[Pen/Pencil Review] The Platinum OLEeNU Green Mechanical Pencil – 0.5mm
Today’s blog is another version of mechanical pencil from Platinum. This is the Platinum OLEeNU Lead Breakage Prevention Mechanical Pencil Green Body.
At first blush, this is a typical mechanical pencil like the transparent one I reviewed before. It has a clear barrel with a frosted rubber grip and accents. Its diameter is a comfortable size for long-term writing and a touch wider than previous versions. The frosted rubber grip gives it a slight squish for added comfort. It’s about 5.6″ long, which makes it just long enough to be comfortable. The conical metal tip retracts into the barrel completely to protect the lead in a pocket or purse. The eraser is the typical white rubber eraser under a green plastic cap. The clip is molded plastic but with a clothespin-like spring clip. The clip is sturdy and seems to be strong enough to last a good long time.
It comes with a good 0.5mm lead. It’s a standard lead point, but where this differs is the in the clutch mechanism. With most mechanical pencils, when the lead gets down to a certain length, the clutch stops working and you end up wasting part of the lead. This version of the OLEeNU claims a “Zero Shin” clutch – with extra mechanisms that lets the pencil use down to the last HALF MILLIMETER – instead of stopping at 10-12mm.
The literature also says the metal tip has a dual structure that protects the lead from breakage. This I can attest. I thought the pencil felt more secure, that it was harder to break the lead. It’s also got a spring to absorb shock – for those like me who tend to put a lot of pressure on a tip. The lead advances through the typical pusher through the eraser, as well as with an automatic advance mechanism. The tip features a sliding metal sleeve for added support to the lead.
This is a “go to” mechanical pencil. I like it a lot. I picked it up from JetPens. It’s not overly expensive, but it’s not dirt cheap either, but if the mechanisms work the way advertised, then this will pay for itself in longevity.
The Numbers.
1. How does it work? – 1 – This is a solid mechanical pencil. It has two ways to advance lead. It does protect from breakage as much as possible. It seems to let you use much more lead than typical mechanical pencils.
2. Look and feel – 1 – I like that it’s an emerald green plastic. Makes it pretty as well as functional. But it’s also long enough and wide enough to be comfortable without being blocky.
3. Material – 1 – It’s plastic. The innovative stuff is in the mechanics where you can’t see.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – The only knock? When I was erasing some samples, I ended up advancing the lead quite a bit and had to put that back before I snapped off a significant length of lead. But other than that, it’s awesome.
5. Price Point – 1 – This pencil runs $3.30 on JetPens.com. That’s more than some everyday mechanical pencils, but with the mechanics totally makes it worth it.
4.5 out of 5 bronze pencils.
