Clear Organizer Pouch - Pen & Pencil version

[MtnMan]

Regarding the Pen/Pencil version of the Clear Organizer Pouch...

A question for owners of this pouch: how many standard pens pencils have you carried in this particular pouch at one time?

Also: How many of you have ever used this pouch outside-of-a-bag, like to store pens/pencils in a auto glovebox?

And also: how difficult is it to remove/reattach the hook?

[Just]

THANK YOU!!!

I can't answer your question, but THANK YOU for bringing it up and linking it - I thought it'd been discontinued!!

[backpack]

One of my Pen Pouch holds 2 Lamy Safari fountain pens and could fit another pen of similar dimension and those pens leave space for one or two traditional pencil erasers.

Those two pens have medium width and I believe that you could fit twice as much thin ballpoints or pencils such as the Parker Jotter and Cross Century (the thinnest model)

Below are links to pictures of those two pens:

http://www.parkerpen.com/en/discovery/range/performance/jotter

http://www.cross.com/catalog/productcategory.aspx?cat_name=Pens&MSCSProfile=983BB0CC620F5E6D8FDE26829663AF1661D8039C8165CECF979CB335588028823F257CC61D956B03E4CAEF578BDD657F92136252D1D4D63EB9F082C2A4D751F66BB03EE02FEFB3F146E41C4BA5C1BEAFD49E1D5D82B3A8FE5F86442BF3E57A7577A42EC806B12083BCD94FFD8F917FDD38E60E41CCC43B679FC59F29EE669793CAFFF7EDAFF8C186

Because I don't want my Pen Pouch to fall, I added a short strap to secure it to an O ring inside a Tom Bihn bag or a key ring attached to a C-clip.

When I switch from a Swift, Cafe or Brain Bag to another that C-Clip is very handy, if I am in a big hurry.

When I use those pen consistently with one bag, the strap clipped to an O ring is great. I feel it is even more secure than a C-clip.


In his wonderful videos, Maverick clips many Pouches directly to the O rings of his Tom Bihn Bags, he seems to have mastered the art of precise removal of Pouches clips from O rings.

[MtnMan]

Here's the scenario I'm thinking about, and I'm wondering if it will work:

1: I buy one Clear Organizer Pen/Pencil Pouch for a given vehicle. I put a couple pens and pencils in it.

2: The pens and pencils will be kept there, in the glovebox, indefinitely, so that if/when someone needs something to write with and you're on the road, there they are. And because they're being kept inside a pouch within the glovebox, they will be sheltered from sun, ambient air, and extremes in temperature. I'm hoping this will protect the utensils from deterioration so they can still be used when needed.

3: For the pencils, I have a few of those little "Smokey Bear" mini handheld pencil sharpeners that fit in the palm of your hand so there always something there to keep the pencils sharp.

All that should fit inside one of those pouches, right?

[gmanedit]

Hi, MtnMan.

"I'm hoping this will protect the utensils from deterioration so they can still be used when needed." Have you considered a mechanical pencil and a Fisher Space Pen (http://www.spacepen.com/)?

[MtnMan]

Interesting idea, gmanedit.

How well do these pens work after they've been in the extreme cold?

What kind of ink do they use? Are refills available?

[gmanedit]

Snopes says (http://www.snopes.com/business/genius/spacepen.asp) the pen works in a range of –120 degrees C. to 150 degrees C. Good enough? They are ballpoint pens, with the ink pressurized (so you can write upside down; I got one to work crossword puzzles lying down). Refills at the linked website at 2:23 PM and loads of other places—Staples, for instance, where I got the reasonable priced bullet pen (http://thewritersedge.com/fisher.bullet.cfm; watch the video).

[Foggy Morn]

I keep my Pulse Pen in mine, so it's not usually filled to capacity, but I'm sure you could do what you want. Can't answer about the cold (for which I am utterly grateful).

The hook is integral to the design, so the only way to remove it would be to snip it off. There would be a small loop (that it attaches to) left over that you couldn't really get rid of because of the design.

HTH

[ex machina]

I have the pouch and I have used Fisher space pens. For a while Space Pen refills where my refill of choice in all my pens. There is no better emergency pen IMO. The space pen is used on all US space flights since Apollo 7. The Russians use them too. The space pens use a thixotropic rosin ink so it is solid until you try to write with it. No leaks. A shelf life that is longer than the life of car. You can read about them, and order them too, at spacepen.com.

After using the pencil pouch for a while I can say that the use you described seems a good fit. I used it for a while as a pencil/pen case with a sharpener. A difficulty I encountered was that the pencil sharpener would open up and leak shaving and graphite dust all over the bag, coating my instruments. My solution was to scotch tape the sharpener closed, and add a scotch tape flap to the sharpening hole. No more leaks.

Currently I keep the pencils in the pencil case (with a Papermate black pearl eraser). The bulkier items (sharpener, stapler, various highlighters, pens, tape, etc.), I keep in an indigo Kit.

[MtnMan]

Here's a silly question: does anyone know of a highlighter that doesn't dry out (i.e., works like a space pen)? Does such a writing utensil exist? I'm just wondering if it would be possible to carry some kind of highlighter in a Clear Organizer Pouch in a car's glovebox and not have to worry about it going dry from sitting in there indefinitely.

[gmanedit]

Hi, MtnMan.

Years ago I bought a set of Faber-Castell dry Textliners from Levenger. They are excellent—fluorescent in brightness and mostly erasable. They came with a sharpener (they're a little fatter than regular pencils), or you could sharpen them with a knife. They never dry out, because they're dry to start with. I liked not having to worry about capping them.

Levenger no longer sells them. They have their own product (HTTP://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATE...2-3|PageID=165), which is a refill that fits in a rather pricey holder. You could order the refills and mod them with a pencil grip.

For some reason, the Faber-Castell product seems not to be for sale in the U.S. Here is their current version (http://www.penciltalk.org/2009/05/fa...ighting-pencil)—cute! The page has a picture of the version I have. Products by other manufacturers, such as Staedtler, draw less favorable reviews.

This site (http://givegoodgift.ca/?p=1561), in Canada, came up in a search; the page is as recent as last August, but there's no buying information. She gives an email address, so you could ask her what's up. Very reasonably priced.

Meanwhile, Levenger has this page (http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATE...-3|pageid=6403), but I don't know if it's a current offering; it didn't come up in a site-specific search for highlighters. You could call them. The price is even better, but I don't have personal experience with them or the refills above.

It's not a silly question at all. This is a really useful product.

[MtnMan]

Thank you for the references. I will be keeping them in mind.

I'm thinking about investing in some clear organizer pouches, some space pens, and maybe some dry-highlighters and pencils to go with them for the gloveboxes of various vehicles. I won't make a more on there items for at least 2-3 weeks, though.

It's nice to know I'll have an interesting selection to choose from when I get there.

Thanks again,

--The Mountain Man

[backpack]

I could only found a UK supplier for the new Faber-Castell-Textliner-Dry-Highlighter

http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Faber-Castell-Textliner-Dry-Highlighter.html

I have the old version that was sold by Levenger, they are exactly what you are looking for. They last forever, work better than regular highlighters and being pencils can be stored in the car not matter the weather.

Using a dual size pencil sharpened works very well.

http://www.staples.com/Staples-Dual-Dome-Pencil-Sharpener/product-nr_935650?cmArea=SEARCH

I also use Prismacolor Col-Erase Erasable Colored Pencils

They are regular size pencils available in erasable color, they work well in all weather and during travel.(no worry about drying out and the liquid transport on flights)

http://www.prismacolor.com/sanford/consumer/prismacolor/product

[ex machina]

This is an excellent thread, thank you all!

[moriond]

Hi, MtnMan.

Years ago I bought a set of Faber-Castell dry Textliners from Levenger. They are excellent—fluorescent in brightness and mostly erasable. They came with a sharpener (they're a little fatter than regular pencils), or you could sharpen them with a knife. They never dry out, because they're dry to start with. I liked not having to worry about capping them.

Levenger no longer sells them. They have their own product (HTTP://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATE...2-3|PageID=165), which is a refill that fits in a rather pricey holder. You could order the refills and mod them with a pencil grip.

For some reason, the Faber-Castell product seems not to be for sale in the U.S. Here is their current version (http://www.penciltalk.org/2009/05/fa...ighting-pencil)—cute! The page has a picture of the version I have. Products by other manufacturers, such as Staedtler, draw less favorable reviews.

This site (http://givegoodgift.ca/?p=1561), in Canada, came up in a search; the page is as recent as last August, but there's no buying information. She gives an email address, so you could ask her what's up. Very reasonably priced.

Meanwhile, Levenger has this page (http://www.levenger.com/PAGETEMPLATE...-3|pageid=6403), but I don't know if it's a current offering; it didn't come up in a site-specific search for highlighters. You could call them. The price is even better, but I don't have personal experience with them or the refills above.

It's not a silly question at all. This is a really useful product.

Hi,

I thought I would mention another dry highlighter option: The Stabilo Greenlighter that was also reviewed at pencil talk (following their discussion of the Faber-Castell Textliner highlighting pencils): http://www.penciltalk.org/2009/06/st...ghting-pencils.

Last month’s look at the Faber-Castell Textliner pencils elicited a response from a reader in the Netherlands, who asked me to compare them with Stabilo’s new GREENlighter products. Fortunately, the request was accompanied by a set of the pencils!… The presentation and ergonomics are fantastic.…As to highlighting – the results vary by colour. The yellow was excellent – rich and saturated. Side by side with the Faber-Castell textliner, I noticed that the Stabilo didn’t crumble, another plus.

(The "Green" in the name refers to the fact that it is part of their GREEN range products, with 100% FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood, and eco-friendly finish. I've only used the yellow dry highlighter. Since I've bought individual Greenlighters for under $3.00 at my local art supply store, you should be able to find this easily elsewhere.

moriond