REVIEW – I write everything down. There are notebooks in every room of my house, and I have spent more on pens than I would care to justify. Several of them are bolt action, and they cost a good deal more than forty dollars. So the GP 1945 Bolt-Action Pen PRO from GPCA arrived with competition already sitting on my desk. It is also the only one of them with a glass breaker in the cap and a built-in emergency whistle.
Note: This GPCA GP 1945 Bolt-Action Pen PRO was sent to me by GPCA at no cost. They had no editorial input and did not see this review before it published.
Photos and video by Gregory Morley.
The Basics
Pulling the bolt back on the GP 1945 and pushing it forward deploys the nib. It’s a motion similar to chambering a round in a rifle. The body of the pen is machined from 6061 aluminum. It takes GPCA’s own GP22 refill and also accepts the Lamy M22. GPCA rates the GP22 at roughly 800 to 1000 feet of writing, shorter than a standard refill because the pen gives up the space to everything else it is carrying. The PRO adds a tungsten glass breaker under the top cap and a multi-tone whistle rated over 100 dB, and the grip is knurled into five bands.
What You Get
- GPCA GP 1945 Bolt-Action Pen PRO (Aluminum, Jet Black)
- Spare GP22 ink cartridge
- Felt storage sleeve
By the Numbers
- Price: $39.99 aluminum, $89.99 titanium
- Material: 6061 aluminum, or TC4 titanium on the pricier version
- Length: 135mm
- Weight: About 1.4 oz in aluminum, about 2.0 oz in titanium
- Ink: GP22 or Lamy M22 compatible cartridges, medium point
- Whistle: Multi-tone, rated over 100 dB
- Glass breaker: Tungsten tip, PRO version only
- Extras: Knurled grip bands, clip that caps the whistle’s air channel, felt storage sleeve
Design & Build
The pen’s aluminum body has enough heft to feel like a real object without getting tiring to write with. Resistance in the bolt is genuine, nothing like the mushy half-press of a cheap retractable, and it makes a distinct sound on both the pull and the push. At my desk I like that. In a quiet meeting I would not do it twice. The whistle takes some explaining. You unscrew the glass breaker tip, which opens up the end you blow into, and the clip is the other half of it. Sliding two fingers along the clip while you blow bends the pitch, which is what GPCA means by multi-tone. The whole pen comes apart without tools anyway, down to the body, two end caps, the clip and the refill.
Everyday Use
Three weeks in, the bolt action still hasn’t worn off. It writes like a decent medium-point pen, starts every time, and doesn’t skip. I blew the whistle once, indoors, and my dog was pissed at me for an hour. It is genuinely loud, well past decorative.
What Could Be Better
The GP22 is a compact refill by design, and at 800 to 1000 feet it does not last the way a full-size one does. Anyone who writes by hand all day will notice. Neither it nor the Lamy M22 is something you grab at a drugstore, so they get ordered, which means ordering spares alongside the pen rather than after you run out.
The whistle needs the glass breaker tip unscrewed before it works, which is a strange thing to ask of a feature meant for emergencies. GPCA clearly knows it, because the LITE version drops the glass breaker for an open end you can blow straight into.
The knurled grip is aggressive. There is plenty to hold onto for a signature or a short note, but it starts to wear on the fingers over a long writing session.
Watch the Review
Quick Questions
Q: Does the bolt action actually make noise?
A: Yes, a distinct click on both the pull and the push. It has real mechanical resistance to it rather than the mushy half-press of a cheap retractable.
Q: What ink cartridges does it take?
A: GPCA’s own GP22 cartridge, and Lamy M22 refills fit as well, so you aren’t locked to one supplier.
Q: Is the whistle actually functional, not just decorative?
A: It’s rated over 100 dB and it lives up to that indoors. The catch is that you have to unscrew the glass breaker tip before you can blow it.
Q: What’s the difference between the PRO and the LITE?
A: The PRO has the tungsten glass breaker tip. The LITE swaps it for a flat open top, which makes the whistle quicker to reach, and the LITE only comes in aluminum.
Q: Is there a titanium version?
A: Yes, but it isn’t the same price. Aluminum runs $39.99 and titanium runs $89.99, and the titanium weighs about 2.0 oz against the aluminum’s 1.4 oz.
Final Thoughts
This is a good mid-level EDC pen, and at forty dollars it is good value. The bolt action holds up under daily use. The whistle and the glass breaker are real hardware, not spec-sheet decoration. It has not replaced the more expensive bolt actions I own, and I did not expect it to.
Price: $39.99 (aluminum), $89.99 (titanium)
Where to buy: Amazon or direct from GPCA
What I like: Bolt action has real mechanical resistance and hasn’t worn off after weeks of carry, GP22 and Lamy M22 cartridges both fit, whistle is genuinely loud, clip caps the milled whistle channel, tungsten glass breaker is real hardware, good value at forty dollars
What I don’t: The GP22 cartridge is small and runs down quickly, refills are harder to find than a standard ballpoint’s, the knurled grip gets tiring over a long writing session
Buy the GP 1945 PRO direct from GPCA
Use code LONELYGUY for 10% off sitewide.
