Pentel Champ AL15 0.5mm

Today, Sitting temporary at a desk of my colleague who is on leave, I came across this mechanical pencil, the Pentel Champ AL15. I have seldom seen this mechanical pencil around, hence I picked it up and meddled with it for a while. It is definitely interesting enough for it to warrent a review by me.

The Pentel Champ could be classified under economic in Pentel's mechanical pencil range. With a full plastic body, a simple rubber grip, a plastic clip and uncapped eraser at the end; the only characteristic that bears similarity with Pentel's more expensive mechanical pencils is the long unretractable metal sleeve. The mechanism sounds sturdy, hence I unscrewed the tip to examine the mechanism inside. Surprisingly, it is made of metal. Now I am a little apprehensive about the Pentel Champ being an economic line. I will go to some stationery shops later to hunt down this pencil to check out how much it costs and get one myself to allow myself to do a proper review.

Specifications:
length: 14.5cm
balance point: 8cm from tip

UPDATE:

An update for the Pentel Champ. I could not locate this piece of fine instrument even though I went to many different stores. Did anyone come across anywhere that sells the Pentel Champ?

While I am waiting from replies from the multiple stores I sent emails to, let me just add on to my prior review.

The Pentel Champ is a line from Pentel USA. You can clearly see Pentel USA inscribed at the side of the pen clip/eraser component. The eraser is uncapped; inviting you to rub out any mistakes you made using it. The simple rubber grip has a series of 3 grooves in it along the entire width of the pencil. Assuming it is an economic mechanical pencil, it works reasonably well compared to others. The plastic clip seems to be sturdy. The plastic body is glossy, but the plastic of the tip cap holding the metal sleeve is matt. Perhaps the plastic materials used to make the two different parts are different. Other than being a bit of an aesthetic eyesore, this inconsistency is more or less redundant. Another flaw about this pencil is the amount of lead that is wasted in the event that you drop the pencil and the lead inside the tip cap breaks. Due to the long tip and sleeve, a lot of lead breaks off from the metal jaws inside the tip cap whenever I drop the pencil.

The Pentel Champ is indeed another fine mechanical pencil manufactured by the Champion of Mechanical Pencils, Pentel.

I would not give any other comments or whether you should get this as the availability of the Pentel Champ is uncertain. Popular finally replied on 25 May 2011. They do not carry it anymore. As such the review will stop here.