Everywhere Carry: Nock Co. Sinclair and Karas Kustoms Bolts

On a recent episode of The Pen Addict podcast, Ana Reinert (of The Well-Appointed Desk) mentioned how she picked up a Karas Kustoms Bolt in olive green, because it matches her vintage Vespa scooter. That kind of logic works for me! I have a brown Vespa so of course I must have a Bolt in the new brown color. (It’s like these people hypnotize me.) Fred got into the act and prodded me to order the olive green version as well. Well, twist my arm.

I did as commanded and placed my order for an olive green standard Bolt and a brown Pilot G2 Bolt.

In the meantime, the guys at Nock Co. finally released their long-anticipated zippered Sinclair pen case. I saw Brad’s multi-colored prototype at the DC Pen Show, and knew it’d be a no-brainer purchase. Despite owning one or more of every Nock Co. pen case, this one looked extra-special. On launch day, I ordered the Forest/Sunshine and Camo/Raven versions since the Barn Red/Midnight colorway wasn’t available. I’m no camo fan, but I wanted two different colors, so camo it was.

In a cool bit of shipping coincidence, both orders arrived on the same day, and THAT’S when the lightbulb switched on! (I’m kind of spent lately so my brain is not firing on all cylinders.) The lovely muted olive green and brown Bolts are a perfect match for the camo colored Sinclair. Duh.

I quickly loaded the Sinclair with the Bolts and have been carrying the case everywhere. Everywhere. Except to bed. And the shower. But other than that, it all goes where I go. So much for being ambivalent to camouflage.

The Sinclair is handier than handy. I’ve loaded it up with the pens, a Rotring pencil, Nock Co. DotDash 3×5 cards, a Field Notes notebook, the Write Notepads & Co. Linear Measuring Device, and my folded up Christmas shopping spreadsheet. When I’m out shopping, I store the gift cards I’ve purchased in the Sinclair to keep them secure. I can carry all of this in the case with room for more.

This is the first zippered case by Nock Co. which is what makes it so handy. No worries about anything accidentally slipping out in your travels. The zipper is sturdy and substantial. It’s as top-notch as the workmanship on the case.

I obviously love the case, but what about the pens?

The standard Bolt takes any Parker-style refill while the Pilot G2 version takes the, you guessed it, Pilot G2 refill. I’ve been interested in the Pilot G2 Bolt since it was released, but held off until now as I was concerned that, at 6.125″, it might be a little too long. (The regular Bolt measures a very comfortable 5.625″.) There definitely is a different feel between the two pens, but I’m very happy with both. The longer G2 Bolt is a bit more top-heavy because of the added length, but is not at all unwieldy, probably because aluminum is pretty lightweight. In a heavier material, the added length might become an issue.

I love the design of the bolt mechanism on these Karas Kustoms pens because it’s flush with the pen body, rather than protruding like on most bolt-action pens. The mechanism works very smoothly so I’m able to deploy and retract the refill with one hand. It’s both cool and easy to use.

Karas Kustoms now ships their pens with refills so you’re able to put pen to paper immediately. This wasn’t always the case. The lack of a refill wasn’t an issue for someone like me who has a shoebox stuffed with all kinds of refills, but for most people it may have been a bit of a stumbling block. My standard Bolt arrived with a black Schmidt EasyFlow 9000 refill installed, while the Pilot G2 Bolt came equipped with a 0.5 mm Pilot G2 gel refill, also in black. I’m a fan of both refills so I’ve had no reason to swap them for anything else. But if you’re so inclined, the standard Bolt takes any Parker-style refill, while there are other options and tip sizes available for the G2 Bolt (Pilot Juice refills, etc.).

I couldn’t be happier with this set-up. Both the Nock Co. Sinclair case and the  Karas Kustoms Bolts pens go with me everywhere. They’re not just my Everyday Carry, they’re my Everywhere Carry.

Use the code HAPPYHOLIDAYS to get 15% off of your Karas Kustoms order. (That’s what I did!)

I purchased everything shown and discussed in this review with my own funds. There are no affiliate links and I’ve received no compensation for this post.