[Pen/Pencil Review] Pentel Jolt 0.7mm Mechanical Pencil
Okay, okay, okay, it’s not a green or red pen… it’s a pencil with green in the barrel. It’s what I had in my stash that fits the December theme. This is the Pentel Jolt 0.7mm mechanical pencil. This was sent to me quite a while ago in the giant box of awesomeness.
There won’t be a writing sample because it’s Pentel’s HB lead – so it’s standard #2 pencil lead, and when it comes to writing, one HB lead is the same as any other. This will focus on other aspects of the pencil. The Jolt – according to Pentel’s website (because it didn’t come with packaging) is part of the Recycology line. We’ve talked about that in the past. They are doing their best to reuse plastic. This pencil is about 5.5″ long. It’s got decent balance. But it’s designed to be held ONE WAY, which is always a problem for me. I’m a rotator. I always rotate pens and pencils.
They sent me the Jolt with the light green (lime) accent barrel with 0.7mm lead. These pencils have a softer gray plastic grip area that’s tapered around a viewing panel so the grip settles into the thumb web to have a line of softer plastic. The accent color is bright and fun and the top is white so you see the name and lead size on the fairly sturdy molded plastic clip. The pencil comes with a gray PDE-1 eraser that fits into the clicker mechanism. The erasers as well as lead can be refilled.
The mechanism is interesting. It’s both a clicker and a shaker. You can see a spring-like mechanism through the clear panel in the barrel. With a flick of the pencil you can advance the lead, but to get the tip fully extended, clicking the eraser seems to be best. From fully retracted, I can only get the tip partially extended with the shaker properties. And though I tend to be “old school” and tend to click, the fact that you can extend lead with a shake is cool. It’s really hard to wear the lead down to the mechanism when you’re writing with this. And that’s pretty nifty.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 – It’s a pencil. It advances. It retracts. There’s an eraser. The dual shaker/clicker mechanism seems to make sure you always have lead available.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – This pencil does feel good for a relatively inexpensive mechanical pencil. It has the tapered grippy section. BUT…if you rotate your pencils, the clear plastic viewing panel has angles and is slight raised, so that can dig in. And I would, honestly, like another quarter inch to fit right in my hand.
3. Material – 1 It’s a relatively inexpensive plastic pencil – that it’s part of the Recycology line is a bonus. The lead and erasers are refillable.
4. Overall Design – 1 – Even with the view panel issue, it’s a good design. The multiple ways to get lead out of the pencil shows respect to those of us who grew up clicking yet with the new fangled shaker tech. It’s a good nod to both worlds.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – According to the internet, these things are running about $2.75 a piece. They only come in singles – either 0.7mm or 0.5mm. It’s a little much for a plastic mechanical in my thinking, but it does seem like it’s built to last.
I give it 4 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
