(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)
The new Reaktor line from Karas Pen Co. is zooming all over the world right now, and for good reason. They're affordable, durable, reliable, comfortable, and fun. I got to try out the Galaxie XL model, and since they sent four, I gave one to my tween and one to my husband to try as well.
I call my husband "the pen destroyer". Your standard ballpoint won't last a day in his pocket. Over the years I've bought him several tough and seemingly indestructible pens only to have him hand them back to me in pieces, smooshed, bent beyond use. So when I say he's been using this pen every day for over a month and it's still in excellent condition, I'm saying these pens will outlast us all. There will be Galaxie pens sticking up from the sand and ashes of civilization.
Karas Pen Co. created the Reaktor line to be simple and affordable. The Galaxie, at $45, is more than fairly priced for what you get. The pen comes in black, tumbled, or silver with either blue or red sections. All are machined aluminum.
They're fairly small pens--not quite pocket sized by my reckoning, but shorter and slimmer than most machined pens. They're shorter than a Retro 51 Tornado, though similar in width. The aluminum makes them fairly light, but hefty enough to feel like a substantial pen. I had no fatigue when writing with them, even for long stretches, and even with the pen posted. It's a very well balanced pen.
The cap closes with a satisfying click and the rings at the back end of the pen are designed to help it post securely and deeply. Because the parts are metal on metal, the cap does rattle a little both when closed and posted. I prefer not to post it when I'm writing for that reason. If you don't like that rattle and you have larger hands and prefer posting, this might not be the pen for you.
The clip is the classic bolted-on stainless steel "bulletproof" clip that Karas offers. This is the only part of the pen suffered in my husband's care. He managed to bend it sideways quite a bit--bulletproof is not David-proof, it seems, or perhaps I married Superman.
The grip is nicely contoured and very comfortable to hold. It didn't ever get too slippery or cramp my hand. The metal warmed up nicely as I wrote.
The Galaxie XL takes G2 style refills, which are easy to get in a variety of colors and tip sizes, so your options are well-covered.
The design is inspired by 1960s space race and automotive aesthetics, and it definitely has that vintage rocket feel to it. It's a very simple design, but elegantly done. My tween has declared that it "looks awesome". This is exceedingly high praise.
Probably my favorite thing about the Galaxie XL has been watching my dudes get attached to theirs. They aren't Pen Addicts. They think I'm nuts. But when I see my tween has a special spot on his desk just for this pen, and my hubby asking if he can have his pen back yet when I had to borrow it to take pictures of his poor clip--I know they really do understand how a pen can be special.
(Karas Pen Co. provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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