(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
There's certainly no shortage of supplies when it comes to pen cases, and that's not a bad thing in my book. The more options, the better. And as long as manufacturers and designers are coming up with their own unique, creative offerings, it's a great situation for sellers and buyers alike. The latest pen case to come across my desk is one from Shibui — a 3-Pen Case made from a lovely leather that zips up to keep your pens safe.
If you're interested in keeping your pens secure and making sure they don't touch, this is a great case option. There are three slots inside the case that can be adjusted to fit pens of different diameters. It's a clever leather design that makes it fairly easy to adjust, but very difficult for the loops to come loose on their own. In my experience, I've had no issues with the loops becoming loose with regular use.
The ability to secure your pens inside the case is one thing, but what about protecting what's inside from the outside world? Well, the Shibui has you covered there as well. The case closes completely using a YKK zipper, and there's very little chance of anything getting in or out while it's zipped up. The zipper mechanism is very smooth and feels well-made, which is to be expected from YKK.
The case opens easily, but it doesn't lay flat when open. The leather is just a bit too stiff to manage this, but I'm not sure it's even necessary. By the way, the leather used in this case is great quality. It's full-grain, so you know it will last quite a while and will also develop a spectacular patina over time and with use. The stitching that hold the panels and zippers together is well-done, and I don't have any concerns with anything coming undone over time.
The inside of the case also has a small flap pocket on the front side, but I haven't found a use for this yet. It would hold business cards, but that's not a common use case for me — just something to give you a concept of how small the flap really is. If it could hold standard 3x5 index cards, I'd be thrilled, but the don't fit without being bent quite a bit. On the upside, the size of the size of the closed and zipped case is fantastic for throwing into a bag, and it also manages to fit most organizational pockets with ease.
I've been really impressed with the materials and build quality of the Shibui 3-Pen Case. The unique adjustment loops are great for making sure every pen is snug when being transported, and I can see this lasting a really long time. At around $45 USD, it's also a pretty good value considering the quality and materials. Definitely something to check out if this design interests you!
(Shibui provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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