(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
With the pens and pencils we choose to take with us on our adventures in the world, choosing the right case is half the battle. Just like choosing what clothes to wear, a lot of it depends on what we plan on doing while we're out. Because of the variety of circumstances and environments we find ourselves in every day, these decisions can make or break our day. While choosing the wrong pen case isn't as bad as forgetting an umbrella on a day with a heavy rain forecast, it certainly isn't ideal. No matter what kind of argument I try to construct on behalf of having a pen case (and pen!) for every occasion, it all comes down to the fact that there are so many cool cases available, and I'd like to try them all.
The Nomadic PW-11 Boat Shaped Pen Case might sound like something suited for monsoon season, but it's actually an incredibly versatile case that has plenty of space inside a lightweight but strong exterior. At its core, it's a zippered pen case with one large pocket inside, but it also has a couple of neat tricks.
From the outside, this case is a two-tone beauty made from lightweight ripstop nylon (150D to be exact) and features a small, quiet zipper on top. The bottom of the case has some padding, but the sides are all single-layer nylon. A feature I've really enjoyed is the two zip pulls that are provided on this case, meaning you can open/close it from either end. Along with the double pulls, each side of the zipper has a small magnet embedded in the nylon folds to keep them tucked neatly to the side of the case. This makes the case easy to spread open when you're trying to see what's inside, but it looks more streamlined when it's all snapped together. Along with the magnets to keep the zipper flaps tucked to the side, you can also fold the top of the case down on itself to make it look like a large pouch. This also makes everything inside just a little more accessible and visible. It's a really nice design touch!
Inside the case, there are two small slot pockets on one side. The pockets are wide and deep enough to fit a pencil sharpener, some tape, a small box of ink cartridges, some AirPods, or anything else that's fairly small. At a minimum, it keeps those small objects from getting lost in the open sea of pens and pencils in the main compartment.
One the other side of the case is a flap that has three elastic pen loops built in to the top. This flap opens out of the case to expose the larger compartment in the middle, but then lays back on top when you're ready to zip up the case. This provides quick access to three of your favorite or most-used pens, and also provides extra protection for those lucky three. There's no padding in the flap, but the double layers of nylon are plenty of protection in such close quarters. This flap also keeps the pens in the main compartment from moving around too much when everything is zipped up. Overall, it's an interesting design that works really well in practice.
I've really enjoyed using the Nomadic PW-11 over the past few weeks. My first reaction was, "Do I really need another pen/pencil pouch?" But it quickly won me over with the lightweight material and extra perks both inside and outside the case. At just under $20, it's also a great deal.
If you're not a fan of the yellow-green I chose, you can also pick from a range of other classy colors, like Navy, Light Blue, Pink, and Black.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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