I’ve been testing out the orange Spoke pen for the last few weeks. When I write testing, I really mean abusing. I’ve been carrying it with me everywhere. I’ve used it at work, on the bus, outside, and at home. Right now you can sign up to buy your own via Kickstarter. The kickstarter campaign ends on 20190309 (March 9th, 2019.)

It hasn’t disappointed.

The pen arrived swaddled in bubble wrap from The Pen Addict himself. The pen is lightweight but feels sturdy. The cap is the heaviest part of the pen and moved the balance when capped. The pen cannot be posted, which works well enough for me, but might be a deal breaker for some. The clip is simple and springy. It’s not tight but grips to things well. I carried this clipped to my shirt and it never once slipped or fell off. It stays where you clip it. I also carried this clipped into my leather Fodderstack XL (LFXL) and it stayed in my pocket. I dropped my LFXL and the pen stayed IN the pen slot.

The body of the pen consists of two parts- the grip and the body. The grip has rings to improve the grip rather than knurling. I’d love to see a deeply knurled version of this grip. The grooves feel good and are easy to like. I could also see some silicone or rubber o-rings slid into the grooves. In other words I see loads of potential for customization here.

The body of the pen has slots cut into the sides. They expose a sleeve inside the body of the pen. In this case that sleeve is black, but there are plans to offer additional colors and color combinations. I find that the slots offer a tactile fidget opportunity. I like the look and the feel.

The pen takes Uniball Signo DX or Uni-ball Signo UMR-1 refills. It ships with one 0.5 refill but others are available via Amazon or Jetpens. They are available in 0.28 on up. I like the 0.38 or 0.5. The 0.5 is slim but also smooth, while the 0.38 can be a bit scratchy.

Inside the body is a spring that holds the tip tight but also allows for different refill lengths. Everything in this pen is tight and it doesn’t make a noise as I write.

The cap deserves another mention here. It is held to the pen via rare earth magnets. The cap slides on smoothly and snaps in place after a certain point. I find myself fidgeting with this gain and again. Despite the pen being held into the cap with magnets I found that it never slid out while I was wearing it clipped to my shirt. It stayed perfectly in place.

Clearly, I like this pen. The orange is bright without being neon. I can find it easily in my bag or on my desk. I like the fact that it holds a refill that most pen bodies ignore. Like Brad, I’m a fan of the Uniball Signo, it’s a great pen and the UMR refills are among the best Uniball make. They are also a superior pen refill for sketching- laying down smooth even lines that dry water resistant.

Any refillable pen body is an investment. Like any investment one must decide how much of an investment they are willing to dive into. The Spoke pen is not cheap, at $60, it is on par with any other machined pen body. It is made and assembled in the US. It’s a gorgeous pen that is durable as hell. If you like the Uniball Signo DX this might be the refillable investment for you.