This luxury pen is blowing up on Kickstarter and I really don't get it
It's...just a really nice pen, I guess?
The Magno Ink is an "affordable luxury" pen by UK-based design team Hribarcain (your guess on how to pronounce that name is as good as mine.) It hit its funding goal on Kickstarter in 90 minutes and has now raised over 8 times that goal. And TBH I don't understand it at all.
If premium pens are your jam, this one, described as "magnetic," "intelligent," and "magical," will probably fit the bill. It's very pretty, with a sleek metallic finish in six colors. I admit I'm very into the pink one, but I have a ton of pink pens that I didn't spend $40 on. Am I missing something here?
The Kickstarter page lists a bunch of features that I wouldn't even think about needing in a pen, but apparently the designers of Hribarcain (and 917 backers) have. I suppose "anti accidental activation" would save the lining of my purse from a few exploded ink stains and "perfect balance" sounds nice I guess, but I would never think about needing a lifetime warranty on a pen. You can check out the full list of features below.
This gif shows the offset center of gravity that prevents rolling, which, again is cool but still confusing. Is this a common problem that people have? You can also add on a magnetic "docking station" for your pen if you really don't want it to go anywhere. Docking stations are £6 (which comes out to about $7.88.)
The docking station is what makes the Magno Ink look the most like a high-end fancy pen, and I can definitely see Silicon Valley types displaying them proudly on their open-plan office desks. If you're looking for a gift for the techy, design-focused professional in your life, they'll probably love it. Although it won't arrive in time for the holidays this year, it's supposed to ship in March so maybe you can plan ahead for Father's Day.
There's clearly a market for modern luxury pens and Magno Ink fits that bill. If you're totally jazzed about this pen, more power to you. You can still back the Kickstarter and procure one of your own for £30 (about $40.)
According to twitter, Emily Heller is a fake geek girl and a SJW. If you ask her friends, she laughs too loud and cries at cute animal videos. Prior to Mashable, Emily wrote for CollegeHumor and Reductress and most recently worked at a very bro-y tech startup. She lives in Brooklyn with three dudes, a cat who acts like a dog and a dog who acts like a houseplant.
