Boker Plus CID .45 Tactical Pen

I was surfing the Internet the other day, looking for tactical gear, as I usually do, when I found this things called Tactical Pens. I had never heard about them and the first questions that I thought of was How can you turn a simple pen into a tactical pen?

When I started looking for those crazy things I came across various models which, to be honest, didn’t seem to be very practical at the time of writing, some of them have caps that you need to unscrew before actually being able to write, also those models where kind of…well lets say they don’t look like a normal pen. I didn’t mind and continued searching and that’s when I found the Boker Plus CID .45 Tactical Pen, a very well thought design is the main characteristic of this pen. Either you are using it to write a note or to defend yourself this pen will do the job and will do it well.

I immediately got one from Amazon and after 2 days it finally arrived! Here are my thoughts on it.

Writing

It is a pleasure to write with this pen, it has “bolt action” mechanism which makes it very easy to operate. No unscrewing caps and loosing them, no using two hands, everything can be done with one hand. It uses Lamy #M22 refills which are small, probably you will run out of ink quicker than with any other pen. The weight on it is 34 grams and it is 12.7cm long, it feels very good in the hand since its size is the same as an ordinary pen.

Personal Defense

I have tested it on some cardboard and trust me, it really feels like something that will cause an injury to an attacker. This pen has a flat top to rest your thumb while holding it, the “bolt action” mechanism will not hurt your hand while defending yourself. It actually will help to get a better grip. The Clip Integrated Design (CID) is a key feature of this pen, while others offer normal clips that will be uncomfortable to hold in a self defense situation this pen offers a clip integrated into the body. This design will hold the pen securely and will be more comfortable to hold, you not have to worry about it getting loose. This is a perfect EDC (Every Day Carry) item.

The design is so stealthy that I really doubt that anyone who is not familiar with tactical gear or the brand itself will actually think of it as a potential threat, and even if it is recognized it is just a cool pen. Beautiful and practical design honestly, probably that is what makes it tactical.

This is how it looked like when I first opened the box.

Bolt Action mechanism and CID.

In this case cal .45 refers to the with of the pen. It is the same as a .45 caliber round.

Flat top which actually reminds me of an AR-15 muzzle break.

Box and pen.

Black model.

Fully disassembled.

What I liked

• Design: Stealthy, nothing too fancy or too scary, doesn’t look like something threatening, comfortable, CID.
• Materials: Hardcoat anodized CNC milled aluminum, is strong but lightweight, will get you out of trouble.
• Weight: It is heavier than an average pen but well balanced, it really feels smooth when writing.
• Color: I got the grey one but Boker offers other colors and materials.
• Mechanism: The fact that it can be operated with just one hand makes it easy to use and there are no caps to lose.
• Dimensions: It fits in your pocket like any other pen, not too big to be noticed, optimal size for a tactical pen.

What I didn’t like

• Refill: The size of those things is so small I don´t think it will last at least a year with my writing habits.
• Tip: The fact that the tip unscrews relatively easy drives me crazy, after two hours in my cargo shorts’s pocket it was almost off. In fact I used thread-locker glue (Blue 242) to get it fixed in place, this will still allow me to change refills in the future, although I will need to reapply it and clean the threads every time but I think it is better than loosing the tip.
• “Bolt action” mechanism ball: Same as the tip, it is screwed into the “bolt” causing it to get loose over time, however the screw is big enough for you to notice when its about to come apart. It seems like another job for Blue 242.

Final word

I am very very happy with it, I would recommend anybody to get one of this, beautiful pen to add to the collection and not only that but it serves as a writing tool and also as a self defense weapon, very well designed. This is one of those things that are not only pretty but useful.

Definitely part of my EDC.