RIIND 'THE PEN' REVIEW

RIIND. The Pen. 'The Pen that rewrites them all'... Pretentious? Maybe, but it has to be said that 'the Pen' has seen a LOT of use in the past months that I had it in hands. It's a rollerball pen(or gel ink, or ballpoint, depending on the refill you choose), yes. But it did kind of win me over the more I wrote with it. In fact, I wrote most of my recent exams with it. Why? Like it or not, but fountain pens aren't always the most practical solution, especially if you have to write non-stop for 4 hours on the worst possible copy paper. 

So the Riind pen, why do I like it? 

Well first off is the design. The Pen (I'll just type it with a capital letter because it's the name of the pen, right? Or doesn't it have a name at all??? Really confusing.) is a beefy, long pen with a rather simple general shape that's easy on the eyes. Just a straight cylinder with nicely rounded ends. 

I guess you could call it a 'minimal' design, but I'd choose to use terms like futuristic, and industrial. The knurled grip and twist knob give the pen some visual interest (and add functionality of course), and it makes the pen look rugged at the same time. The knurling is noticeable in the hand, but doesn't feel abrasive or sharp. Apart from the knurled sections, the anodised aluminium has a lightly brushed finish to it, which adds to the raw and industrial appearance of the pen.

Your eye will immediately be drawn towards the unique steel wire clip, so let's talk about that: This asymmetrical folded steel wire clip is somewhat remniscent of the Lamy Safari, but has quite a strange shape. When you see it for the first time, you'd most likely think it's broken. But the shape -with one end of the clip attached to the barrel slightly higher than the other- actually gives it its spring-loaded action. 

The design of the clip is quite clever, although not the most functional in the real world. For starters, it's quite stiff and sits snugly against the barrel; clipping it onto something requires two hands. Secondly, the fact that one side is attached to the barrel almost a centimeter lower, means that it doesn't clip very deeply. Oh, and they call it 'virtually indestructible', well I'm glad they said virtually because... well, I broke it. Admitted, I'm a bit of an asshole, and upon reading their statement I may have pushed it a little too far, but I can now say that it CANNOT bend indefinitely. However, credit where credit is due: it  just popped out of the socket at one side. An easy fix, and it still works just fine after putting it back in.

Not the biggest fan of the laser-engraved logo on the back of the barrel, but it's relatively unobtrusive.

The Pen is entirely made out of anodized aluminium, and is available in three subtle colors: clear (natural aluminium), grey and black anodised. Both the clear and grey versions come with a chrome-colored steel clip, the black one can come with either a black or chrome clip. Which makes for a total of four different available colorways. I received both the grey/chrome and black/black versions. Both have a very different look to them. The grey one looks refined, whereas the all-black version is sleek and stealthy.

L to R: Karas Pen Co EDK, Retrakt, Riind The Pen, Retro 51 Tornado Big Shot, Lamy Safari.

The Pen is a rather sizeable writing instrument. It measures in at 14.2 cm (5.6") long with the refill retracted, and has a diameter of 1.14cm (0.45") across the entire length of the pen. It's a surprisingly beefy pen, and has a solid weight of 29 grams. For me, it hits the sweet spot in terms of size and weight, and the knurled section makes it sit comfortably in my hand. Everything about this pen feels solid and well-made. If you unscrew the nose cone to change the refill, you can see how thick the barrel is, so I dare to say it's well-suited for EDC.

Then there's probably the coolest thing about the entire Pen: the twist knob! The 'Continuous Cam' mechanism makes it able to turn it BOTH WAYS, AND IT KEEPS ON TURNING!! You probably think I'm going insane (after all, I DO spend my days reviewing pens...), but this really is super cool. It's such a silly detail, but it's very handy (you don't have to remember which way to turn, making it easy and fast to deploy), and it's fun to fidget with. The twist action is solid and robust, and especially in the beginning it can be quite stiff. But the knurling helps to twist it with one hand with a firm snap. I've literally been playing with it for months now, and the mechanism still feels solid and has virtually zero play... The people behind Riind didn't go to MIT for nothing! 

But enough about the twist knob. After all, what's a pen if it doesn't write properly? That's why the Riind is -supposedly- compatible with over 35 different refills, so you'll always find one that fits your fancy. There's a pretty long list of compatible refills on their website (that you can find here). I didn't bother changing out the refill it came with, which is a Pilot G2 gel ink refill (0.5mm). I'm not a gel ink fan necessarily, but the Pilot G2 puts a smile on my face every time I use it. It leaves a dark and consistent line, doesn't smudge easily, and doesn't bleed through (something my #1 favourite rollerball refill, the Schmidt P8126, does.). The Pilot G2 is also generally quite affordable and easy to get, and comes in a variety of colors to choose from.

All in all, Riind did a fantastic job on their debut product, 'The Pen'. It won't win any prizes for most creative name, but it does score high marks in all other areas. To answer the question that I asked myself at the beginning of this review: Why do I like it? Well, the Riind Pen succeeds at combining an interesting, industrial design with a comfortable form factor. It has some original features (some more useful than others) that set it apart from other pens out there, and most importantly: it very pleasant to write with! 

But all that does come at a cost. It was one of the biggest gripes during their Kickstarter campaign in 2016, and it certainly is now, when you have to pay the full retail of 100 USD. That's not cheap. Especially considering there are other comparable offerings on the market that sell for considerably less (Think about Karas Pen Co. Retrakt, Tactile Turn Shaker,...). Considering the quality and design you get, 100$ is not outrageously expensive, but it's not exactly an impulse buy either. If they could reduce the price by maybe 10 or 20 dollars, it would be a no-brainer for me. 

This product was sent to me on loan by Riind 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 affilate links.

KARAS PEN CO. DECOGRAPH FOUNTAIN PEN REVIEW

Karas Pen Co. (The new brand name for Karas Kustoms' writing-related products) is, despite the new name, of course not a newcomer to the writing industry. We all know them for their rather rugged, machined metal pens. Beceause of this 'built to last a lifetime' design philosophy, their products speak mostly to the EDC community. Their pens that are made to be used and carried, designed to withstand daily use.

That's not to say that their metal pens, such as the Retrakt, Ink or Render-K don't get any attention from our writing community (which often overlaps with the EDC community anyway). But it's clear that their more rugged designs, and mostly all-metal construction don't speak to everyone. We can be quite picky about our pens, and Karas Kustoms knows that. So they 'branched' out with their latest pen design: the Decograph!

In a way, the Decograph is a clear departure from their earlier products. It's a more refined and elegant pen, and it's made of acrylic instead of metal. But then at the same time, it still carries their signature style. It's got a retro-ish look to it, sort of art-deco and industrial at the same time.

Yet they didn't entirely leave the machined metal scene for this one... The Decograph comes in a one-of-a-kind custom machined aluminium tube that doubles as a carrying case/desk stand! The first impression when you open the box: wow! The case, machined from a solid rod of aluminium, has the Karas Kustoms logo machined on the lid and it feels incredibly solid. Uncapping the tube takes a few turns which really feels like you're dissasembling some heavy machinery or something. It guess you could consider this a nod to their history, showing off the expertise KK has built up over the years of building and tuning hot rods.

But of course we're not here for the case, no matter how cool it is. Let's talk about the pen...

The flattop cigar shape has a rather wide and large cap, which I think emphasizes the strong taper of the body of the pen. This pen has curves, where other Karas pens usually had a more straight and bulky design. 

The finials on both cap and barrel are aluminium. The one on the cap has a slightly pointed shape, whereas the bottom finial is slightly hollowed out and has the Karas Kustoms logo machined inside it. The branding on the bottom finial is also the only branding on the entire pen (apart from the bock-branded nib), which is a nice touch to keep a clean look.

The clip is one of the main attention points of the pen, with a uniquely machined aluminium design, attached to a spring stainless steel connection piece. The beveled edges give the clip a streamlined and refined look, while the two-part design of the clip keeps some of that Karas Kustoms ruggedness. The clip is definitely the main design element on this pen, and I think they did a good job on the design. Clips, for me, are a purely aesthetic element, but in this case the spring steel actually makes it quite functional. it's still a relatively stiff clip, but it's definitely more usable than the ultra stiff solid steel clips on other KK pens I've tried.

The black thermoplast material (which is one of the standard color options available, alongside seasonal limited edition materials) is most likely a regular acrylic as you would find from other brands. The term 'thermoplast' sounds quite space-age, but it's just a technical term really.

The plastic parts are all polished manually. You can still faintly see the machining lines of the CNC process. In my opinion, the semi-glossy finish gives it the look and feel of black ebonite, which is quite nice. For some reason, this pen feels really pleasant in the hand.

L to R: Kaweco Brass Sport, Pelikan M805, Karaskustoms Retrakt, Karaskustoms Decograph, Lamy Safari, Lamy 2000

Measuring in at 13.7cm (5.39") capped, and 12.7cm (5") uncapped, the decograph is a moderately sized pen. I originally anticipated it to be rather large, as it could be seen as KK's current 'flagship' pen. But instead they chose to go for a more manageable size that will probably fit a lot of users. Uncapped, it hits the sweetspot for me, but it can also be posted. The cap attaches firmly to the barrel when posted. Due to the lightweight construction of just over 20 g total, posting the cap doesn't make it terribly unbalanced (although it does shift the balance more towards the back). With a relatively wide maximum diameter of 1.5cm (0.6") around the cap, it appears quite stout.

The section has an average diameter of around 1 cm (0.4"), and has a strong concave shape which makes it very pleasant to hold. Being the first Karas pen without a metal section will probably also appeal to a lot of people that find metal sections too slippery. Behind the section is a relatively sharp step towards the threads. The threads themselves are unobtrusive, but the step towards the threads is noticeable. This would be the only minor downside I could think of in terms of comfort. It's a very comfortable pen to write with, due to the combination of a large, comfortable section, good dimensions and low overall weight.

The nib is a standard bock #6 nib. Not a whole lot to talk about, other than that it writes well and does what it's supposed to do. This particular medium (not indicated on the nib itself, but Karas Kustoms utilizes a color code on the nib housing to indicate nib size) is a smooth one with a balanced flow. It's a nice writer, what more can I say?

Optional titanium nibs are available at a 45USD premium, while 14k gold nibs command a 105 USD surplus over the steel nibs. Personally I think Bock's steel nibs are good enough so I rarely consider the premium myself. Although at one point I suppose I'll HAVE to try out those gold nibs...just because, right?

Overall, I think Karas Kustoms did a great job with their latest creation. It's right in there with other US-based brands like Edison and Franklin-Christoph, with a price point of 165 USD. The superlative packaging is a nice extra (especially when you give this as a gift!), and the pen itself is on the level of quality we've come to expect from KK.

If you're looking for a more playful and colorful material, there's a semi-translucent green option available as a standard choice. But you can also wait for the limited edition releases that will occur every so often. These are very limited production runs of special acrylics that will definitely speak to a lot of people! The recent 1702 Elektron LE appealed to me a lot, but unfortunately it sold out incredibly fast (you can still read Ed Jelley's review about it HERE. Honestly check out the amazing photos he took of this pen!)

Note: This product was provided by Karas Kustoms (Karas Pen Co.), free of charge, 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 affilate links.