Posts filed under Pen Case

Pencil Stand or Minimalist Work of Art? Why not both?

(Kimberly (she/her) took the express train down the fountain pen/stationery rabbit hole and doesn't want to be rescued. She can be found on Instagram @allthehobbies because there really are many, many hobbies!.)

I first saw the leather Pencil Stand by Lo Esencial at the Chicago Pen Show earlier this year. Erick Gama of Amarillo Stationery had this at his table and I thought it was the neatest thing.

Erick, former co-host of the Tinterias Podcast, opened up his webshop which focuses on Latin American stationery and analog tools. One of the brands he carries is Lo Esencial, which is a line of leather products designed and handmade by Mexican artisans.

The Lo Esencial Pencil Stand comes in a simple but sturdy cardboard mailer, with the logo, brand and tagline debossed in copper. The Pencil Stand is made from a single piece of full grain leather and two brass rivets. The reddish-brown leather is smooth and pliable and has that nice leather smell which is not overpowering unless you don’t like the smell of leather. There is subtle branding debossed on both sides of the stand. The Pencil Stand is 4-½” x 4-¾” x ⅜” when folded and 4-⅜” x 4-¾” x 2-⅜” when used as a stand.

I was a little nervous about damaging the inside of the stand when I first stuck pencils inside it. The pencils weren’t even sharpened so I could feel them “scraping” the sides of the interior - that sounds much harsher than it really is. Over time, the leather will soften and wear a bit so you won’t feel that as much. You can see in the pictures below that if there is something thicker than the others, the thinner ones might not stand up straight but they won’t fall out. I swear I didn’t set the pens up to “fan out” like that! While it is a “pencil” stand, I was also able to put 3 decently sized fountain pens in it without any difficulty.

*In addition to pens and pencils, you can also use the Pencil Stand to carry other tools, washi, glasses, etc.*

About the only downsides to the pencil stand are (1) if you need to have more than a few pen/pencils standing up, (2) you don’t like leather, or (3) you have top heavy items you want to store.

I initially passed on this at the show because I have a very messy desk and didn’t have room for it. But now that I’ve been trying this out for a while, I find myself using it not at my desk, but when I’m away from my desk. I’ve really grown to like its portability; it’s so easy to pick up, slip into a bag or pouch and set up anywhere you want a few pens handy.

*Enjoying the backyard while the weather’s still nice.*

You can find the Lo Esencial Pencil Stand at Amarillo Stationery for $15. It appears to be sold out right now but you can sign up to get notified when it is restocked!.

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

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Kimberly Lau and filed under Lo Escencial, Pen Case.

Pilot Otobaco Pen Case Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

The Pilot Otobaco is a pen box that transforms into a desk stand. A very cool idea, if a puzzling execution. It's made of hard plastic with a magnetic closure, and the inside is comprised of a number of compartments that unfold to serve various stationery related purposes. The material is sturdy but lightweight. If you were a kid in the 80s-90s, this is the same plastic your toys were made of. This is the 90’s Barbie fold-out camper of pen cases.

When the case is opened, the front flap folds down to become a pen tray, one part smooth, with part of it ridged to keep pens from rolling. Behind the ridged tray is a rubber strip designed to work as a stand for your phone or papers. Behind the stand strip is a deeper compartment with a hinged cup that folds up to serve as a pen cup.

There's a lot going on, and it's definitely fun, but not entirely functional. When closed, it only holds 5-6 pens total because so much of the interior space is taken up by its mechanics. While you can use the front edge of the tray, or the deeper back compartment to hold things when the case if fully opened, all of those things will have to come out before you can close the case back up, because the pens fold into those spaces when it closes. Overall, it makes a better desk stand than a case, and might be handy as a permanently open wee stand on a wee desk. As a case for on-the-go, it doesn't quite work for me. It's large and inflexible and doesn't hold enough stuff.

I could see this being useful for a student, though. If you don't need a lot of gear, and will be moving between multiple small desks throughout your day.

Whatever you're carrying in this case will need to be fairly small, also. It is only 16.5 cm long internally, so it won't hold most wood pencils or longer pens. That's what keeps me from recommending this for wandering artists. Bulky pens or highlighters would take up most of the interior. There isn't space for things like washi or erasers or other accessories.

As a mini-mobile desk stand, I think it does serve its purpose, but the trick is, what is the audience for this purpose? I'm not sure. It's also a bit pricey at $27. That's $10 more than the SMAND, the now legendary case-tray-stand that serves a similar purpose and is close in size, but holds at least a dozen pens.

So while I don't enthusiastically recommend this, it does make a useful small desk organizer, and no doubt it will find its audience who will love it dearly.

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

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Posted on July 21, 2022 by Sarah Read and filed under Pilot, Pen Case.

Luddite Liberator 4 Pocket Case Review

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

Pen cases (and bags in general) are one of the products that I have a lot of trouble keeping under control when it comes to my collection. I want them all because I can envision a unique purpose for each unique bag or case. The main problem is that there are so many different worthy designs and products out there — it's almost impossible to choose. That makes it so much more important to choose wisely to ensure my collection isn't needlessly large.

It's not very often that I come across any products that have any critical flaws or weaknesses, so that makes it even more astounding when it happens. At least in this case, it makes the decision of whether to add it to the case collection all that much easier.

What I'm leading up to is a specific pen case that I've tried using for the past couple of weeks. The Luddite Liberator Cordura 4 Pocket Pen Case looks interesting on the surface, uses some good quality materials, and hits a couple of trendy checkboxes that should interest many different customers. But be warned, dear reader, that this pen case has a critical flaw: it doesn't actually close when zipped up. The zipper works smoothly and flawlessly, but it's undercut by the two large gaps in between the zipper panel and the side panels of the case — one on each end of the case!

When I was first unpacking and inspecting the case, this design stood out to be almost immediately, but I shrugged it off thinking that it must do an adequate job of keeping objects inside the case — otherwise, how did it make it to the market? After loading it up with a few pens and trinkets, I did a quick test. I used both hands to smoothly rotate the case end over end to simulate being tossed in a bag. Three of the four pens fell out and onto the floor. One more rotation shot out the last pen as well.

At this point, I'm inspecting the case closer and trying to find a manufacturing problem — missing or broken stitches that might provide an answer for why it was so obviously ineffective at its one job. Nope — the fit and finish are fantastic and only show that this case is operating as designed.

And for that one simple reason, all I can do is dissuade any potential buyers from purchasing this case. I could talk about the main compartment and how it's divided by a nifty internal pocket sleeve, but that doesn't matter. The mesh zippered pocket on the front of the case is the only thing that works great. But there's no point in using the mesh pocket if you leave the main compartment empty. I could also talk about the Cordura fabric and overall build quality, but that doesn't matter either. Just for fun, I put as many pens as I could into the gap between the case walls and the zipper strip. I could easily fit three to four pens into the gap with plenty of wiggle room. What?!

In looking at Luddite's other Liberator case options, it seems that they definitely understand how to make a case that completely seals. This just further confuses me for why this 4 pocket case even exists, and that's the real problem I have with it: this is a product that shouldn't exist. There are so many good cases on the market that can fit almost every use case, and they all fulfill the most basic requirement: keep my stuff inside the case when I zip it closed.

The other case options look interesting, but this particular case design just leaves a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to this brand. There are so many excellent options out there that will serve you well. In my mind, Luddite has to offer a truly exceptional product to get me over this initial setback.

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

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