test drive one for the past few days thanks to project founder Steve Black and have come away very impressed.

First and foremost, this pen feels great in the hand. The barrel is constructed from a lightweight aluminum and is the perfect weight and length. It is nowhere near as heavy or bulky as many of the stainless steel barrel options. The black color gives the pen an almost seamless look, and is silky smooth to the touch.

When writing, it is not as dead firm as with the traditional plastic Pilot Hi-Tec-C barrel due to a small gap around the tip opening. I felt a bit of flex when I initially started writing because of that extra space but after a few minutes of use I hardly noticed it. There is also no clip and the cap does not post, so if you absolutely must have those things then this pen is not for you.

I like what I see out of this project and especially like the color barrel options. How slick does that red one look? I even jumped in and backed the limited edition Kickstarter only P1 Green for something different.

As I write this Sunday evening the P1 is already 85% funded one day into the project, so I’m not the only one who loves this design. My guess is that it will be over 100% by the time this post goes live.

Steve likes it a lot too. So much so that he has offered up one P1 Black for me to giveaway here at The Pen Addict. Here is how to enter:

1. 
   

   Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Wednesday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You are limited to one entry. This contest is limited to US residents only.

   
   


2. 
   

   For this contest, I will pick one winner at random from the comments section of this post. The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on. The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winner.

   
   


3. 
   

   The contest winner will be posted on Thursday, March 1st. The winner will have one week to email me at the address posted in the right sidebar.

   
   

Note: This pen will be part of the production Kickstarter run, so it will ship with the rest of the project. The current estimate is May 2012.

Thank you to Steve for thinking of The Pen Addict readers for this giveaway. Be sure to follow Premier Pen on Facebook for updates and possibly even more giveaways of this very cool pen.

New at Kickstarter: Render K

The Render K is the latest machined pen to hit Kickstarter, built to take advantage of the world-famous Pilot Hi-Tec-C refill. I have been lucky to be able to test drive a prototype of the Render K for the last few days, so let me explain a few differences this pen has over previous Kickstarter projects.

The Render K is manufactured in the US by KarasKustoms. I have chatted with Dan from KarasKustoms via email several times and he made it clear: the guy selling you the pen is the same guy manufacturing it in his shop in Mesa, Arizona. This is one of the reasons I was able to get an early prototype.

The Kickstarter page is full of details, drawings, and videos of the Render K for you to check out, but let me tell you what sets it apart. First of all, the design is portable. I backed both the Pen Type-A and PHX-1 projects and can’t wait to get both of those pens. The thing is, neither one is going to leave the house with me. The Render K is based around a standard pen design. Standard length, standard weight - hey look - a pen clip! Toss it in your shirt or pants pocket and you are ready to go.

Another unique feature is the ability to swap out the Pilot Hi-Tec-C refill for a Parker compatible refill. KarasKustoms provides a spacer and a spring to make this happen, giving you more flexibility and choice in your ink.

I have been really happy with my prototype so far. I included a few pictures so you can see it for yourself. Dan made it perfectly clear that the pen I have is not in its final production state, so keep that in mind when looking at the photos. My untrained eye is hard pressed to find any flaws.

Thanks to Dan and KarasKustoms for giving me an early look, and don’t forget to check out the Render K project on Kickstarter.

New at Kickstarter: The X-Pen

Kickstarter projects surrounding the Pilot Hi-Tec-C refill have been coming fast and furious, and the X-Pen is the latest to land on everyone's favorite funding website. Where the Pen Type-A and PHX-1 pens use stainless steel for the barrel, the X-Pen uses a machined carbon fiber tube, and it looks great.

As of right now, the X-Pen is designed to be a desk pen, with two different acrylic base options. I spoke on the phone last night with Kyle Kinghorn, who is running this project, and he is working on the pricing for a capped version of this pen and hopes to have the details added to the Kickstarter page in a few days.

The project video is fantastic, so be sure to watch it above. And if you want to read more about the Pilot Hi-Tec-C and why so many people are customizing it, check out the details on the recently updated JetPens Pilot Hi-Tec-C page.