Posts filed under Pen Case

Material Rebellion Large Pencil Roll Review

My family and my sister’s family try to get together each summer at my parents house for a little fun and relaxation. I always bring a big bag of stationery goodies for my niece, and this time, my niece brought something to show me as well.

Her Material Rebellion Pencil Roll caught my eye immediately when we were sitting around the table hanging out. It was so cool, vibrant, and well made - what is the story here? As it turns out, Jill Maldonado - aka the Head Rebel - has a studio in the same space as my sister’s bookbinding studio. How great is that?

Material Rebellion uses only reclaimed textiles to manufacture their goods, which ranges from bags, to journals, to blanket fort kits. Jill partners with Goodwill of the Berkshires to order clothing they cannot sell and turns them into awesomeness like this pencil roll.

And the roll itself is fantastic. The denim outer layer is thick, yet soft, and the rainbow patches on the interior match perfectly with the 12 included Crayola colored pencils. You can even choose the button color for the button loop closure on the exterior of the case.

It is hard to beat a fun and functional product like this, and when the story is as good as Material Rebellion’s it makes it that much better.

It doesn’t hurt that my niece is the model in some of the product pictures either.

My thanks to Jill and Material Rebellion for sending me this product at no charge for review purposes.

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Posted on October 17, 2016 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Material Rebellion, Pen Case.

Lihit Lab Teffa Bag In Bag Review

I’m on the road more than ever these days, and having my essential gear organized and ready to roll when I am is important. My go bag is the Doane Paper + Topo Designs Mountain Briefcase, and within it lives the A4 sized Lihit Lab Teffa Bag In Bag.

I’ve used the A5 sized Bag In Bag off and on for a couple of years, but it never stuck full time. It’s an odd size related to the things I regularly carry, so it has ended up being an accessories bag more often than not. The A4 Bag In Bag, on the other hand, is a perfect match for my needs.

I didn’t realize this until I saw more than one person using this setup at the Atlanta Pen Show. In one instance it was a standard stationery bag, containing various pens and paper to use and share. In another instance, it was specifically built as a portable letter writing kit, with loose paper, envelopes, postcards, stamps, washi tape, etc. Seeing both of these as stand-alone bags as well as slotting into other messenger bags and backpacks piqued my interest.

I bounce between A4 and A5 sized notebooks frequently, and of course I like having my smaller pocket notebooks handy as well. The beauty of the Bag In Bag is it can hold all three, plus I can toss in my 13” laptop, iPad, or Kindle to give myself everything I need to work remotely. It is perfect when I want to head to a coffee shop and write reviews for example.

If I am doing that, I’ll just grab the Bag In Bag and head out. When I drive to Nock during the week, it slides perfectly into my Mountain Briefcase where I keep a few more items that need to head to the shop with me.

I’ve beat around my A5 sized Bag In Bag a good bit and it has held up well. Both the A4 and A5 size have a zipper around three of the four sides of the bag, allowing it to open fully along one of the long sides. This is good when you want to lay everything out and close it up, but not so great when trying to keep smaller items organized. I think that is why I prefer the A4 because I am only putting large items in the middle. Small items fall out of my A5 frequently.

As much as I like and use mine, there are a couple of minor nitpicks. First, the pen slots are tight and short. I have a hard time getting anything in them other than a standard width pen. The Copic Multiliner SP maxed out the pocket, and you can see in the pictures where the pocket is too short for it to clip. It is a tight fit, so I don’t expect it go go anywhere, but a deeper pocket would be nice. Secondly, the zippers are rough. I get stops and starts around the corners, and rough sliding in other areas. I can get past them most of the time, but a smoother track would help.

Those are minor issues in the grand scheme of what is a functional product. It is priced fairly too, with the A5 model selling for $14.50 and the A4 model for $21.00.

If you are need more organization for your daily carry, the Lihit Lab Bag In Bag is worth a look. If you want to see one filled to maximum capacity, be sure to check out the review by artist Nick Folz. That’s how you do it!

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Lihit Labs, Pen Case.

Kaweco Denim Pouch Review

Kaweco has a mortal lock on the pocket fountain pen market, so it is nice to see them expanding their product lineup with related accessories like the Kaweco Denim Pouch.

They have released several cases for their pocket fountain pens in the past, such as leather sleeves for the Sport and Lilliput lineups, and leather box-style cases for the Sports, and even their full-sized models. The Denim pouches are a departure in style, and one I can completely get behind. Kaweco has been experimenting a lot recently in fact, which is nice to see from a brand rooted in German fountain pen history.

These selvedge denim pouches fit up to two Kaweco Sport pens, be it the Classic, AL, Brass, or others. It’s a tight fit, which is nice because you don’t want these pens getting away in your pocket or bag. I imagine they will loosen up nicely with use, just like a pair of your favorite jeans. A single Sport with a clip fits fine as well, as do a couple of Liliputs, but they tend to get buried below the opening too deeply for me.

From a pricing perspective they are expensive. $38 for what many will see as something they can make from their own jeans - and make it more personal as well - seems high. But none of Kaweco’s products are exactly great value in comparison to other products. The thing is, there is no true competition for Kaweco, so I am willing to pay the price for the quality and coolness they bring to the table.

I thought for sure I would prefer the blue denim with the red stitch edge marker, but the black denim seems to work better with my primarily silver and black sports. I bet it would look good with the Brass too. I should get on that.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)