Tactical pens are seen as a weapon in TSA mindset.
Think about this; How many passengers on any one given flight are business people? Is it fair to assume that a popular pen like Cross, Fisher, Mont Blanc, etc would not cause anyone to blink an eye?
I bought a very nice twist-to-open, twist-to-close ballpoint pen at office Max for $5.99 ($6.00). It has a pretty sturdy aluminum barrel.
If a TSA worker sees a pen with "Smith and Wesson" on it, they naturally connect that with S&W guns and see it as 'trouble'. If they see "5.11 Tactical" or "Colt" or something like that, they will connect that with those companies.
If they see a nice pen that looks like (or is) a Cross, Mont Blanc, Liz Claiborne, etc, they will see an image of Donald Trump in their mind. Can you see the difference in the signal you are giving out and the signal that the TSA rep is receiving?
I bought a pen with a very sturdy aluminum barrel at Office Max for 5.99. I bought another one later with a similar aluminum barrel, but with automotive brake line on the outside of the barrel for $12.99.("GearHead thing?)
Look at Home Depot, Lowes, Pep Boys, Checker Auto Parts, etc for pens like that. The city and County of Denver calls a 6-cell, 4-cell, or 3-cell Maglite a 'weapon', but a 2-D Cell Maglite is not a weapon- ummmm...whatever....
If you want to pay a small fortune for a pen that has the word "Tactical" somewhere on it, rather than a $6-10 twist open/closed pen, well it's your money.
Think about this; How many passengers on any one given flight are business people? Is it fair to assume that a popular pen like Cross, Fisher, Mont Blanc, etc would not cause anyone to blink an eye?
I bought a very nice twist-to-open, twist-to-close ballpoint pen at office Max for $5.99 ($6.00). It has a pretty sturdy aluminum barrel.
If a TSA worker sees a pen with "Smith and Wesson" on it, they naturally connect that with S&W guns and see it as 'trouble'. If they see "5.11 Tactical" or "Colt" or something like that, they will connect that with those companies.
If they see a nice pen that looks like (or is) a Cross, Mont Blanc, Liz Claiborne, etc, they will see an image of Donald Trump in their mind. Can you see the difference in the signal you are giving out and the signal that the TSA rep is receiving?
I bought a pen with a very sturdy aluminum barrel at Office Max for 5.99. I bought another one later with a similar aluminum barrel, but with automotive brake line on the outside of the barrel for $12.99.("GearHead thing?)
Look at Home Depot, Lowes, Pep Boys, Checker Auto Parts, etc for pens like that. The city and County of Denver calls a 6-cell, 4-cell, or 3-cell Maglite a 'weapon', but a 2-D Cell Maglite is not a weapon- ummmm...whatever....
If you want to pay a small fortune for a pen that has the word "Tactical" somewhere on it, rather than a $6-10 twist open/closed pen, well it's your money.