Writing Well

The dust has settled and the First 72 Hours have passed. Follow along as I build a long term plan via Prudent Prepping.

The title of this post is something I've never been accused of doing, ever. As a matter of fact, I was really, really tempted to call this post "Writing Good" but the thought was fleeting, which rhymes with beating, and I don't want that either. (Thank you, David. Bloodstains are a pain to remove. -- Editrix Erin)

I've been upgrading my gear to stuff readily seen in the dark or in an emergency, which is hard since the default color for 99% of most gear is Tacti-Cool Black. If you look hard and are willing to spend a bit more (or a lot more in some cases), alternatives are out there. Luckily, I found one thing that isn't terribly priced for what it is: the Rite in the Rain Weatherproof Mechanical Pencil!

https://amzn.to/3Pv5QZ3

From the Amazon Ad: 

• MECHANICAL PENCIL: The wide knurled grip offers wet or dry glove-friendly handling on the job site.
• STRONG BARREL: Durable resin and metal barrel survives through the toughest conditions.
• LEAD: The dark 1.3mm lead won’t snap at the tip or break in the shaft.
• INCLUDED WITH PENCIL: Each All-Weather Mechanical Pencil comes with 1 lead in the barrel.
• REFILLS AVAILABLE: Rite in the Rain has clean erasers (13ER) and leads (13BR) refill packs available.
• Lead is 120mm long – the full length of the pencil’s barrel.
• ONE-HAND OPERATION: Easy click advancement of the lead.
• STRONG CLIP: All metal clip won’t break on your tool belt.
• ERASE WITH CONFIDENCE: Specially formulated eraser removes marks while not chewing into the paper.
• PRO TIP: Made for tough jobs; Contractors, DIY, Police, EMS, Fire, Field Research, Camping, Hiking, Surveying

This is an amazing pencil, even if it is about half the price of a 3 pack of standard Rite In The Rain pencils. I don't own any other writing instruments that might be called Tactical, but this is what I expect one would feel like. The pencil is heavy, really heavy; I don't have a scale, but it weighs close to two Zebra 402 pens*. I lose pens and the Purple Pack Lady always needs pens for work, so I buy extras. Don't judge me!

The description of "wide , knurled grip" doesn't describe the front of this pencil correctly, which is a textured metal that screws into the body, making this pencil very nose heavy. That's not a problem for me, and I believe it is a feature for a tactical writing instrument. The lead is nice and thick, and it shows up nice and dark on standard paper as well as their notebooks. Replacement leads are available, and erasers too, from Amazon.

I will be putting this into my GHB for now and possibly placing this pencil in my other bags as well, not to replace the pens but to be something easier to see in a panic.

*Editrix Erin says: according to Amazon, the orange pencil weighs 0.96 oz, whereas the Zebra pens weigh 0.8 oz. 

Recap and Takeaway

• All the things that can't be replaced with brightly colored duplicates are either going to be wrapped in contrasting tape or painted. Examples will be coming soon!
• This pencil was sitting in the box with the Rite In The Rain notebooks that I give as gifts until I took the notebooks out last week. I'm not sure why it wasn't used until now, but it's a keeper.
• One Rite In The Rain pencil, in orange, ordered from Amazon for $8.95 with Prime shipping.  

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If you have comments, suggestions or corrections, please post them so we all can learn. And remember, Some Is Always Better Than None!

NOTE: All items tested were purchased by me. No products have been loaned in exchange for a favorable review. Any items sent to me for T&E will be listed as such. Suck it Feds.