[Pen/Pencil Review] Zebra Tect 2way Light – Green – 0.5mm REVISIT
One of the best parts of having an excessive stash of writing instruments is that you can dig something out and almost have a brand new experience with it. This month I’ve been revisiting some of my green pens – whether just the barrel or also the ink. I stuck a pencil in this month’s stash because there’s one thing at the Day Job I prefer to use pencil for – then I fell into a pencil mood. I’d forgotten that I liked this one. I haven’t really used it since the review I did in 2017.
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Today’s review is a day late because I took a four-day weekend for my birthday. It was a nice, quiet, restful weekend that was exactly what I wanted. So besides that, let’s talk mechanical pencils. This one is from Tokyo Pen Shop and Zebra – its’ the Zebra Tect 2Way Light 0.5mm in light green.
This is pencil is just fun. I picked the light green because… duh, green. It’s a sturdy plastic body with a bit of ergonomic grip as darker green rubber rings near the metal tip. The pencil is about 5.8″ long and has both a click mechanism to advance lead and the new(ish) shaker mechanism that also extends the lead. However, there’s a twisting “lock†at the top of the lower third of the barrel that switches the pencil from click advance to shaker. Personally, I’m always a bit iffy on the shaker aspect so I like the choice. There was a bit of a learning curve with the locking part, but I have a tendency to overthink and have fumble fingers. But once you realize the lock is a relatively narrow ring, it’s fine.
NOTE: I’ve kept it locked since this first review because I do prefer the manual advancing instead of the shaker style
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This pencil has a translucent barrel that lets you see some of the mechanisms. And it comes with standard HB lead, but with a fairly high density. I don't see it breaking as much as past leads. It’s long enough to be comfortable with enough nod to ergonomics to not be overly tiring – and I used it a lot over my birthday weekend to finish hand-writing the zero draft of the story. I didn’t had any more lead, and I’m still going (though I’ll replenish it with high-density B because I like darker lead) with what came with.
Next week, I hope to have a really interesting story to share on the blog – or it could just be another review. Stay tuned.
The numbers:
1. How does it work? – 1 It’s a decent mechanical pencil. The lead by clicking or shaking and retracts easily. The lead seems sturdy and less prone to breaking.
2. Grip and feel – 0.5 – It’s a plastic mechanical pencil with a nod to ergonomics. It attempts to be comfortable and generally succeeds but it can be tiring.
3. Material – 1 It’s plastic but solid metal accents in the clip and tip. The locking mechanism is decent when you figure it out.
4. Overall Design – 1 -It’s a mechanical pencil. It’s got a good lead mechanism and a retractable eraser. It is what it is.
5. Price Point – 0.5 – This one is more expensive than what I expect from Zebra – and available pretty much through online retailers like Tokyo Pen Shop. I’m not seeing it on the US website. It’s $10.00, which for a plastic mechanical pencil is a bit more than I want to spend, but it’s solid and decent and pretty cool.
Update: The price has come down to $7.50 on Tokyo Pen Shop, which is still a bit pricy but better.
4 out of 5 Bronze Pencils
