This is quite possibly the most over-engineered pen I've ever come across, and it looks like it's straight out of a spycraft lab. The Hancept Zero Mk2 is a 2-mm-thick contraption that can slip into a credit card slot, and magically fold into a hexagonal pen in a snap.
Made from aluminum and stainless steel, it's designed for folks who simply can't afford to be seen carrying a pen – but are happier to whip one out of their wallets. It's made up of 54 precisely machined interlocking parts and accepts a standard D-1 ballpoint refill, so it should be easy to use for a long time to come.
The Zero Mk2 comes from Hancept, a design team based in South Korea. The previous version won a prestigious German iF Design Award back in 2022, and this one features improvements in the overall finishing and tactile feel. The updates should make it easy to slide it into a card slot in your wallet, more stable in your hand when it's folded into a pen, and more durable in the long run.
The pen weights less than 1 oz (28 g), comes in light and dark silver finishes, can be engraved, and even fits on a custom-made display stand you can add to your order.
As you'd expect, this won't come cheap. The Mk2 is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter, and the cheapest bundle you can pony up for comes in at US$169. That gets you the Slim Package, which has an expected retail price of $270; it includes a pen, linen pouch, stickers, and a gift bag.
If you really like what you see, you can spend a little more to get a steel display stand, a branding book, a full-grain Korean leather card wallet, and a circular leather pad for the stand.
Backing a crowdfunding campaign always carries a degree of risk, but assuming all goes without a hitch for this project, worldwide shipping for the Zero Mk2 is estimated to start from August. Check out the promo video above, and learn more on the project's Kickstarter page.
Source: Kickstarter
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