Several months ago I bought two pens, a Fisher Bullet and a Fisher Cap-o-matic.

The Bullet always goes with me, but it doesn’t get that much use. It writes when I need it to and that’s why I carry it, but it’s not my primary pen. I work in aviation, and I need a pen which works right now, all the time, every time. Over the years I’ve carried a number of pens, but one that has gone most places with me has been a Skilcraft Aviator B3 multi-pen. I still love that pen and have many in reserve (usually carry two). I’ve posted here about the B3 so this review is not about the B3.

This review is of the other pen, the Fisher Cap-o-matic. I recently made a couple of diversions (one of them the Parker Jotter, which I was not well liked for my review, but my review stands). In light of my recent experiences with the Jotter I thought I would post a similarly detailed review of the Fisher cap-o-matic.

From a size perspective, the Fisher is almost exactly the same size as the Jotter (if you include the plunger of the jotter). So, without further adieu… (scoring the exact same way I did for ‘microbe’).

Design -Well designed, similar in size to the Jotter, broader diameter before the taper down to the tip. 6.5-7/10

Material – Body; mostly brass (body is all brass, inards are stainless and nylon). Makes it through metal detectors. Solid. 7/10

Weight -Rougly 2x (maybe 1.5x) heavier than the Jotter stainless model. Has some purchase which is good. 6.5/10

Clip -smooth into the pocket, no rough edges. 7/10

Click Action -no plunger, entire top of pen deploys tip. Smooth action. Pressure on deployment, slack on retract. Good tactile sense of what position the pen is in (especially important in the dark). 8/10

Ink -Excellent, writes every time deployed. No need to scribble on scrap paper (or worse an official flight report). BOTTOM LINE…this pen writes EVERY time, no need for scribbles to start pen (GIGANTIC data point). 9/10

Value for Money – For $15 bucks, this thing is a steal. 10/10

Ergonomics – Similar to that of the Jotter. Small barrel, probably better for small hands, but powder coat is grippy and easy to hold. 7/10

Durability -Again, hard to say; hasn’t failed me yet. It did take a fall off (through actually) a set of aircraft stairs from a 737 to the apron. No apparent damage. 7/10

Final / Average – Score – 7.611

Note – I can find this pen easily in my flight suit or calf pocket, deploy it easily (in the dark) and put pen to paper/report and know it will write