Hinderer Investigator Pen Review

The Hinderer Investigator pen is interesting. It’s a good writing pen like you’d expect. I mean how difficult is it to mess up a pen? However, because there’s a certain brand name on this pen, the price is super jacked up. I don’t think it’s worth the full price. If you can find it on sale or used, then buy it, but I definitely don’t recommend it for the big price tag.

Quality

The quality is fantastic. The threads are smooth. It’s exactly what you’d expect coming from Hinderer. No complaints at all.

Writing Experience

This pen is high end, but only uses a Fisher refill. Don’t get me wrong, I love Fisher refills. It just seems crazy that you’re paying $60 for a pen that uses a simple Fisher refill. Since it’s coming from Hinderer, I guess I just expected something more special.

 

Back to the Fisher refill, it writes well and can write in all sorts of crazy conditions. They’re one of my favorite refills. They do blot a lot, so it’s not the most high-end refill. Without o-rings in the grooves, the pen is extremely uncomfortable to write with. The grooves really dig into my hand to the point where I wouldn’t want to write with it for more than a minute. Getting some o-rings would eliminate this problem. I don’t get why Hinderer doesn’t just include the o-rings with the pen. You’re definitely paying enough, so the least they could do is include some.

It’s slightly heavy for its size. It’s not quite a full-sized pen, but more than enough to write with. The extra weight does help weigh down your hand when writing.

 

Other

The clip is way too tight. I’m not sure if that’s just mine, or if I need to wear it in some more. It’s pretty much unusable for me. Hinderer offers this pen in different colors and materials, like stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, or titanium. The cap is easy to unscrew with one hand. It’s a classier, tactical pen. I wouldn’t use it for self-defense or anything, but the option is there if you choose. There are different elements for the end—striking ones, flat ones, etc.

Price

This pen costs around $60. I think that’s outrageous for what you’re getting. There’s nothing that stands out about it besides the brand. Once you get it, it’s cool to have, but it’s definitely not worth the full price tag in my opinion. It’s not comfortable to write with straight out of the bag. Hinderer could easily include o-rings with these like I mentioned earlier. Also, can we talk about how it comes in a Ziploc bag? This is Hinderer were talking about. You would think for a company like them and for the price, they’d do a better job with the packaging. Even a simple box would have been better than a bag. I have a $10 pen that came in a nice box, so why can’t a $60 pen come in one too? I think that’s unacceptable for the price and this highly-esteemed company.

I don’t think this is a good pen, plain and simple. Sure the refill writes well, but for me, a product is more than just how it performs. There’s a lot of hype surrounding Hinderer, so I think they need to live up to that hype. This is a $60 pen that doesn’t write better than a $10 pen. Any pen with a Fisher refill is better than this. It’s hard to recommend a pen when it’s got a price tag that doesn’t live up to what it should be like. Everything about it is standard besides the brand. If I need a pen that uses the Fisher refill, I’m better off with my Fisher Bullet space pen. Not only is it more comfortable to write with, but it’s available at a much more affordable price. Anyways, sorry for ranting on and on about Hinderer. I just can’t recommend a product that’s a terrible value. Check it out if you love Hinderer, but there are definitely much better pens out there. Thanks for looking!