The Hermes Rocket typewriter is a pint-sized powerhouse. This little Rocket is built tough. With its all metal body and snap-on shell, you can load it in your pack and scale the Matterhorn. Yodel-ay-hee-hoo! You’ll be singing the praises of this typewriter while banging out your field notes from your tent at base camp. Even when your fingers are numb with cold, they’ll find the big, round keys with ease. And no need to strain your digits when typing, this little wonder has a super light touch. A weakness of this typewriter is the carriage return handle. It’s short and stubby and was designed to fold up nicely so it’d fit in the case. But when you get going, it slows you down. Hermes addressed this issue in the next model of the Rocket and provided an easy to find carriage return. (See comparison below) Not as glaring, but still a bit quirky, are the ribbon covers. They’re two little triangular flaps that sometimes come unsnapped if you’re typing a bit hard. Over time, they can also get bent, requiring some adjustment so they snap into the shell. The newer model of the Rocket has a single cover that stays secure. But besides these two issues, the guts of the typewriter feel the same. Everything just feels solid. Hermes has no equal when it comes to this size of typewriter.

Hermes Rocket Comparison (Left, 1970s; Right, 1960s)