(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)
Need a pen that can survive almost anything? Probably not! But is it fun to try one, anyway? Yup! Conditions at my work rarely reach the extreme levels this pen was designed for, but it's good to know that it's safe even in the crushing pressure at the bottom of my bag.
Tactile Turn is well known for their bolt action pens, which come in a variety of sizes and materials, including super fun limited series. Of all the ones I've tried (which is a fair few, as they're my spouse's favorite), the Short Ultem Bolt Action Pen may be my favorite design. Not just because it's indestructible, but because it's so light.
Ultem 1000 is not just resistant to heat, flame, chemicals, and force, it's also super lightweight. This pen, made entirely from Ultem 1000 with a few titanium accents and a stainless steel clip, feels like it could blow away in a breeze. I can write with it for hours without getting any hand fatigue, and it doesn't add any weight to my overpacked bag.
This short length is the Goldilocks of the Tactile Turn offerings. I also love their mini size, as I adore a good pocket pen, but it isn't as comfortable for longer writing sessions and has fewer refill options. The body of the pen has the signature ridged texture of all Tactile Turn pens, which make it easy to grip.
The steel clip is very sturdy and clips firmly to papers and pockets. The titanium bolt works smoothly, with just enough resistance to make it an exceptional fidget. The nosecone unscrews to access the refill, and the refill is the one thing I don't love about this pen.
The short size comes with the Schmidt EasyFlow 9000 medium refill, and mine was super smudgy. It never seemed to dry all the way, so even pages that were written the previous day were smudging when I touched them. That's not a dealbreaker for me, just a temporary annoyance. There are a lot of other refills that can replace this one when it runs out. They even have a handy list on their website.
The Short Ultem Bolt Action Pen sells for $99 at Dromgoole's, which is quite a good price considering the difficulty of working with the material and the specialized machinery required.
This pen has been in my purse since it arrived (alongside the Buccaneer Tactile Turn Mini Bolt) as one of the main pens I reach for on a daily basis. It certainly won't be my last Tactile Turn pen. I nearly ended up with a new one just by going to their site to grab the link. I highly recommend them, and this one especially.
(This product was purchased from Dromgoole’s at regular price.)
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