[Pen/Pencil Review] The Fisher Space Pen 0.9mm Fine Point Refills

One of the cool things about doing a blog like this – besides enabling my addiction to all things writing instrument – is feedback I get from both readers and manufacturers. Granted manufactures are still pretty rare, but it’s nice when they acknowledge the effort. Fisher Space Pens was the most recent.

After the review I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Fisher Space Pens contacted me about their fine point refills. It seems at least one person over there shares my preference for a more precise line. They offered to send me the fine point refill – the PR4F – and actually they sent me two in black ink.

These are the Pressurized ink refills. They fit all models of the Fisher Space Pen except the Q4. So I immediately stuck one in my iridescent lime green Bullet pen. I saw a significant difference. All of the PR refills are about 3.5″ long. The website gives some statistics – it should write more than 12,000 feet… though I want to know who’s job that is to measure and how big and area did the sample cover… because, you know that could be a job I might like. It’s rated for temperatures from -30° to +250° – not to mention in zero gravity, upside down, and underwater (still haven’t wanted to write underwater, but hey, there’s a first time…)

They’re designed for the Fisher line, but someone’s smart. The refills come with plastic adapters to modify the refill to fit many other kinds of pens – including Parker Refill pens. I haven’t done this yet, but I really, really want to. This allows you to create a Space Pen out of your favorite barrel – which is something I’m looking forward to doing.

The 0.9mm line still provides a solid, dark line without the clumps and some smears. But I like this a lot better than the 1.1mm “Medium” point. I tend to write smaller with a finer point – or feel that the thinner line lets me get more on the page letting me do more in less space (thus saving the trees). The fine points come in the primary colors – blue, black, red, green – and I’m okay with that.
The numbers:

1. How does it work? – 1 – I haven’t tried writing with this pen underwater or in zero gravity, but it does write at all angles. I’d show you, but it’s hard to get that proof. The ink flows well. It does what it says it does.
2. Grip and feel – 1 – I don’t know how to rate this because it doesn’t have a “Grip” since it goes INSIDE the pen. The “feel” is nice. I like the line, the lack of glopping and smearing.
3. Material – 1 – I don’t know what the barrel’s made of, but the ball is tungsten carbide – the ball point isn’t going anywhere. It’s built to stand up to all the conditions mentioned.
4. Overall Design – 1 – I’m always annoyed when ink stops flowing on a vertical plane…this is designed to work in all kinds of conditions nothing else is. I don’t see leaks. I’m not trying to make it fail, because if it does fail, it will be spectacular, and I’m not cleaning that up. And they designed the refill to adapt to multiple pen barrels.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – It’s not cheap. The refills are $6-7 a pop depending on where you get them – $6 from the website, closer to $7 at some retail locations. If you need a pen in challenging conditions – it’s worth it for a dependable pen.

That’s 4.5 of 5 bronze pencils.