My inbox has exploded with pen and pencil-related Kickstarter news over the past couple days, so I thought it would be fun to do a short post highlighting some of these new projects.
KOSMOS: The World's Best Pen in 2016. Maybe a touch of hyperbole in the tagline, but the KOSMOS (pictured above) apparently did win the 2016 Red Dot Design Award. This is a nice-looking aluminum pen with a magnetic retractable "cap" that slides forward to protect the tip. The creators tout the pen as perfectly balanced and inspired by Apple's designs. (The four color options are designed to complement your Apple Devices). Early bird rewards are gone, and regular rewards start at 49 euros. With 21 days to go, this project is fully funded and has raised over $26,000.
The Ti Arto from BIGiDesign will accept 200+ refills without any hacking.
Ti Arto: The Ultimate Refill Friendly Pen. BIGiDESIGN is back with a new pen that accepts over 200 different refills "without even a smidgen of tip-wiggle." (Only a true pen enthusiast/addict would know what that means.) The pen is made from a grade 5 titanium alloy, allows you to use basically any refill you could possibly imagine without hacking, and comes with a tool that you can use to repair the clip if it gets bent. The pen looks like it is designed to be used posted and unposted. Rewards start at $65, and with 37 days to go this project already has raised nearly $100,000.
Magno: The World's First Magnetically Controlled Pencil. If you caught my recent review of the Sostanza pencil, you know that I have a thing for 2mm leadholder pencils. Magno uses an integrated magnet to control the position of the lead. There's a gif on the project page showing how it works. Rewards start at 25 euros. With 31 days to go, this project has raised nearly $58,000 and is fully funded.
Personally, I've backed the Ti Arto and the Magno, but I'm on the fence about the KOSMOS because it uses Parker-Style refills and I haven't yet found one of those that I like. That doesn't mean I won't ultimately back it, though - there's a lot of time left!
Disclaimer: I have not been compensated by any of these three Kickstarter projects for this post, and I have backed two of the projects referenced herein using my own funds. Do note that if you choose to back a Kickstarter project, you are assuming a certain degree of risk. Please review Kickstarter's rules and terms and conditions before deciding whether or not to back a project.