Monday, January 17, 2011

Pentel Quick Dock QD5

I stopped by Staples a couple of weeks ago and picked up the Pentel Quick Dock. I didn’t really know what to expect but the package contents intrigued me. After snapping pictures of the package with the pencil, plastic cartridge with 12 prefilled leads and 3 erasers, I opened and started using the pencil.
The first thing that I noticed is the lead cartridge system. When you’ve run out of leads, you pull the top where the eraser is and the entire plastic cartridge system comes out and snap in a new one from the package. Refills of these cartridge systems are available in packs of 2. If you just want to refill the leads without buying the cartridge plastic, no problem since you can refill by pushing leads into the bottom of the cartridge.
For the several weeks that I’ve been using it, I find the pencil very comfortable even with extended use. Its 5 ½ inches length is just about right with weight evenly distributed. It feels comfortable even with extended use. It has a retractable tip for carrying safely in a pocket. The metal tips and clips always give a pencil a certain degree of elegance and this is no exception. The black rubber grip is very comfortable and provides a good grip. In the middle of the plastic barrel, there is a small clear window for checking leads. Upper barrel is made of plastic in silver color. The eraser is extended by twisting the top. When I used the eraser, I didn't quite liked how it would get smudged and the lead would stick to it instead of falling off. Japan is printed on the top barrel along with Pentel QD5 and Quick Dock 0.5.

Use for – General writing and drawing.
Like it? – Sadly no, the pencil is too plain and the cartridge system is an interesting concept but doesn’t really do much.
Design suggestion – Take out the cartridge refill system altogether but if it must have it, make the refill system biodegradable. Also change the silver body to black and the printing to silver.

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