The Zebra M-701 Mechanical Pencil is another new for 2010 product sent to me by Zebra, and a highly anticipated one at that. I mentioned in my Zebra Regal Roller review earlier this week that I was glad to see Zebra branch out with some new pen designs, but the M-701 is based on a pen design that is already perfect, so I am glad they didn't mess with that.The Zebra F-701 ballpoint uses the same steel barrel design and is very popular, so the M-701 compliments it nicely. The beautiful steel barrel and the knurled metal grip are the same as the F-701. Everything is the same as a matter of fact, with the obvious difference being that this is an 0.7mm lead pencil. The feel and the weight between the two are essentially identical. The mechanics of the M-701 are solid - there are no loose or rattling parts when writing or extending the lead.
Pairing this pencil with the F-701 ballpoint is a given. They look great and work great, and make me feel like I should go engineer something right now. Look for these and other new Zebra products on store shelves this spring.
Click here for the XL review.
