Editing The Pen Addict 286/transcript (section)

== Pen Chalet Deals ==


'''Myke Hurley:''' Pretty, pretty, uh, that will definitely stuff a stocking, I think. Talking about quality pens, let's talk about Pen Chalet. They have all of the pens and brands and things that you're looking for this holiday season. If you have somebody in your life who is a pen lover, you are that person. You probably know other people. Pen Chalet is the place to go to put those orders in. They have everything that you're looking for. They do free shipping on orders of over $50 in the US. They also sell internationally. We're very reasonable and fast shipping, I have found. When I've been shipping with Pen Chalet, they get their stuff out of the door. They do everything right. And I get it quicker than I would expect. I've been really impressed with the way that they get these things taken care of for people all over the world. Pen Chalet has low prices on high quality pens. And they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Pen Chalet. Pen Chalet is a special offer, which is a fancy and secret discount on the Pelican M200 Smoky Quartz pens. Now, we're going to be talking about some Pelican stuff later on, but you cannot go wrong with this design.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' No, this is a great design. It's kind of that, I call it like a cognac brown with a gold trim. It was made to match their Smoky Quartz limited edition Edelstein ink of the year. And it's just a really good looking pen. It's a really good price. So I can't say the price, but it's really good. And it's fountain pens, ballpoints. There's also, can I talk about that?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Just real quick. That price, because you get the pen and ink, by the way, like it's a combo on the fountain pen. That price, if you don't have a Pelican, you should get it. Like that is a fantastic price. And yeah, I like the size. I have a 205, so it's similar in size. I think this is an excellent deal.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yep. So the other deals they have, can I talk about the Monteverde deal?

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So there's a buy two, get one free Monteverde bottled ink. In the past, that may not have struck anyone's fancy, but Monteverde has redone their inks completely and they do some really, really cool stuff. It's kind of a no brainer type of situation. Buy two, get the third bottle free. And these are 30 milliliter bottles and they're not very expensive to begin with. Eight bucks. So it's a good way. Yeah. So it's a good way to play around.

'''Myke Hurley:''' $16, you can get three colors of ink. Like that's not, that's nothing to sneeze at.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' No, and they're, they're really good inks. Like the reviews on the new Monteverde stuff has been fantastic. So a couple more things that fall in kind of like the stocking stuffers. Maybe you want to sneak something into a non pen lover stocking, just kind of see what they think. Ron's got the Monteverde tool ballpoint pens, you know, the ones with like the ruler and, you know, kind of that neat, neat style that Monteverde does. Those are half off. And the Lamy Tipo, which is a personal favorite of mine. Not everyone likes it because it has a funky clip, but they're like the prices. I don't get it. It's one of those things where I didn't know that could happen. So, and it's a very inexpensive pen, like for under eight bucks, you can get like a really cool rollerball pen from Lamy. And it's, that's a great deal. So thank you, Ron, for these wonderful offers this week.

'''Myke Hurley:''' As always, thank you so much to Pen Chalet for the support of this show. All right.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' So I want to talk about a new pen, which feels funny to say new about the TWSBI Eco, but they're calling this one, the Eco T and T in this case, meaning triangle and triangle, meaning that they molded the grip, the grip section. So the TWSBI Eco, which we are very big fans of here at the pen addict. I love it. It's probably my favorite entry level fountain pen to recommend to someone if they're willing to buy a bottle of ink as opposed to use a cartridge for like the Pilot Metropolitan or the Lamy Safari.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Which can make it a whole different world of introduction. Like if I'm introducing somebody that I'm pretty sure is going to go down this rabbit hole, I say, get this one, find an ink that you like, and then go for it. Right? Like, but it is, you're asking for a bigger investment, not just financially, but just like you have to get over the fear of filling a fountain pen, which is a real thing when you've never done it before.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Abso-freaking-lutely. It took me a while. It took me a long time. I just thought it was going to be a challenge and a mess and... And I was going to get it wrong and ruin the carpet and it's a thing. It's just totally not the case. So this is kind of that pen that gets you over the hump. Yep. So the T, where the Eco had, it didn't have any really much of a grip section. It was essentially round. It had like maybe a little ridge at the bottom of the section. This one has a triangle shape in the grip section. If you look at it just visually, it's hard to see because it's all clear, but you can kind of see the angles there. It's subtle. It's not a very...

'''Myke Hurley:''' They really could have done a better job of photographing this for their website, I think.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Well, yeah. Well, you can't see it. They did a mock-up where they turned the section gray and you could actually see the changes. And even then, when you could see that, and I looked for that picture, I couldn't find it again to put it in the show notes. Even then, there was very little difference. It's just a subtle, subtle little bump right in between where your fingers traditionally go. For me, who has a very traditional grip, it's wonderful. But I'm also someone who can use the Lamy Safari because that's how my grip works, right? It's nowhere near as severe of a molded grip section as the Safari. It's noticeable, but it's also barely there. It really just kind of molds into your hand. You don't even see it unless you have kind of like a crossover grip where your index finger or a middle finger would be coming across the top of the pen. Then you might feel it. Along those lines, they change the cap design to kind of go along with the theme a little bit. It's kind of a rounded triangle shape, rounded edge triangle shape. Yeah, I can see that. As opposed to just, you know, the standard round barrel on the Eco. But it's hardly noticeable from a standard Eco. You can feel it a little bit in the section. So, their copy on the product page, it says, the Eco T has a slightly more pronounced grip section to help with learning correct writing posture for kids, new enthusiasts, and anyone who likes a bit more structure to the grip area. Cap and end cap also has a rotary triangular shape design.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' I love it. I don't have one, right? This is one of my favorite pens.

'''Myke Hurley:''' I know how good the Eco is. This makes it better for a lot of people for the use that they created the pen for. It's entry level, right? Like, this is perfect. This is, you know, this could quickly become a pen that you give to kids in school, right? This could quickly, you know, like that is what these grip designs are for. Like, you know, you get those little rubber doodads, right? That go around the grip and help you grip. Like, that's what this is. And creating a pen that is made to do that, built right in, like, that's fantastic. It's a great idea. It's a really, really good fit for this product.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So, as much, you know, as I have recency bias for new products. Naturally. Naturally. This is way better than every other one that they've put out. And I loved it when they launched the white one. I raved about the lime green one when they came out. This one's the best for me because of the colors. I like the blue and the red. You know, that's my color scheme anyway, right? With my 3D looking pens and other things like that. So, I just adore this pen. I think it's going to do really, really well because it's not as extreme as the Safari. And that's a compliment in the grip section. It's almost to the point of unnecessary, right? They could have just made a singular pen. It's like, why does the eco have to be split up into two? Like, this should have just been the eco. But, I mean, I don't know what goes into those decisions. But, yeah. It's fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.

'''Myke Hurley:''' Yeah. I don't have one. I will be on the lookout for one. Right? Like, this would probably be something that I would pick up at a show. So, I have it because it looks great. I love the colors, right? Like you. I really love the colors. And I would not mind having another one of these. I'm a big fan. And this looks like a really nice addition.

'''Brad Dowdy:''' Yeah. So, I went to go grab one of the original ecos so I could take some comparison pictures. And I think I've given them all away. Like, it's such a cool pen. Like, I give them. Like, I think I've sent, like, the new ones. I've sent them to, like, everyone who writes for the pen addict probably has an eco from me. And I know I've given one or two other ones away. So, I couldn't find a standard eco this morning to take some comparison shots. But it's really, like, the biggest difference you'll see in the picture is the shape of the cap, the end of the cap. That's the only thing to compare photography-wise because it's really hard to get those clear sections, as you said, in their photography. It's hard to show the shaping of the molding of the section. So, it's, yeah. I'm on hype train on that pen. It's going to do really, really well. And, you know, I love the color. Hopefully, there's orange and purple in our future. That's my only hope now.