Lihit Lab Hinemo Stand Pen Pouch in Red: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

The Lihit Lab Hinemo Stand Pen Pouch is made from canvas (Fuji Kinbai) woven in Japan and sourced from various places around the world. The pouch itself is made in Myanmar.

The pouch is shaped like a lower-case "n" when closed and an "m" when open. It is 7.9 inches in length, 5.1 inches in width, and 1.4 inches in depth (unfilled)--it expands to accommodate lots of supplies (see third picture below).

The name "Hinemo" is stitched on the front of the case; otherwise there is no branding. The canvas is thick and well sewn, and the metal zipper is sturdy. I think the red and cream colors make for a striking contrast.

Inside are two large canvas pockets and three smaller webbed pockets bordered in elastic. The large pockets can accommodate bigger supplies, such as large pens/markers, scissors, small rulers, pads of paper, craft knives, etc. The smaller pockets are useful for erasers, smaller pens and pencils, painting tools, sticky notes, and other supplies.

The pouch is reversible, so you can open it up, fold back the sides and zip it with the pockets facing outwards. This allows you to stand the case on your desk with easy access to your tools. You can also stand the case up like an open book, if you prefer.

The Hinemo Pouch is well made with quality stitching on the outside and inside. The pockets are capable of holding lots of writing instruments or other craft tools and the case closes easily when full.

I would not use this pouch with expensive fountain pens because there are no individual pen slots. Your pens will knock against one another resulting in scratches and dings. For EDC pens, plastic writing instruments, and other supplies, the Hinemo pouch will be perfect. You can slide it easily into a backpack or large purse.

You can purchase the Lihit Lab Hinemo Stand Pen Pouch in red from JetPens for $17.50. The pouch also comes in black, yellow, navy, and beige.

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

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Pilot G2 Limited Metallic Body Pen 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 G2 doesn't exactly need an introduction. Most of the people I know who have pen preferences, though they may not yet be pen addicts, say it's one of their favorites. The reason for this, generally, is the refill. The G2 refill is great. It's smooth, reliable, saturated, and accessible. Nearly anyone who writes has encountered one and had a good experience. I've often bought the refills to put in other pen bodies, so I was excited to try this Limited Metallic Pen Body that Pilot designed just for the G2 line.

This pen has a lightweight metal body with a matte finish and chrome accents. The grip is firm rubber with added texture to prevent slipping. The nosecone unscrews to replace the refill. The spring is fixed inside the nosecone, so it doesn't go flying and get lost--a feature I appreciate greatly. It has a strong, satisfying click mechanism and the clip is firm but flexible enough to function well. This pen body is overall a bit bigger and longer than the standard plastic G2 body, but it's light enough that it's still comfortable to hold and write with.

It comes with a black refill inside that is acid free, archival, and waterproof. It does smear a little when still wet, but dries fairly quickly and is then permanent.

I'm a magpie, so I went for the purple body, but it is also available in grey, blue, red, gold, and silver—so they have the whole spectrum from fun to professional covered, though I'm hoping for more fun colors in the future. G2 ink refills also come in a variety of fun colors, but you're not limited to G2 refills with this pen body, either. It also fits popular refills like the Pentel EnerGel and Uni Jetstream, among others.

I think this pen is very well priced at $11.75. Maybe even a little underpriced. It's perfect for an everyday purse pen, and sturdy enough to survive in a pocket or backpack. Ideal for students or use in the office--though you'd have to guard it against wandering pen syndrome. It's a nice pen, but it doesn't look so fancy that it might not be mistaken for a communal or disposable pen to someone who doesn't understand that some pens are special.

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

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Van Dieman's Wilderness Series Ink: Devil's Kitchen Review

Van Dieman's is a totally new ink maker to me, and before I received several sample vials from Vanness to try out, I had never heard of them. It's fascinating now to see so many small ink shops popping up around the world offering so much variety and vitality to the fountain pen ink market. It was tough to pick one to start, so I really just picked one at random and came out with Devil's Kitchen — part of the Wilderness Series.

The Wilderness Series is a collection of ten inks that are, in the words of the creator, inspired by the "majestic, beautiful and ofttimes humbling wonders that await in the Tasmanian wilds." The description of Devil's Kitchen had me itching to try it out in a pen.

The Devil’s kitchen, where The Great Southern Ocean smashes into scattered inlets lining the Eagle Hawk Neck cliff face on the eastern side of the Tasman Peninsular, creating a violent churn and the rich vibrantly cool teal which inspires this colour. Tasmania’s wilderness of this caliber is breath-taking.

With a description like that, I can't decide if I want to try out the ink or plan a trip to Tasmania to see this in person.

Since traveling is a joke right now, I guess my decision is an easy one. Devil's Kitchen is a lovely dark teal with a great deal of green covering up slight hints of blue. There's a good amount of shading, but not so much to be dramatic. It's well-behaved and would look great on business papers and journals alike. Using this ink has been really enjoyable because of the slight amount of drama the murky shading adds to the page.

The ink is dye-based, which makes it more robust than your typical fountain pen inks. Despite that, the ink is still very well lubricated and flows quite nicely. I haven't had any issues with dry starts or scratchy nibs. Even after being capped for a while in a pen that usually has trouble regardless of what ink I'm using, it does just fine starting after being dormant for a few days.

There's no shimmer in this ink, but there's a rare sheen that I've only noticed a couple of times in areas that the ink has a chance to pool up significantly. The sheen is hard to detect, requiring perfect lighting and near impossible conditions — but it's there if the conditions are perfect.

I've really enjoyed using this ink over the past couple of weeks. I didn't expect much because I had never heard of Van Dieman's before, but the name has quickly rocketed to the top of my list. A 30ml bottle costs $12.95 from Vanness, but you can also pick up a small sample vial for under $3 if you're unsure. If, like me, you haven't heard of Van Dieman's yet, make sure to add it to your list when you're next in the mindset to do some ink shopping.

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

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!