The pencil I want to talk about today is Pilot's Dr. Grip PureWhite—really, it's the same as the FullBlack lineup except this one is white while the other is black, duh. Honestly, I didn't notice that much of a difference between this pencil and the Dr. Grip CL I reviewed earlier either.
From Pilot's offical website, you can tell this pencil is realy marketed for its ergonomic dual layer grip. It's made with two layers of silicon rubber with a firmer outer layer and a softer inner layer.
Like it's predecessors, PureWhite/FullBlack come with a shaker lead loading feature perfect for annoying your classmates during an exam.
Also, it's a bit hard to tell, but the conical tip and eraser cap of the pen are actually metal (like the G-Spec) coated by a thin layer of paint.
Now that you are well acquainted with this pencil, let's get to the review. Like I mentioned earlier, I didn't find the grip in the PureWhite all that amazing. The grip is still the same firm grip as ever; it is thicker than the original Dr. Grip from way back but you'd expect Pilot to make way more improvements in past 20 years or so. I have a bias for squishy gel grips like that of an Alpha Gel's in an ergonomic pencil, and needless to say I was really disappointed by this pencil. I had a lot of expectations for a pencil that cost me around $8. The Dr. Grip CL's grip was softer and more comfortable than that of the PureWhite in my opinion. Even though both the Alpha Gel and the Dr. Grip's outer layers are both made of silicon rubber, I find that the Dr. Grip attracts a lot more dust than the Alpha Gel does in the same pencil bag. The worst part is that the PureWhite attracts more dust than my old CL and I'ave never cleaned the latter since I got it nearly a year ago.
The shaker feature was nice but it's not much different from that of the CL or the G-Spec. One would expect Pilot to add a lock feature for a pencil $2 more than the older Dr. Grips, but no, it's just the same old shaker.
Frankly, I'm not that much of a Dr. Grip person, but I do sometimes use my CL, but with this pencil I just want to give it away as a gift and forget about it. Aside from its grip, the CL also doesn't have that annoying clip that I never use. Also, both the CL and G-Spec come in a variety of colors and themes. Rilakkuma, Gundam, Hello Kitty, Disney, you name it—you can literally find every character plastered onto a Dr. Grip. With the PureWhite and FullBlack, however, there are no limited edition themes and you are basically stuck with an ugly black or white pencil. Compared to other mechanical pencils on the market, this pencil is very plain. I apologize if you actually like the design of this, but I am bothered by the fact that, since its release 3~4 years ago, the PureWhite/FullBlack has not offered anyone the option of colorway different than that of its usual white/black.
If I were to buy another Dr. Grip in the future, I would definitely go with a G-Spec or CL instead of this one.
P.S. Just last week Pilot released a 0.3mm G-Spec (and 0.7mm if that's your thing) Dr. Grip with the same dual layer grip that is $2 cheaper. There is officially a 0% chance I'm ever going to buy the PureWhite/FullBlack Dr. Grip ever again.
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| Cue: Heavenly chorus |
The Rundown:
Pros: Slightly improved grip, shaker feature
Cons: Lack of limited edition models, grip attracts dust, no lock on shaker, $2 more than other Dr. Grips
Estimated price: $8.00
Design: ★★★
Comfort: ★★★
Writing performance/stability: ★★★★
Durability/quality: ★★★
Overall: ★★★¼
I don't always buy ergonomics pencils, but when I do, I hate how these stationery companies always market these pencils, throwing the word "human factor engineering" around like it's nothing. Stay thirsty (for cool stationery) my friends.
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