Visconti - Checkmate | LTD | – Pen Venture

Destiny Smith

Excellent Pocket Pen

The Gravitas Pocket Pen is another answer to a question that I didn't know anybody asked. Before you aim your flamethrower my way, let me explain why I said that. The object "Pocket Pen" is such an oddity to begin with. Most people would not put an object into their pants pocket that has the potential to leak strongly colored fluid into things that should not have their color changed. Pants pockets are at a location on the body that is usually in motion in a variety of ways. The potential for damage of non-flexible items is probably highest in pants pockets out of all possible pocket locations. And yet...here we are. Gravitas Pocket Pens, for the most part, are made out of metals which are more damage resistant than plastics. The materials used have to be thick enough to resist bending and breaking while the owner's body bends and moves in ways that make structural engineers weep. And the pen has to be short enough to not interfere with freedom of movement while being carried in said pants pocket. Ben Walsh's engineering have solved those problems by making Pocket Pens out of a variety of materials that are able to survive the rigors of Pants Pocket Carry without mechanical or material failure. Keep in mind that most pants pockets also contain a variety of other objects besides a pen, and their interaction inside the pocket will lead to scratches, nicks, and marks that probably won't buff out...which is the main reason why I don't want to put a pen with a coating (paint, PVD, Anodize, DLC, etc.) in my pocket. Eventually, the coating is coming off. Some come off in a couple of weeks, some take several years, but sooner or later... So, why buy a zirconium pen that weighs 11 grams less than the stainless steel pen, and 26 grams more than an alumin(i)um pen? Because it's more scratch resistant than titanium, but still workable with industrial tools...barely. The pen is virtually flawless: the nib is smooth, ink flow is wonderful, fit and finish are awesome, the grip diameter is not too skinny, not too wide, and the micro grooves prevent finger slippage. In my opinion, grip size/shape has more influence over how well the pen feels in your hands, and how long you can write with it in one session than the weight. The only thing that couldn't be overcome is the inability to accommodate a full size converter. But there's an Entry, Sentry and Flagship pen that provide the same awesome engineering, same nib sizes, and room for a standard cartridge converter!

Gravitas - Pocket Zirconium Stone Washed | LTD |

★ Reviews

Let customers speak for us

837 reviews

Write a review

92%

(770)

(52)

(6)

(5)

(4)

799

Gravitas - Pocket Zirconium Stone Washed | LTD |

Destiny Smith

Excellent Pocket Pen

Caran d'Ache - 849 Claim Your Style Ballpoint Pen | Burgundy BMT

C.B.

A beautiful burgundy ballpoint.

After picking up the Purple Ocean version of this Caran d'Ache pen, I ended up ordering this Burgundy version as a gift for someone else. They really like it. The parts that stood out to them the most were how pretty it is, the good hand feel and weight, and that it writes reliably.

Gravitas - Quark Ultem Pocket Pen

Philip M Stevens

Delightful little pocket pen

I bought this as I have the Namisu Pocket Nova in ultem and wanted something thinner but with a #6nib. This pen fit perfectly, now may need to get more nibs for it, and possibly a second one.

Gravitas - Dinkey Skittle

C.B.

Gravitas Dinkey Skittle

The steel of this particular Dinkey gives it a more distinct weight compared to similar titanium models. While it contrasts in that regard, it mirrors their quality, fit and finish. Capping, uncapping and posting all feel smooth and reliable. And the Skittle's finish it everything I had hoped for. It's vibrant, colorful and shiny, without being a finger-print magnet.

This makes my fifth Dinkey so far now. It along with the rest all arrived securely and in a timely manner thanks to everyone on the Pen Venture team.

Gravitas - Monster Aluminium | Teal

Ville

Lovely design, sloppy on the details

I absolutely love this design, but item I received left a lot to be desired in terms of quality and attention to detail. First, the nib suffered from hard starts. Furthermore, in the pen I received, the microengraving on the finial band is so far off centre that the taller letters are clipped at the top (please see attached photo). For me, neither of these is acceptable at this price point. After exchanging a number of e-mails with Gravitas customer support, they agreed to send me replacement parts for the filling mechanism (including the finial band) and the nib unit.

When the parts finally arrived, I was shocked and disappointed to see that the new filling mechanism did not work at all (the two parts at the tip of the plunger are stuck together, even a generous application silicone grease did not get them to move freely). Furthermore, the colour and texture of the anodising on the end finial of the new filling mechanism did not match the original pen, and the finial band has a serial number that was never present in the original pen (see attached photo). I can’t help thinking that someone out there has a “unique limited edition” pen with the exact same serial number on their pen as I do on my spare filing mechanism, which feels wrong. I contacted Gravitas customer support again, and they informed me that the anodising colour cannot be matched perfectly between batches (strange, considering that the anodising on all the parts of the original item I received was well matched), and that the serial number is not a warranty issue, so they will take no further action to try to remedy the situation. After inquiring about the faulty filling mechanism that didn't work even after generous application of silicone grease, I have not received any reply at all from Gravitas, which is disappointing to say the least.

After nearly 2 months, I am now left with a selection of mismatched and dysfunctional parts and disappointment. I find this to be a huge shame since the design itself is so lovely. Some of the issues I raised above are certainly nit-picky, but in my opinion reasonable expectations to have at this price point. Anyway, I hope that my review will at least allow others to have more realistic expectations of the quality of this product.

1 2 3

Visconti - Checkmate | LTD |

Customer Reviews

Let customers speak for us