(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
You can never have too many pen cases, right? That seems to be true in my case, as I can find a way to make any new pen case fit into some aspect of my life with relative ease. The latest case to join my collection is the Nomadic PE-07. It's a small case that can pack a deceivingly larger amount of pens and supplies than the sleek exterior lets on. It's become my favorite "catch-all" mini-bag for holding pens, earbuds, chargers, cables, and more.
Let's start with the specifications for this case. It's 8.3 inches long, 4.6 inches tall, and 1.8 inches thick. There's one zip pocket on the exterior that has a mesh lining on the bottom half, making it easy to see what's in the pocket without unzipping it. There's also a main compartment, which has two zip pulls for easy use and partially opening the case. The navy colorway that I have features a bright orange interior fabric that makes it extremely easy to see what's inside (unless you're packing a lot of orange pens), along with light gray accents in the mesh dividers. On one side of the interior, there's one long slash pocket. On the opposite side of the interior, there are two slash pockets divided right in the middle. The middle divider is also a pouch with a zippered top. It's made of a finer mesh and works well for small accessories like lead cases, thing erasers, sharpeners, small sticky pads, and other slight accessories. The middle divider/pouch is suspended above the bottom of the case, allowing items to move around the bottom of the main compartment with ease.
The case doesn't open flat due to the wings that sewn into the inner edges of the main compartment. This makes it easy to open the case and set it on a desk without worrying about anything inside rolling out. The exterior material is 210DL ripstop nylon, which is very thin and strong. There's a nice square pattern on the fabric that adds texture and visual interest. This lightweight nylon is great at shedding water, dust, and hair. There's also a small bit of padding on the exterior panels of the case to protect what's inside.
The navy colorway that I picked is really pretty. The name and photos don't quite do it justice because it's more of a dark turquoise; it's certainly blue, but there is a lot of green showing through as well. It's a beautiful color, and I'm glad it's not any darker.
In use, this case is really versatile. If you're only packing pens in this case and don't worry about everything touching and rubbing together, you can fit about 20 gel pens without a sweat. The case is bulging a bit at this number of pens, but it's solid. The interior slash pockets are great at stowing thin items, and the case is just tall enough to fit a standard 3.5" x 5.5" pocket notebook.
My favorite use for this case so far is as an electronics organizer. It's really small but holds so much, and the internal organization is minimal enough to get out of my way if I don't want to use it. I don't go anywhere these days, but I can easily see this case being my go-to for work and travel. It can fit my laptop/phone charger, some cables, my AirPods, some pens, and a notebook with some space to spare. When traveling, I'd probably throw my phone and some medicine and hand sanitizer in to round out the kit.
There aren't any attachment points (for example, something to attach a carabiner to) on the exterior of the case, but I think that's a good call given the size. It also keeps the case looking slim and neat.
Overall, I've been really happy with this case! Once I start venturing out of my home more often, this will be a staple of my carry. If you're not a fan of the navy, then you can choose from red or black. Oddly enough, there's a slightly different version of the case with additional fun colors in the PE-17. There's no difference between the PE-07 here and the PE-17 except for color options. At $17, this is a great little case for storing pens and other accessories that is sure to last a long time.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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