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The Best Pressurized Ink Pens

The Best Pressurized Ink Pens

October 10, 2017 - Posted by Kristin to Guides, Pens, Ballpoint Pens

The Best Pressurized Ink Pens

Whether you're on a military assignment or an Antarctic excursion, you need dependable tools that can keep up with the task. Enter pressurized ink pens. These specialized pens are designed to write in extreme conditions, including on wet surfaces, in subzero temperatures, and in zero gravity situations.

TOP CHOICE
Pilot Down Force Ballpoint Pen
The Pilot Down Force works well in a wide range of situations.
The Pilot Down Force is our favorite pressurized ink pen for the broadest range of applications. It works well in most circumstances, including writing at an angle, on wet paper, and in cold or heat. It does not write well on oiled paper. It has a wide body and a firm, slightly concave rubber grip. Despite its sturdy construction, its plastic body is quite light. We found it the most comfortable to hold of all the pressurized ink pens.

The Down Force’s large binder clip is its most noticeable feature. It attaches firmly to notebooks and includes a lanyard hole if you need to fasten it more securely. Overall, the pen has a practical yet cohesive design that is suitable for casual environments without appearing too inelegant for more professional situations.

Technology

Regular ballpoint pens rely on gravity to dispense ink, which is why they cannot write at certain angles. Although perfectly adequate for writing on horizontal surfaces, what happens when you're faced with a vertical or upside-down surface? To tackle the problem, pressurized ink pens were were developed. These pens compress the air inside the ink cartridge to force ink out, allowing you to write on difficult surfaces at varying angles. This is achieved in one of two ways.

The first method uses pre-compressed air in the ink cartridge to ensure that ink is continually pushed toward the tip. The ink used in these pressurized cartridges is also more viscous, preventing unwanted leaks, and only liquefies as a result of friction during writing. The second method uses a mechanism on the pen body to inject air into the cartridge, called the retraction method. The energy from each push of the pen cap forces air into the ink cartridge, creating a pressurized state which allows the ink to be pushed toward the tip.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Most Affordable
Uni Power Tank Ballpoint Pen
The Power Tank provides excellent value for money.
The Uni Power Tank may not look like much, but don’t be fooled - it works just as well as other ink pens. It will write in almost any situation, including upside down, on wet paper, and in cold or heat. It does not write well on greasy paper. Its body has no special features, although the standard Power Tank does have a textured rubber grip that prevents hand slippage. This focus on function goes with a remarkably low price that makes it easy to keep multiple pens in places where you might need them. We like to stash ours in our cars, kitchens, and emergency kits. The Power Tank is available in 0.7 mm and 1 mm tip sizes.
Sleek Design
Fisher Space Pen Bullet Ballpoint Pen
Fisher Space Pen is classy and reliable.
The first pressurized ink pen ever invented is also the most elegant. The solid brass Fisher Space Pen forms a pocketable, bullet-shaped capsule when capped yet is full length with a graceful taper when posted. It comes in six shiny finishes as well as matte black. These good looks let it fit in at more formal occasions while keeping you prepared for any contingency - not to mention, its history makes an excellent conversation starter.

Most importantly, you can count on it to perform. It writes perfectly upside down and in heat. It started out faintly in our cold test but quickly recovered to deliver a strong line. It was easily readable in our water tests even though it feathered. The Fisher Space Pen also performed far better than the other pens on oiled paper. Its ink became clumpy and stringy, but it formed legible letters without priming of any sort.

Everyday Carry
Tombow AirPress Ballpoint Pen
The Tombow AirPress is rugged and compact.
If you’re looking for a reliable pen to carry with you at all times, consider the Tombow AirPress. It doesn’t do well on greasy paper, but it effortlessly handles odd writing angles, cold, heat, and wet paper. Its stubby body fits easily into pockets. Despite its short length, it is long enough to hold comfortably. Every color except clear features a rubberized, slip-resistant body. Windows in the grip section show the rugged internal spring. It has a surprisingly strong wire clip so you’re not likely to lose it, but you can also use the lanyard hole to tie it to a bag.

If the Tombow AirPress isn’t small enough, go with the Fisher Space Pen Backpacker. It attaches to a key ring and features the same pressurized ink as the classic Fisher Space Pen.

TEST RESULTS
Zero Gravity
All of the pens wrote well upside down.
All of the pens wrote well upside down.
Astronauts aren't the only ones who can take advantage of pressurized ink pens' gravity-defying features. Constructions workers and others who hold field jobs may find themselves in situations where they cannot write on horizontal surfaces. We tested the pens at various angles, including upside down and sideways, and all the pens passed with flying colors.
Wet
The Down Force and AirPress wrote the best on wet paper.
The Down Force and AirPress wrote the best on wet paper.
Swim coaches, marine biologists, and others who work around water will appreciate the prowess of pressurized ink pens on wet surfaces. On a wet sheet of paper, the Fisher Space Pen feathered and occasionally skipped but remained entirely legible. The Power Tank delivered a slightly broken line without difficulty. Both the Down Force and AirPress were a little lighter than normal but otherwise wrote as well as they usually do.
Greasy
The Fisher Space Pen was able to write on oiled paper.
The Fisher Space Pen was able to write on oiled paper.
Restaurant workers such as servers and cooks often deal with oil stains on order pads and need a pen that can write through the mess. We tried four cooking oils against these pens: soybean, olive, peanut, and grapeseed. All yielded the same results. The Fisher Space Pen performed the best. Its ink became stringy and clumpy but remained easy to read. The Power Tank, Down Force, and AirPress barely left any ink on the paper at all. All quickly started writing normally again when used on regular paper.
Cold
All of the pens wrote well in the cold.
Despite a slow start for the Fisher Space Pen and Pilot Down Force, all of the pens wrote well in the cold.
Pressurized pens can handle the cold weather conditions that mountain climbers and outdoor workers face. All of the pens wrote a little lighter than usual after an hour in our office freezer. The Fisher Space Pen and Pilot Down Force were slow to start but quickly recovered. Any of these pens should work well for your next winter adventure.
Hot
All of the pens wrote well in the heat.
All of the pens wrote well in the heat.
Metal workers, desert explorers, and drivers in hot regions can turn to pressurized ink pens when their regular pens can't stand the heat. We stuck the pens in a hot car for an afternoon for this test. All of the pens wrote easily. They seemed a little smoother and laid down a darker line than normal. If you expect to spend a lot of time in the heat, be aware that the Fisher Space Pen’s metal body became too hot to hold comfortably during our tests.
COMPARE THESE PENS

Do you want to review all of our recommended pressurized ink pens at once? Use our comparison tool to see their specifications side by side.

HOW WE APPROACH RESEARCH & TESTING

Our writers draw on their personal expertise, consult our in-house subject matter experts, and do extensive research to make our guides as accurate and comprehensive as possible. We then test every finding that makes it through the research stage. Only the techniques and tools whose performance we personally confirm make it into our guides as recommendations.

A Pen That's Out of This World

Contrary to popular belief, NASA did not spend millions of dollars trying to perfect an anti-gravity pen while the Russians simply used pencils. In fact, NASA did have a stint with pencils, but they came with their own set of problems. Pencils were prone to breakage and the little wooden shards could cause dangerous situations as they floated around the cabin. Moreover, the wood and graphite could burn rapidly in a pure oxygen environment. After a fire in Apollo 1, where three astronauts tragically died, it was obvious that they needed a better solution.

At the same time, independent of NASA, Paul Fisher was working tirelessly on the "perfect pen"--a pen that wouldn't leak or dry up, would write underwater, and would write in extreme temperatures. After many iterations and over a million dollars of research and development, he finally presented the "Anti-Gravity" Pen to NASA in 1965. NASA tested the pen for two years before determining that the pen indeed fulfilled all the requirements that NASA had for a writing instrument. It would work:

  • In a vacuum.
  • In zero gravity.
  • In hot temperatures.
  • In cold temperatures.
  • Without burning in a pure oxygen atmosphere.

Fisher's pen famously accompanied Apollo 7 astronauts into space, and the rest is history.

Conclusion

As the saying goes, the future is now. Have you tried pressurized ink pens before? Let us know what you use them for in the comments below!

Product Length (cm) Diameter (mm) Weight (oz) Tip Sizes Available Refill Colors Price
Fisher Space Pen Bullet 13.7 9 0.67 Medium (Fine and Broad refills available) Black, Blue, Brown, Burgundy Red, Green, Red, Purple, Silver, Turquoise Blue $$$
Pilot Down Force 13.8 14 0.48 0.7 mm Black, Blue, Green, Red $
Tombow AirPress 12.2 13 0.51 0.7 mm Black, Blue, Green, Red $$
Uni Power Tank 14.4 11 0.45 0.7, 1.0 mm (0.5 mm refills available) Black, Blue, Red $