You mean those purposeful-looking Jyawara-kubaton-esque devices lightly-cloaked as writing instruments meant really to impart grievous bodily harm to the unsuspecting and are likely to be confiscated by those wonderfully-trained watchmen employed by the TSA? no
ehh.... I prefer a writing instrument designed to be an excellent writing instrument rather than one designed to be a self defense product. I don't often find that the "tactial pens" are enjoyable to write with beyond a signature. On the other hand, a good quality metal pen could be a pleasure to write with and be equally effective as a last ditch self defense weapon as any of the "tactical" pens. A pen would never be my first choice for defensive violence, so I'd rather have one that serves its primary purpose first and foremost.
i tried one of those uzi pens years ago. clunky twist action, uncomfortable to hold, bulky in the pocket, quickly forgotten about as better pens presented themselves. my taste in pens leans towards things i like writing with and twirling/fidgeting with. so far, the Fellhoelter TiBolt takes the top spot.
Knock on wood, I've never been attacked and needed to defend myself, especially with a pen. I've never driven my car off of a bridge into the water and needed to break the window to escape. What I do need every day, multiple times a day is a good, reliable, and stylish writing instrument. (Gosh I hope fate doesn't get me attacked while I'm driving my car tomorrow and force me off of a bridge and into the waiting waters below. Wouldn't that just be my luck?)
To the OP. I actually have an UZI Defender pen. It's pretty nice. It's not the pen you reach for if you're going to write a book, but that's not why you carry it. You carry it for function and to be able to sign your name from time to time or take a note or two. It's got a nice weight in hand and feels very sturdy. I keep it in my jacket pocket or a pocket on my vest, depending on outside temp. It's nice to have there in case I need it. And... I've 'used' it in the past year. At walmart. Someone had locked their dog in a car with the windows up in high summer. ... ... Lets just say... >.> The glass breaker functions perfectly. Ahem.
I have the Uzi #6, never used as self defense weapon, never used the glass breaker (except for testing), never used the handcuff key. In the pocket is not bad, but scratches my stuff really badly, so i stopped carrying it. For writing it sucks, too heavy, too many twisting action to deploy, uncomfortable grip because it's slippery and with large diameter. Inside of it, the refill is stopped by plastic piece, so earlier (when I got the pen) I was striking on wood (for strength test) when deployed, that plastic piece break off, fixed is with glued screw head. However, I'll rate it 3/10, those 3 points go for its' toughness and the black color.
the only reason I would be carrying a tactical pen on me is because there are areas where I won't be allowed to have a gun or a knife on me. It's better than using my fist. I like the S&W tactical pen
The closest thing I have to a tactical pen is my aluminum Embassy pen. It's extremely well balanced for writing and is non-threatening looking. However, if needed, it might serve as a kubaton. Maybe. But that's not why I bought it.
Ok I admit, I picked em up at Blade HQ... It may have been the free patch if you send $25.. bunch of enablers!!
As mentioned above the embassy pen is a great middle ground between a "tactical pen" and a classy pen. Heavy duty, easy to grip, simple yet handsome in design, uses a space pen cartridge, is fairly comfortable to write with, and could easily be used in a last ditch situation.
Well a bic 'can' be used in a last ditch situation. I once put a #2 pencil through a buddies hand when he 'jokingly' pulled a knife on me.
i carry the embassy pen in stainless steel in my left pocket as a backup to my knife, hardly ever gets used as a pen just lives in my pocket
Tried a Pocket Shark, found it to be to fat to be comfortable to write with with too fine a tip for its size. Started carrying a stainless steel fine point Sharpie, much better to write with, refillable and passes TSA with no problems so far.
I carried an Archangel and a Schrade for a bit. Like everyone else I found them too bulky to carry and uncomfortable to write with. Now I just carry my Space Pen, which can be used as a pain compliance tool very easily (my brother was a Corrections Officer for 30 years and he used his with great success).
Now not quite tactical, but I've been carrying a Zebra 402 - got the idea from a retired SEAL's book. It's stainless steel, comfortable in my hand, writes decently well, and does not look very threatening. The tip is 0.7 mm and writes "okay" for me. I typically prefer a 1.0 mm tip. I picked this up for around $5-$6 USD for two pack at a local store. So far it has treated me well as a pen, but I've yet to put it through any other test.
I have a couple of cheap ones I carry, one or the other. Not for tacticalness (THATS A WORD!), but because they don't break when I land on them
I carried a Hinderer Investigator, still do as a backup, to my picopen backup, and a Tuffwriter for over a year. Even carried the "Police" space pen for about a year, and a regular space pen for a couple years, and a modded zebra 701 for a couple years. I've since moved on to a nice, great writing fountain pen. The Tuffwriter is the toughest tactical pen I've ever owned, while the Hinderer is the handiest tac pen I've ever owned.
Here's what's in my scrubtop pocket every day. I thought I had a collection pic in photobucket of my nice pens, but apparently, I do not. I'll see what I can do after work.