Arguably, mightier than the sword, but the pen can let you down. Leaking all over your best shirt or jacket, running out at that vital moment or failing to make a mark in the wet or cold. Well throw out those biros and treat yourself to a trouble-free Fisher Space Pen.
This classy writing instrument was originally commissioned by NASA and developed at a cost of millions of dollars. It proved a great success when it was taken on all manned Apollo flights and Soyuz 3, 4 and 5 flights. So what does it do?
This pen writes under water, on shiny surfaces and over grease and fingerprints. It works perfectly in intense heat (up to 200C), in the freezing cold (down to 20C) and in the gravity-free void.
In contrast to other pens, you can write in any position, even upwards.
And you can forget smudging or messy leaks. No excess ink escapes the high-precision stainless steel socket. The Space Pen is hermetically sealed and pressurised, so evaporation, wasted ink and back leakage are eliminated.
As for its longevity, it will take around 100 years to wear out. In the meantime, it should write for more than three miles before even needing a refill - three times longer than most pens.
The standard Space Pen costs £16.50 and is more expensive with clips, wallets and other accessories. Available at Minima, St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, or Presents Of Mind, Dawson Street, Dublin 2.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VR3765MFOBH2NMV2QNICYDF67M.png)