Karas Pen Co. Galaxie XL Rollerball Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter.)

The new Reaktor line from Karas Pen Co. is zooming all over the world right now, and for good reason. They're affordable, durable, reliable, comfortable, and fun. I got to try out the Galaxie XL model, and since they sent four, I gave one to my tween and one to my husband to try as well.

I call my husband "the pen destroyer". Your standard ballpoint won't last a day in his pocket. Over the years I've bought him several tough and seemingly indestructible pens only to have him hand them back to me in pieces, smooshed, bent beyond use. So when I say he's been using this pen every day for over a month and it's still in excellent condition, I'm saying these pens will outlast us all. There will be Galaxie pens sticking up from the sand and ashes of civilization.

Karas Pen Co. created the Reaktor line to be simple and affordable. The Galaxie, at $45, is more than fairly priced for what you get. The pen comes in black, tumbled, or silver with either blue or red sections. All are machined aluminum.

They're fairly small pens--not quite pocket sized by my reckoning, but shorter and slimmer than most machined pens. They're shorter than a Retro 51 Tornado, though similar in width. The aluminum makes them fairly light, but hefty enough to feel like a substantial pen. I had no fatigue when writing with them, even for long stretches, and even with the pen posted. It's a very well balanced pen.

The cap closes with a satisfying click and the rings at the back end of the pen are designed to help it post securely and deeply. Because the parts are metal on metal, the cap does rattle a little both when closed and posted. I prefer not to post it when I'm writing for that reason. If you don't like that rattle and you have larger hands and prefer posting, this might not be the pen for you.

The clip is the classic bolted-on stainless steel "bulletproof" clip that Karas offers. This is the only part of the pen suffered in my husband's care. He managed to bend it sideways quite a bit--bulletproof is not David-proof, it seems, or perhaps I married Superman.

The grip is nicely contoured and very comfortable to hold. It didn't ever get too slippery or cramp my hand. The metal warmed up nicely as I wrote.

The Galaxie XL takes G2 style refills, which are easy to get in a variety of colors and tip sizes, so your options are well-covered.

The design is inspired by 1960s space race and automotive aesthetics, and it definitely has that vintage rocket feel to it. It's a very simple design, but elegantly done. My tween has declared that it "looks awesome". This is exceedingly high praise.

Probably my favorite thing about the Galaxie XL has been watching my dudes get attached to theirs. They aren't Pen Addicts. They think I'm nuts. But when I see my tween has a special spot on his desk just for this pen, and my hubby asking if he can have his pen back yet when I had to borrow it to take pictures of his poor clip--I know they really do understand how a pen can be special.

(Karas Pen Co. provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Karas Pen Co. Reaktor Galaxie Rollerball Pen Giveaway

If you read yesterday’s review of the Karas Pen Co. Reaktor Galaxie Rollerball you will notice that there are four pens in this series. In today’s post, I’m giving all four of those pens away. If you ever wanted better odds on a giveaway then this is the one you want to enter. Read the rules below, and enter away!

Karas Pen Co. Reaktor Galaxie Rollerball Pen Giveaway

Karas Pen Co. Reaktor Galaxie Rollerball Pen Review

As someone who designs their own products, and who follows others who do the same, I know this to be the one universal truth: Designing is hard. And, when a company is willing to take a stand on a product design - in this case the Reaktor pen lineup by Karas Kustoms - I am even more impressed.

All of us outside of the building only see the end result of a product. What goes into the creation of that product usually escapes the public eye. Karas Pen Co. set out to break away from their usual product lineup and focus on making a product that both first-time pen buyers and experienced users would enjoy. And I think they succeeded.

Designing is hard, but designing with restrictions in place - such as cost and simplicity - is even harder. What can be eliminated to make the product as simple as possible, while keeping the aesthetic and quality the company is known for intact?

The Galaxie Rollerball features an aluminum barrel with an o-ring snap cap, and comes in four different colorways. That’s it. And it’s the same across the other three products in the Reaktor lineup, with the only difference being barrel length, finial design, and a clip on the XL models.

When dishing out these pens to the Pen Addict review crew, I chose the pocket rollerball because that is one of my favorite pen formats. I carry this type of pen more than any other, and was anxious to put it to the test.

I’m happy to say it held up well, minus a couple of small nitpicks. Primarily, the wiggle of the cap when the pen is closed. It’s a small issue, and affects the use of the pen none. It’s the result of using the o-ring instead of cap and barrel threads to keep the cost down. If you aren’t fidgeting with the cap then you won’t notice it, and it doesn’t make it less secure. The fit is tight.

That said, I did wiggle the cap off the back of the pen a couple times when writing with it, just from constant movement as I write. I run into this issue with other non-threaded pocket pens as well, likely due to a heavier than normal grip. Maybe I didn’t have it pushed down as firmly as needed to snap into the barrel grooves during the times it moved on me.

The Galaxie ships with the Schmidt P950 pressurized ballpoint, which is a good choice for this pen. For any pocket pen really, as it gives you that write anywhere, on anything, ability. If you have another Parker-style refill that you prefer, it will swap in just fine.

Color-wise, it’s hard to pick a favorite. The Black looks the best, the Tumbled feels the best, and the Red and Blue sections are the most fun. I think I would pick Tumbled as my first choice, but it is impossible to go wrong with any.

Let’s get to what makes this pen so unique and impressive in my mind: The price. It’s not listed on the site yet, but with the larger Galaxie XL coming in at $45, I’d guess this one will be the same, or slightly lower at say $40. For a made in the USA pen from a small company that is a great price.

I’m interested to see how the Reaktor product lineup will perform for Karas, and if they keep the minimal design and price point intact. Hopefully it will do well for them, and allow them to keep experimenting with colors, shapes, and designs on the higher end of the spectrum.

We make things to allow us to make more things, and I hope Karas Pen Co. keeps going down this path of experimentation.

(Karas Pen Co. provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!