Caps that screw vs caps that click

[DKbRS]

I've preferred caps that screw on but now that I'm using FPs more often, I think that maybe that preference was an intellectual one, because caps that click on are much speedier to remove. Just wondering whether this is something that FPNers consider when buying or using pens...

[Wolf]

No. I have both but maybe sometimes I automatically pick up a "click-cap" when I want to write down a short note.

[jdboucher]

really doesn't matter that much to me. I guess I would prefer a screw cap, just so I know that its secured on the pen, but I wouldnt let a "click-cap" keep me from buying a pen.

[lapis]

The only pen I have with a click-on is my 51. Now a 51 is a 51 (har har and I guess the very most famous of all pens) but I also do like using it every day when I just need a pen for a few seconds only, like a signature. If I write for longer periods of time then any screw-on I have is alright.

 

Mike

[Clydesdave]

The thing I don't like about click caps is when they let go (and someone else is opening the pen). The cap lets go, the cap goes beyond the end of the nib, the person reacts and trys to instantly put the cap back where it was, and the nib gets bent.

 

Okay, it has never happened to me, but it makes me worry when I watch my Ladyfriend open a click pen. Personally, I have the dexterity to open a click pen with one hand, but it seems to me most people don't do it that way.

 

Screw caps unscrew and sit there, patiently waiting for the operator to make the next move. I like that.

 

 

[J English Smith]

I use both, but as most of my writing at work is in short bursts, pens like P51s, P45s and Hero 616s are really the most practical. Also the VP, but I worry a bit about the mechanism getting clicked over and over and over.

[dhlr14454]

For me, screw caps are preferred. You know when they are secure. The main problem with them is _other_ people who have never used or seen a pen with a screw cap: all that tugging or jamming.

 

I don't know which is really better: I have some old pens with threading issues or sensitive cap edges. But then there's that Parker Frontier with the inner cap all pulled and loose. And that was only a few years of use.

[andyk]

Hi,

 

I have both, but tend to prefer screw on caps.

 

Andy

[Gawain]

Using a screw cap seems to impart more of a "ritual" to writing.

 

 

 

 

-Gawain

[DrPJM1]

I like to feel that the cap's threads are secure and the pen won't open in my pocket.

[PAKMAN]

It seems more like a fountain pen when it has a screw on cap. I have however had more screw on caps come off in a pocket than clip on caps. When I am in a huge hurry at work and don't really have the time to enjoy using the pen then I prefer a click on cap for speed and convenience. My Lamy 2000 is the best for this as the cap is so easy to remove one handed and even if you leave it off for an extended time the pen still never seems to dry up! Also if you are ever going to hand a pen to a novice a clip cap is more what they are use to. Most will take your screw on cap and do their best to yank it off of the pen.

[Clydesdave]

One of my most ignorant co-workers (a PhD in Mechanical Engineering) told me that cheap pens don't have screw caps, expensive pens don't have slip caps.

 

No, I don't even try with this guy.

 

[krz]

My main working pen is a slip cap. My others are mostly screw type.

[elalan]

One of my criteria for a daily user pen is that it does not have a screw on cap.

[RevAaron]

Screw caps feel much more sturdy to me. I much prefer them to slip caps all around. The only slip cap I actively like is the Lamy 2000's, which actually does have a satisfying click, really more of a mechanical "snick" sound. Most slip caps either have no click- the mushiness bugs the hell out of me- or the click is a very plasticy sound like the cap of one of those fruit, etc smelly markers you use in kindergarten.

 

I don't mind the Safari/Al-Star's click/slip cap, makes sense there to me for some reason. More of a secure muted click bump. Uh, yeah.

 

Aaron

[rogerb]

I think the most 'satisfying' of my pens in this respect is my 70s gold-plated Targa...it slips on quite snugly, and then 'Click'. it's closed

[njh1974]

I have a Parker 45 with a slip cap and sometimes if you're not careful (which I usually am) the nib gets caught in there somewhere before the 'click'. I have no idea what it catches on, but it does catch. All of the other pens I have now are screw tops and I like the ritual of the unscrewing. What's an extra second or so?

[DerMann]

The only pen with a slip cap that I own is the Hero 616. Screw caps were how most vintage fountain pens were made, and I like to believe it was for a reason.

 

The threads on Snorkels and Touchdowns are only one turn - if that. I have yet to decide if it is a good or bad quality (speed vs. security).

[HelzBelz]

I tend to feel that a screw cap is more secure and will last longer, although I have very little factual basis for that opinion. I worry that the click caps will wear out and become so loose that they may one day just fall off, despite the fact that most of them are showing no signs of doing that. (The Frontiers are an exception, as they're known for the loose cap issue). I also prefer opening a pen to be as quiet as possible (one reason why I detest the retractable points that G2s and the like have), and screw caps are invariably quieter than click caps.

[lovemy51]

I like to feel that the cap's threads are secure and the pen won't open in my pocket.

 

you'd think!... but just the other day my red estie's cap came loose inside one my white shirt's pocket... no stain!! but from now on, that one goes in my briefcase pen compartment.