We review many things here at technogog, and not all of it has to be tech related, it just has to be interesting, innovative and unique. Today for review I’ve got a pen, but not just any pen, it’s from Spyderco, the company well known for making quality knives. I’m sure your first thought is why is a knife company making pens? Well, I wondered that myself actually, but what I have for review is called the BaliYo, and it’s a very interesting and fun pen actually, it sort of resembles a butterfly knife, in both form and function, it also features the Fisher Space Pen cartridge inside so it can write virtually anywhere. Included with the pen is a DVD as well to teach you about the pen and a few tricks with it as well. The BaliYo is a cool little product overall, it’s much more than a pen.

With my BaliYo I got a USB Drive that had product information, images and  video on it, here’s the video:

The BaliYo comes in a cardboard and plastic hanger style package, they sent me two actually, one gray colored and one red, white and blue. Included is a DVD as well to teach you a few tricks and to help you learn more about the BaliYo.

The BaliYo is basically three pieces connected in the middle, the main piece is the pen, while the other two sections are weighted to make moving it around easier.

On the two ends are brass weights, along with clips.

Both sides of the main section are labels with the BaliYo name and the Spyderco name, all three sections are held together with hex style fasteners.

Specifications:

BaliYo

BaliYo offers a new concept in pens. It provides safe unlimited creative motion anytime, anywhere, even while sitting. 100% U.S.A. Made using high-performance materials and manufacturing.

With the included instructional DVD, you will learn six basic tricks.  The BaliYo is 4 1/4 inches (108mm) tall, and weighs in at 1oz (29g).

Contains the Fisher Space Pen cartridge. Writes underwater, in freezing cold, boiling heat, at any angle, even upside down.

Not for children under 5.

What is a BaliYo?
Constructed from three pieces of close-tolerance polymer, the center body is a pressurized ball point pen pivoting between to two parallel arms. The positioning dynamics of the pivots allow you to swing and rotate the pen, changing its speed and force of gravity while flipping and twirling. Refined symmetry with even weight ratio (end-to-end and side-to-side) balances the pen through motion and force. With practice you can learn sophisticated moves, two-handed tricks, quick-flips, spins, aerials and how to manipulate combinations of these.

What does the BaliYo do?
The BaliYo is a toy that promotes ambidextrous hand/eye coordination and helps develop fine motor skills.

How big is the BaliYo?
The BaliYo is 4 ¼” long and weighs 1 oz.

What colors are available?
The BaliYo is available in these four color combinations:
Red, White & Blue
Pink & Orange
Blue & Green
Solid Gray

MSRP $34.95

As I mentioned, included with the BaliYo is a DVD, here’s screenshots from it:

It’s a basic DVD, the main menu is just numbers that link to each trick, and the last is the Spyderco logo that links to information about the BaliYo.

Using the BaliYo at first is a bit disconcerting really, since it moves a around, writing with it can take a bit to get accustomed to. When you write with it you’re supposed to do it while the BaliYo is folded closed, this makes it much thicker than a regular pen, but after a few times using it you’ll be fine. You can of course use it while it’s open, the back parts of the BaliYo will just hang loose basically, but it can be done depending how you position it.

It’s actually quite a bit of fun, for the last two weeks I’ve been using the BaliYo as my only writing instrument and it works great, it writes, what more could I ask for right? Seriously though it is lots of fun, I’ve found myself many times picking it up and flipping it around just for something to do. If you’ve ever owned a ButterFly knife then you know they’re lots of fun, but a bit dangerous as you can easily get cut if you don’t know what you’re doing, with the BaliYo you get the fun of the butterfly knife without the possibly of making a bloody mess.

To get the pen point out you just turn the tip clockwise, and counter clockwise to retract it.

The BaliYo itself is well made, it feels nice and sturdy so it should last for quite some time, the Fisher space pen inside is the real deal, it can write underwater, in space, pretty much anywhere, this alone is a nice feature. The cartridge is replaced, so if you run out of ink you can just get another, the top of the pen unscrews, and you can pull out the cartridge.

I was going to mention that the price is a little high on the product, which honestly I think it is really for a pen, but that’s my opinion, though I visited the actual Fisher Space Pen website and there I found that you can easily spend $10 for a basic pen and over $100 for a specialized pen, so relatively speaking the BaliYo is priced where it should be, if not actually less expensive than other special edition Fisher Space Pens.

Conclusion:
The BaliYo is certainly a unique and interesting pen, it’s well made and it’s lots of fun to play with and use.

The fact that it includes the Fisher Space Pen cartridge is a nice bonus as well, it allows you to write anywhere, anytime you want.

You’ll certainly get asked by people to see your pen and it’s definitely a unique product.

Pros:
Well made
Unique product
Made in USA
Fun to use and play with
Writes anywhere

Cons:
A bit expensive for a pen
Takes a bit to get accustomed to writing with it

Grades:
Overall
Design
Performance