REVIEW: INVENTERY INTERCHANGEABLE PEN + PENCIL

Inventery is a young luxury design and lifestyle brand based in Los Angeles that has made a strong come up in the last few years. I've been following along on their journey, taking a look at a couple of pen-related Inventery products here on the blog. At a glance, you'll notice that Inventery's style is unmistakably uniform across all of their products, and is dominated by an industrial minimalist design language. While simple in looks, Inventery definitely likes to experiment with packing a lot of functionality in their products, as they displayed last year with their impressive customizable pocket fountain pen (reviewed HERE).

Their latest pen is even based completely around a modular concept, being able to switch between ballpoint and mechanical pencil in a single writing utensil - all while maintaining that super-sleek and minimal aesthetic. If you want to check them out, they are on IndieGoGo right now at a really tempting introductory price!

The straight, cylindrical shape of the Interchangeable pen + pencil (and any Inventery pen, for that matter) is clean and simple. What you see is what you get, no unnecessary details - as you'd expect from a minimal design. There's not much to talk about in terms of design, really. But there's just something about minimal pens, and how they reduce the experience to the barebones functionality, that pushes all the right buttons for me. Nevertheless, the hard, industrial design and all-metal construction makes for a pen that's probably not for everyone.

The choice of knurled or smooth top adds just a hint of customisation.

In terms of construction, Inventery continues to loyally use brass for ALL their pens, with three different finishes to choose from. The brass construction means that they are essentially all the same, and have the exact same heft. The raw brass starts out as a sleek gold pen, but the finish is at its best after a while of use when the patina builds up. For some reason I've always been a fan of Inventery's brushed nickel finish. I'm normally not the one to go for silver pens, but this one I like a lot. The brushed finish adds a slightly weathered, satin look to the shiny silver, and the brass base shows at the corners of the pen. Finally, the matte black oxide coated option is stealthy and the finish has a great tactile feel in the hand where the other two are slick.

L to R: Tactile Turn Mover, Inventery Mechanical pen, Inventery Pocket fountain pen, Inventery Interchangeable pen + pencil, Lamy 2000, Lamy Safari

The Interchangeable pen hits a comfortable sweet spot with its 13.7 cm (5.4") overall length. It's longer than Inventery's own Mechanical Pen (reviewed HERE), yet not quite as long as the Tactile Turn Mover or Glider (which I'd consider large pens). At 50 grams, the brass construction is immediately noticeable when you pick it up. But it's not as hefty and fatiguing as some brass/copper fountain pens like the Namisu Nova or Ensso Piuma, which easily go into the 70-90 gram territory. Still, if you don't like heavier pens, this one might not be for you. 

The clip is the same as on the pocket fountain pen, but with an added ball at the end to add tension. Branding is laser engraved on the underside to retain a clean look.

In terms of build quality; the all-metal outer construction feels solid and is well put together. As a testimony to its durability, the nickel-plated pen has been in my EDC for a few weeks now, and came out remarkably unscathed of an unpleasant meeting with a tile floor.

The interchangeable pen + pencil (not exactly a catchy name, but at least you know what you buy!) obviously tries to set itself apart through its dual functionality. With each pen you get two refills accompanied by two complete inner mechanisms. The important nuance to make here, is that the system isn't exactly made to swap out on the go. You'll need to do a bit of dissasembly to switch the parts, because the entire knock mechanism has to be replaced when you opt for the pencil mechanism - and vice versa. Switching isn't necessarily dificult, but it takes a minute of fiddling, and I wonder why they didn't just machine a single custom mechanism that works for both the ballpoint and pencil refills (which I think should have been possible). The final production version will also include a separate eraser-topped push button to use along with the pencil insert (not shown here).

Both pen and pencil refills are Schmidt-made, and are hard to knock (terrible pun intended). On the ballpoint side, you'll find the excellent Schmidt Easyflow 9000 - a perfect ballpoint/gel ink hybrid that's smooth and lays down a pitch-black line. The Schmidt Easyflow 9000 has been a personal favourite ever since I discovered them in the Baron Fig Squire Click, and it makes me reach for this pen a lot. As far as ballpoint pens go, it's hassle-free and reliable, yet the more liquid-like ink provides the comfortable, smooth flow that a gel pen would have. On top of that, it also lays down a much darker and consistent line than the average ballpoint pen.

The Schmidt DSM 2007 mechanical pencil mechanism - while rather generic - does its job perfectly fine. The mechanism threads into the front section of the pen, which provides a rattle-free and steady writing experience. The 0.5mm lead size mechanism that comes with the pen is a good standard size for writing. As other reviewers indicated, the lead does seem a tad prone to breaking, but going for a different brand of leads is an easy fix. Another nice feature is that these mechanisms are very cheap and easy to replace if you'd want a different lead size.

The mechanism of the ballpoint pen seems to be a generic plastic two-piece knock,whereas the pencil refill itself has a partially plastic construction but comes with a metal click mechanism. So in both cases there are some plastic parts on the inside Time will have to tell whether or not that means you're trading in a bit of durability for the option to swap between writing modes.

Whereas earlier Inventery products mostly reside in the higher price segment, they explicitly chose to go for a more affordable offering this time around. The retail pricing on the Interchangeable pen + pencil will be 60$, but for now there's still some time to get in on the IndieGoGo campaign, where they are offered at just 42$, or 72$ for a two-pack. I'd be comfortable putting this pen up to the likes of Karas Pen Co., or Tactile Turn, where it offers a similar quality writing instrument for the same price or less. Yes, the mechanism is somewhat generic, but it doesn't impact the user experience, and both pen and pencil systems are well thought-out.

NOTE: This product was provided by Inventery, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affiliate links.