Posts filed under Pen Case

Nomadic PE-07 Pen Case Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

You can never have too many pen cases, right? That seems to be true in my case, as I can find a way to make any new pen case fit into some aspect of my life with relative ease. The latest case to join my collection is the Nomadic PE-07. It's a small case that can pack a deceivingly larger amount of pens and supplies than the sleek exterior lets on. It's become my favorite "catch-all" mini-bag for holding pens, earbuds, chargers, cables, and more.

Let's start with the specifications for this case. It's 8.3 inches long, 4.6 inches tall, and 1.8 inches thick. There's one zip pocket on the exterior that has a mesh lining on the bottom half, making it easy to see what's in the pocket without unzipping it. There's also a main compartment, which has two zip pulls for easy use and partially opening the case. The navy colorway that I have features a bright orange interior fabric that makes it extremely easy to see what's inside (unless you're packing a lot of orange pens), along with light gray accents in the mesh dividers. On one side of the interior, there's one long slash pocket. On the opposite side of the interior, there are two slash pockets divided right in the middle. The middle divider is also a pouch with a zippered top. It's made of a finer mesh and works well for small accessories like lead cases, thing erasers, sharpeners, small sticky pads, and other slight accessories. The middle divider/pouch is suspended above the bottom of the case, allowing items to move around the bottom of the main compartment with ease.

The case doesn't open flat due to the wings that sewn into the inner edges of the main compartment. This makes it easy to open the case and set it on a desk without worrying about anything inside rolling out. The exterior material is 210DL ripstop nylon, which is very thin and strong. There's a nice square pattern on the fabric that adds texture and visual interest. This lightweight nylon is great at shedding water, dust, and hair. There's also a small bit of padding on the exterior panels of the case to protect what's inside.

The navy colorway that I picked is really pretty. The name and photos don't quite do it justice because it's more of a dark turquoise; it's certainly blue, but there is a lot of green showing through as well. It's a beautiful color, and I'm glad it's not any darker.

In use, this case is really versatile. If you're only packing pens in this case and don't worry about everything touching and rubbing together, you can fit about 20 gel pens without a sweat. The case is bulging a bit at this number of pens, but it's solid. The interior slash pockets are great at stowing thin items, and the case is just tall enough to fit a standard 3.5" x 5.5" pocket notebook.

My favorite use for this case so far is as an electronics organizer. It's really small but holds so much, and the internal organization is minimal enough to get out of my way if I don't want to use it. I don't go anywhere these days, but I can easily see this case being my go-to for work and travel. It can fit my laptop/phone charger, some cables, my AirPods, some pens, and a notebook with some space to spare. When traveling, I'd probably throw my phone and some medicine and hand sanitizer in to round out the kit.

There aren't any attachment points (for example, something to attach a carabiner to) on the exterior of the case, but I think that's a good call given the size. It also keeps the case looking slim and neat.

Overall, I've been really happy with this case! Once I start venturing out of my home more often, this will be a staple of my carry. If you're not a fan of the navy, then you can choose from red or black. Oddly enough, there's a slightly different version of the case with additional fun colors in the PE-17. There's no difference between the PE-07 here and the PE-17 except for color options. At $17, this is a great little case for storing pens and other accessories that is sure to last a long time.

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

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Posted on July 15, 2020 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Pen Case, Nomadic.

La Berlue Pencil Case Review

Like many of you, my email inbox can be a beast. But sometimes - sometimes - a real gem sneaks through that makes me sit up and take notice. That’s exactly what happened when La Berlue reached out to me.

Frédéric, the founder of La Berlue, shared with me his very unique take on the pencil case. And that’s exactly what this product is called: Pencil Case. But it is far from anything that you would expect hearing only the name.

The stated goal behind La Berlue is to reinvent everyday objects to make them fun. Pencil cases, in general, are a pretty basic object. A pouch with a zipper will suffice (I should know!) as long as it is long enough to hold unsharpened Blackwings. Even old school wooden pencil boxes, often made with a sliding wooden slat as the lid/cover, are reasonably common.

But this one. This one is different.

No matter how much I tried, I’m not sure I would have come up with the design that Frédéric did for his Pencil Case. And the thing is, it is very simple. It’s a long wooden cylinder with a cutout for a handful of pencils, covered by an additional wooden sleeve. The sleeve on mine is Walnut, but there is a Cherry wood option as well.

I’m enamored with it. When I first unboxed it, I got a huge grin on my face and thought “What am I supposed to do with this?” It’s not a carry case, that’s for sure. Technically, you could I guess. The 10.5” x 1.5” tube can slide into a bag or a backpack, but it is obviously not pliable. What the Pencil Case is to me is a beautiful desk object, standing at attention, ready to provide you with a sampling of your favorite pencils at a moments notice.

It can fit more that pencils, too. Mine shipped with a small wooden ruler, and I can easily fit an eraser and pencil sharpener inside the case as well.

The Pencil Case from La Berlue is a fun, functional, and unique product that represents everything I love about stationery. Thank you for reaching out Frédéric - I can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

(La Berlue 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 March 16, 2020 by Brad Dowdy and filed under La Berlue, Pen Case.

E + M Punched Leather Pen Case in Mocha: A Review

The E + M Punched Leather Pen Case is a single pen case with three decorative holes and stitched leather.

The case is quite small, measuring 135mm/5.3 inches in length, 3mm/1.2 inches in width, 2.5mm/0.1 inches in depth.

Although it is nicely made out of pliable leather, the case will not work with most fountain pens. I tried it with a Kaweco Student, which is a small pen, and it didn’t fit.

I tried it with a Kaweco Sport. With the clip, the pen didn’t fit. I had to remove the clip in order to fit the Sport in the case.

My Pelikan M101 Green Tortoise fit pretty well, although getting it in and out of the case was a bit of a hassle, and the top of the pen was slightly exposed.

I wouldn’t recommend this case for most fountain pens--only pocket-sized pens, and thin ones at that.

As for other writing instruments, the case fit my Retro Tornado perfectly:

And my Sharbo Multipen worked fine.

I thought that mechanical pencils would fit in this case, but the ones I tried (a Rotring 800 and a Platinum OLEeNU) are too long.

Unfortunately, I can’t find much use for the E + M Case since it accommodates only very small writing instruments (up to 5 inches in length but only 12mm in diameter). It does not include a clip or any means to attach it to a notebook, so it will most likely wind up at the bottom of your purse or backpack. But, if you want a simple, no frills case for a small writing utensil, it might suit you just fine.

The E + M Case is available from JetPens for $12.25.

(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 October 25, 2019 by Susan Pigott and filed under E+M, Pen Case.