I’m on record as only being “meh” about the Zebra DelGuard Mechanical Pencil. But a DelGuard in Purple and Pink with a squishy grip? Ok Zebra, you win!
The DelGuard is a legitimately good pencil. The build quality is great, the price is fair, and the selling point - a front-end mechanism that helps prevent breakage - works perfectly.
I’m only meh on it because of the mechanism. It’s nothing that has ever been a selling point for me. Rotating lead? I can use that from time to time. A retractable lead pipe? Yes, if additional protection while portable is required. Mostly, I prefer a standard fixed mechanical pencil, which more than meets my needs. I don’t use 0.3 mm lead sizes much, where the DelGuard mechanism would come in handy. And I’m sure there are a few other specific use cases too, such as using it against a ruler or other fast-paced situations.
All that said, I am a sucker for color and whimsy, and my goodness, does the DelGuard Type-GR have it all.
More color, more better! L to R: Pentel P205, DelGuard Type-GR, Pentel Smash.
Can we talk about this color scheme? It’s a mix of gradients and color blocks, and unbeknownst to me before I got it in hand, it has a subtle cloud pattern starting in the Blurple section of the pencil, rising up towards the clip. The Blue and Grey models each have their own atmospheric design, different from the clouds on this one.
The soft grip section is well done, providing a good middle ground from the firm grip on the Pilot Dr. Grip, and the extra squishy uniball Alpha Gel Grip. The Type GR grip is soft on the outer layer, and firm underneath, making for a comfortable writing experience.
Cloudy, with a chance of Graphite.
If I could wish cast, I would like an 0.7 mm or 0.9 mm option in the Type-GR. The wide diameter barrel lends itself to wider tip sizes, making for a more natural writing flow. But do you know what 0.7 mm or 0.9 mm lead sizes don’t do? Break as much. So there is less need for their mechanism to come in to play in those wider sizes. They do offer an 0.7 mm in their base model in a few colors, but the vast majority of the product lineup is 0.3 mm and 0.5 mm, for good reason.
Zebra’s stock graphite is fine. If this was a long-term use pencil I’d look at something with more tooth, like Pentel’s stock graphite.
Given all of my capitulating, and wondering what the perfect Zebra DelGuard would look like, sometimes I’m just enamored by how a product looks. That’s the case here with the Twilight Purple Limited Edition. It’s $10.75 at JetPens, which puts it a price tier above the base model, but far less expensive than some premium pencils. I’d say the fun it offers makes it more than worth it for me. Looks like I’m a DelGuard fan after all.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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