What was designer Jean Pierre Lepine thinking when he overengineered this ballpoint pen for his Free Ride Collection? Maybe he was thinking that as soon as enough people bought it for its retail price of $190, he would be the one getting a free ride. Check out the gallery for a look at it all the weird color choices that are available. Then, jump over to the next page and let’s see if we can parse exactly what each one of these strange parts does on this pen that looks like a cross between a penis and a mechanical dachshund.
Each one of the yellow areas along the length of the pen near the tip are for cushioning your delicate hands. That strange roller is supposed to be an easy-to-use clip, but makes the thing’s dimensions so deep it would be positively bulky in the pocket. And look there, on the end—there’s a push button that’s also heavily padded, with an oversized spring along its stalk. It’s a positively insane design.
However, even though this Free Ride Collection looks completely impractical, that’s probably why we still like it and want one in each color. [Joon, via Oh Gizmo]
