Paper World

Fisher Bullet Space Pen

Write-anywhere minimalism

I like to have a few essential tools with me at all times: my Swiss Army knife, a keychain LED flashlight, a pocket notebook and a pen for scribbling notes whenever inspiration strikes.

I’d searched a long time for a pen that was small enough to carry around in my pocket, yet comfortable to write with and reliable enough to work every time I needed it. I finally found it with the Fisher Space Pen.

Everyone has heard of the legendary Space Pen, which was developed for the space program and writes upside down, under water and in extreme temperatures. They make many different varieties of the Space Pen, but the most useful and elegant is the Bullet ($18).

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The Fisher Bullet is in two pieces: the actual pen, and a cap that fits on the back of the pen to make a full-size writing instrument. When closed, it makes a compact, tight-fitting, gasket-sealed capsule that easily fits in your pocket. It comes with a shirt pocket clip that can be removed, so it’s less obtrusive in your pants pocket.

You can get it in chrome, but the matte black finish is so much cooler.

— Curtis Galloway

I needed a pen that would fit comfortably with my pocket-sized Moleskine. I tried a few different things, but this was the one that worked best. It’s compact, durable, writes well, doubles in size for writing, looks stylish and even writes upside down.

— Scott Berkun

Fisher Stowaway Space Pen

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After losing two (expensive) Fisher Bullet Space Pens, I stumbled across their significantly less expensive Stowaway ($10). They’re small, available in three styles, with or without a clip on the cap, and with a stylus on the opposite end of the tip. Three colors, too: black, red and blue.

–Eric Rosenberg

I always liked the idea of Paul Fisher’s bullet-shaped Space Pens but at around $20 always felt they were not worth the benefits (writing anywhere, upside down, any temperature, under water, over grease, etc.). Now they sell a tiny (4 x 0.4 x 0.4 in.; 5.1 in. in writing mode) pretty-much-weightless tube pen called the Stowaway with the famous ink refill, for about half the price of the Bullet. I bought a mess of them and threw one in every jacket.

— Vince Crisci

11/5/18

(This is a Cool Tools Favorite from 2009 — editors)

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