5 of the Finest Everyday Carry Pens in the Known Universe

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Pens are everywhere when you don’t need one, and nowhere when you do. Such is the order of things—unless you decide to master the situation and arm yourself with one of these awesome, everyday carry (EDC) pens.

Back in the ’90s, coffee mugs full of free promotional pens were everywhere. We wore Teva sandals, just to protect our feet from the dangers of beach pens hiding beneath the sand, waiting to strike. Like the worms in Tremors.

Now, the only practical tool most people carry around is their smartphone. But the EDC movement is pushing back, and pens might be at the forefront. Think about all the possible scenarios. Need to draw a T-Rex on a bar napkin? EDC pen. Have to sign an autograph for a fan? EDC pen. Want to poke some evidence at a crime scene, but don’t want to put on your forensic gloves because they get that powder all over your hands? EDC pen.

And that’s not where the utility of a great EDC pen ends. Check out the list below for some of your best bets.

Best Overall: Rite in the Rain Trekker Pen

Rite in the Rain Trekker Pen with the cap off sitting on a table. — Rite in the Rain

Rite in the Rain’s Trekker pen is elegant in its simplicity, yet brutish in its ability to write on just about anything, as long as it’s within the “Goldilocks Zone.” While that means this pen would theoretically be useless on, say, Mercury, it’ll work just fine from -30 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. At such extremes, you won’t be fine, but the pen will be content—even comfortable.

So, it works on earth. Space, too, most likely, given the pressurized cartridge. This little guy is particularly happy writing in, well, the rain. Or perhaps it’s not happy at all, but rather completely indifferent to the rain. Buy the pen, and you can ask it yourself.

Aesthetically, it evokes the simple utility of a slender hand grenade. The barrel is metal as hell, with a rubber grip to keep it from slipping in wet conditions. The refillable ink is also all-weather, of course. It’s almost like this pen was designed by ducks with engineering degrees.

A word to the wise: the keyring is attached to the cap, and the cap is press-on. So, be wary of hanging the pen from your person by the keyring, or you might lose it.