Posts filed under Pencil Reviews

Wingback Mechanical Pencil Review

Wingback is a purveyor of proper pocket pens, so why not pencils? That’s what I’m discussing today, as I have been putting their Stainless Steel Wingback Pencil to the test over the past several months.

When I first tested the Mechanical Pen, I found it to be well made and enjoyable to use. It looked great, too. With a huge amount of design crossover, it’s safe to say I feel the same way about the Mechanical Pencil.

Designed to be shorter and heavier than most mechanical pencils you will find on the market, Wingback places this pencil firmly in the EDC category. And yes, the lead pipe retracts into the barrel when not in use, so don’t hesitate to throw this in a bag, backpack, or pocket at will.

Like their pens, the pencil barrels are made from either Brass or Steel, with various coatings or etchings, depending on the series. The Steel model is perfectly my aesthetic. Heck, all of Wingback’s goods are my aesthetic.

The one kicker with their entire lineup is barrel weight. As you may have surmised by now, these metals make for heavy pens and pencils. This pencil checks in at 40 grams, nearly double the 22 grams of the Rotring 600, for example. Combine that with aggressive knurling, well, let’s just say your hand will be exhausted at the end of a morning leaning over the drafting table.

And I would contend that all day writing is not what these pencils are designed for. Maybe that goes against the marketing of their large capacity, custom-made mechanism, which is designed to hold “up to 40 lead refills – enough to keep you going for over 50km.” This isn’t a novel-writing pencil. It’s an up and down note-taking pencil, which is exactly as I have been using it.

I discovered this when copying a book for my still-in-progess #NaNoCoMo project. After two consecutive A5 pages, around 800 words, my hand was tired! I liked the pencil enough to try long-from writing, but short-form is where it is at. My Wingback Pencil lives on my desk, and is a frequent contributor to notes and planner entires. If I ever decide to leave the house again, it would be a fine pocket companion as well.

Wingback’s writing instruments fall into the premium price category. This Steel Mechanical Pencil runs £95 (approx. $124,) which is the entry point to the lineup. Additional finishes and barrel designs ramp up the price from there.

I’ve been happy with everything I have seen from Wingback so far. Enough so, that I added a Black Steel Pen to the rotation a while back. The Mechanical Pencil is in the rotation as well, and I’ll be keeping an eye on the brand closely to see what they come up with next.

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

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Posted on March 14, 2022 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Wingback, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Uni EMOTT Color Mechanical Pencil Review

I’ll admit to being skeptical when I requested the new Uni EMOTT Color Mechanical Pencils to review from JetPens. As a product reviewer, the entire Uni EMOTT series is intriguing, so from that perspective I was interested. From a personal perspective, though, I’m generally disappointed with color mechanical pencil leads. They tend to be soft, breakable, and light on the page - all features that I don’t want in a color pencil lead.

So, how did the Uni EMOTT Color Mechanical Pencils fare in my testing? Let’s explore!

Before anything else, these pencils need to have good writing performance. That goes for any writing instrument in general, but for color mechanical pencil leads, it is especially important. Remember, These aren’t wide core, wooden barrel, colored pencils, which are a completely different category and feel of pencil.

These thin leads, 0.9 mm in the case of the EMOTT, better be strong, have good color depth even on light colors, and have to give pencil-like feedback on the page. Uni EMOTT leads succeed on all accounts. Impressively, I might add.

Let’s take the lightest color in my set, the No. 2 Tropical four-pack, which is Light Green. In my testing, it is clearly readable on a white-background paper. That means enough of the lead is transferring to the page, while also not being brittle. The color surprised me, as did the feel. It’s almost like a traditional pencil lead!

The other three colors are equally as nice and readable. I assumed the Fuchsia would be the darkest, but I am even more impressed with Orange and Light Pink being so nice and rich.

While the most important part of this pencil is great, the rest of the Uni EMOTT is only average.

Average may be too kind of a word to use for the erasability of the EMOTT lead. Even with heavy erasing, the color is still visible on the page. I had no expectations this would be a good feature, and, unfortunately, that was accurate. That said, color pencil leads usually don't erase at all, so maybe this performance is a plus?

The EMOTT barrels themselves are ok. They are long and slender, and are square in shape to prevent rolling. The cone tip retracts into the barrel when the lead is retraced completely, but I don’t see the need for that. There is no lead pipe that needs protecting, like with some traditional mechanical pencils.

Each barrel has a matching color section right below the cap area to designate the lead color. This helps visually when these pencils are stored in the provided stand, which also has space for the extra lead that ships with the set. The No. 2 Tropical is one of the three sets currently available, with No. 1 Refresh and No. 3 Nostalgic giving you a dozen total color options.

Price-wise, I think the EMOTT sets are reasonable. Each set ships with four pencils barrels, four sticks of each color lead (two in each pencil, two in the lead holder,) plus a stand to hold them all. That puts them at a little less than $3.50 per pencil as a set, with an 8-pack of lead (2 of each color in a set) priced separately at $2.95.

The final question I have is usage, as in, how do I see these being used? Individually, they are perfect for notations and highlights. They are good enough for longer-format writing as well. A set of four provides nice complimentary colors for planning and journaling, while a collection of all 12 may be overkill.

The real winner of the Uni EMOTT Color Mechanical Pencil lineup may be in the individual lead refills themselves. Do you have an 0.9 mm mechanical pencil handy? These would be the perfect choice for a single standout color to your writing. I think that is the route I’m going to take. Now, I have the difficult decision of which color goes first!

(The answer is Orange. It is always Orange.)

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

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Posted on February 28, 2022 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Uni, EMOTT, Mechanical Pencil, Pencil Reviews.

Pilot S30 Drafting Pencil Review

Last week, I reviewed the Pilot S20 Drafting Pencil, and this week I’m tackling it’s pricier sibling, the Pilot S30 Drafting Pencil, to see if the premium features - and price - are worth it.

If you didn’t read last’s week’s review of the S20 you should, but if you want the short version you should know this: I adore the S20. I’m still in the honeymoon phase with it, but I can tell it will have a long-term spot in my writing arsenal.

The S30 takes the straightforward S20 pencil platform, and turns it up a notch or three. At a quick glance, these two pencils look the same, but on the inside, the S30 uses a different mechanism to auto-advance the lead when the empty tip is pressed against the paper. The traditional knock-advance mechanism is still in place, so you have a choice how to advance the lead when using the pencil.

In addition, the S30 has a retractable pipe. This allows for a bit of added safety when storing the pen away. For some, this is a mandatory feature for any mechanical or drafting pencil.

Those two mechanism changes increase the weight of the S30 to 21 grams, versus 18 grams for the S20. The approximately 15% increase in weight is noticeable.

What else is noticeable is the shiny chrome finish of the S30, as well as the matching wood treatment on the knock. The packaging of the S30 also gets upgraded to a more traditional hanging box, compared to no packaging for the S20.

Last but not least, the S30 checks in at $40. If the $25 S20 is in the premium pricing category, then the S30 levels that up even more.

So, is it worth the premium price for the premium product? To me, no. I prefer the lighter weight and matte hardware of the S20 more than I need a retractable pipe, touch-advance lead, and a box that I will throw in the garbage. For others, the retractable pipe will be worth every penny of the premium if they like the pencil overall.

That’s the takeaway here. If you like the style of the S20 or S30, then it boils down to which features you are willing to pay, or not pay, for. No matter the choice, there is a high likelihood that you just found your new favorite pencil.

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

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