[Pen/Pencil Review] Pentel Twist Erase Click 0.7mm Pencil
Today I need to do my review pretty quickly. I also have dream to write down what I remember and a chapter from a collaboration to read and write the next installment. So today’s review is the last Pentel Pencil from the “Big Box O’ Stuff”. This is the Pentel Twist Erase Click 0.7mm mechanical pencil with a blue barrel.
There won’t be a writing sample because it’s Pentel’s High Polymer ® 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. This pencil is approximately 5.75″ long and has a latex-free grooved rubber grip. The metal lead protector keeps lead from breaking , but it doesn’t retract back into the body, so it can bent.
The Twist Erase Click has one of the best features EVER in a pencil – an eraser with 1″ usable eraser length. The white rubber eraser clicks down into the top of the barrel and has a rotating feed ring to let you extend or retract the eraser. This particular model has a smaller twist ring mechanism that isn’t immediately intuitive – I tried twisting the entire barrel at first – but is still easy to manipulate.
The clicker mechanism is a button down on the side by the grip, which isn’t my favorite. I still like to click the top, and I rotate writing instruments in my hand, so it sometimes gets in the way, but it’s still a decent mechanism. The cap fits securely over the refill tube, so you never have to worry about shooting lead everywhere, and it’s fitted, so there’s only one way the cap goes back on securely. The clip is metal with a plastic accent. It’ll be around quite a while.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 – It’s a pencil. It advances. It retracts. There’s an eraser. There’s #2 HB lead.
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 clicker mechanism can get in the way of your fingers.
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. And the extra long eraser is non-abrasive
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – There’s some parts that aren’t intuitive. Having to figure out how to extend the eraser is one – the ring is kinda small for beefy fingers. Having the cap only go on one way makes you have to stop and think when you’re putting it back on. And I’ve discussed the clicker feature. The metal lead guard doesn’t retract, so it can bend along the way.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – According to the internet, these things are running about $3.00 a piece IF you can find them. I saw some on the Staples website, but the Pentel.Com website link have a 404 error. That’s an okay price for something with an amazing eraser and a solid clip, but it’s not the best.
I give it 3.5 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
