writing utensils.

[jameswf]

Okay I am not yet in the wild but I assume pens are not something you get attached to. That said you probably want them as cheap as possible. Unfortunately cheap pens suck. So what is the balance between omfg awesome and meh anotherone bites the dust.

 

[DesertMedic66]

http://www.emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=29845&highlight=Pens

 

[rwik123]

I manage to loose a pen basically every call so any pen i can find

 

[jameswf]

if it makes you feel better I did search but didnt find the mentioned post. My search-fu lacks...

 

[lightsandsirens5]

I loose pens left and right. I could not care less how fancy my pen is. (Or is not as the case may be). Every single thing on my person during a call I view as potentially disposable. Because I loose stuff all the time and because sometimes is just isn't worth it to wash it. Honestly, if you want your own pens and don't want to always be lifting them from the ER, station or your partner, just go get a box of those amazing little Bic pens from walmart and hang on to them as long as possible. I save money every way I can, and if I lost a $30+ pen every call, there would be no point in me even working, as all I would be doing is working to keep myself in pens.

 

[leoemt]

Trick I learned from my law enforcement days is to use "violator" pens. I keep my nice pen in my shirt pocket and I am the only one that will use it. I keep several cheapo bic pens in my pants pocket that I give out to patients (or violators) that way if they walk off with them or they get nastys on them I don't care.

 

[Bullets]

Trick I learned from my law enforcement days is to use "violator" pens. I keep my nice pen in my shirt pocket and I am the only one that will use it. I keep several cheapo bic pens in my pants pocket that I give out to patients (or violators) that way if they walk off with them or they get nastys on them I don't care.

Something I was also taught in NJ PD academy

If you're not using Zebra F-701 you're not using a pen

 

[xrsm002]

I like the Zebra F-401 stainless steel I just wipe it with an alcohol prep

 

[bigbaldguy]

I just tape a pen to the bottom of my glock next to the bayonet you know "just in case".

I like uni-ball.

 

[WolfmanHarris]

I ordered a great little pen with a built in pen light. But I also rarely lose pens. Not never, that's why I bought two.

 

[Meursault]

I've gone through pens at the usual rate, but a moderately-priced disposable has somehow become my everyday pen for months. It's stayed functional and refused to disappear despite regular dropping and semi-regular sanitizing. I've gone back into a locked building to recover it and lost it in the truck only to have it pop up days later.

Unfortunately, I seem to have SaniCloth-ed the make and model off, so I'm not sure I can find a successor.

 

[mrg86]

I prefer the free ones that all the private ambulance companies give away, usually the standard Bic variety. They write well and if I lose or destroy one its no big deal.

 

[EpiEMS]

Stainless steel Zebras. Easy to clean, not terribly expensive.

 

[Handsome Robb]

I buy the big bags of black Bic pens with the grey cap, sorry I don't have one in front of me so I can't tell you which exact one it is. They write like champs on gloves, don't smear and are cheap.

Yes, I write on my glove, shoot me.

 

[mycrofft]

I have one and used it on field deployments. Yes, really. No, it does no use batteries.

More recently, Pilot G-2 07 pushbutton pens. Nothing with a cap, so I'm not tempted to de-cap/recap with my teeth.

 

[firetender]

I like fine point pens and about three years ago I found a guy selling 250 of them on e-bay for some ridiculously cheap price and I'm sick of them!

 

[charlie37]

Charlie

I usually just buy a box of BIC pens from the office supply store. Very cheap and very effective!

 

[DVetter]

Pens Pens Pens

Pens are always disappearing,I always carry an extra one because my captain always leaves his at his desk when we go on calls. Anyway,a pick up tons of pens when we work health fairs or EMS expos and the like. They really don't mind if you take a few. Also doctors offices that have cups of pens on the counter are a good bet.

 

[cruiseforever]

I was able to keep one for 15 years. Still have it, but they no longer make refills.

 

[MSPs]

+1 for the Zebra F701. Awesome pen for <$10.

But I prefer to carry cheap Zebra Z Grips (about $8 a dozen) on the squad. Even though the F701 isn't that expensive I don't want to lose it at the rate I lose regular pens.

I have managed to keep a Space pen in my pocket as a backup for a couple years. I use it only as a last resort and then it goes right back in my pocket.