Offbeat: SureFire Pen

The SureFire Pen—the brainchild of Steve Ryan, director of SureFire’s Edged Weapons Division—is a new addition to the SureFire line of products. Designed to meet the needs of high-risk professionals, the SureFire Pen is built to be virtually indestructible and features an emergency window breaker. Although bold in design, it’s a world-class writing instrument with an understated elegance that would be at home in any corporate boardroom.

The SureFire Pen measures 6.04 inches long—the same length as your average ballpoint pen. Weighing 1.8 ounces—and due to its rugged construction—it’s heftier than many pens, but still balances very well in the hand.

SureFire Pen is designed for hard use and features hardened steel window breaker. Body is machined from aerospace-grade aluminum and has a milspec Type III hard-anodized finish.

The pen is beautifully crafted, with the body machined from a solid billet of aerospace-grade aluminum. Flats and flutes milled into the body provide a secure grip. The body has a matte-black milspec Type III hard-anodized finish. The pen is appointed with a tumble-polished stainless steel tip, pocket clip and window breaker tailcap. The window breaker features a high-polish hardened stainless steel ball tip rather than a pointed tip to prevent snags on clothing. The pocket clip is ruggedly constructed, virtually unbendable and engraved with the SureFire logo.

The SureFire Pen features a retractable pen tip. I prefer it, as there is no cap to be lost or misplaced. To retract the pen tip, you simply unscrew the body by 1.5 turns. To extend the tip, reverse the process.

Pen is appointed with tumble-polished stainless steel tip, pocket clip and window breaker tailcap.

The SureFire Pen comes with a smooth-writing Schmidt roller-ball ink cartridge (black), however you are not limited to only Schmidt cartridges. A key feature of the pen is that it’s fully adjustable. The existing ink cartridge can be replaced with virtually any ink cartridge that’s between 3.875 and 4.25 inches by means of a simple adjustment. The pen requires no maintenance other than to periodically wipe the pen with a clean, dry cloth.

The window breaker feature of the SureFire Pen really sets it apart from other “tactical” pens. It could be a real lifesaver in an emergency. Putting a window breaker tip on a pen was a great idea. Carried in a pocket, it’s easy to access. To break a window in an emergency, you simply hold the SureFire Pen tightly in the hand and strike the glass with the window breaker tip, repeating if necessary.

Although the SureFire Pen was not designed as a weapon, its rugged construction makes it a very effective improvised self-defense tool. If needed, it can be utilized for painful locks and strikes and can be carried anywhere without raising any eyebrows. It’s the perfect accessory for those situations in which carrying a weapon would otherwise be impossible.

Close-up of window breaker feature.

The SureFire Pen is made in the U.S.A. Each pen is individually serial numbered and comes with a user manual. As with all SureFire products, it’s covered by SureFire’s no-hassle, lifetime, “if it breaks, we fix it” warranty.

The SureFire Pen has an MSRP of $125.00. Although not inexpensive, it’s actually quite reasonably priced for a pen of this quality. You are definitely getting a lot for your money.

As a final thought: A pen is more than just a writing instrument or tool. It expresses the thoughts and personality of the writer. To quote Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616): “The pen is the tongue of the mind.”