review: kokuyo shellbro pen case

If you didn't know, I'm a huge fan of the original Mighty Ducks jerseys, largely because of my deep and unending love for Paul Kariya. That "eggplant and jade" (it's purple and teal, let's not get too fancy with it) is the 90s in a nutshell to me. Despite not being a Mighty Ducks or an Anaheim Ducks or a Southern California-in-general fan, I still own a starter jacket in this wonderful color combo. What can I say? I commit to my bits.

So when we were introducing the Kokuyo Shellbro in purple and emerald green over at JetPens, I was instantaneously smitten. It took me a little while to get it, but when my planner supplies got too unwieldy for my Velos Tin Pen Case, I decided it was time to make the upgrade.

The Kokuyo Shellbro is a clamshell style pen case with an extremely cool name. I love the way that the accent color is incorporated into the zipper so that it peeks through when the case is closed. When you unzip it, the emerald green takes up the entire inside. It's super bold and fun.

Speaking of the zipper: if you're a zipper fanatic, it isn't going to be one that you'll enjoy. There's nothing to write home about here, and it's probably the lowest-quality aspect of this case. The teeth are a little small, and the zipper pulls don't have an indent for grip.

The Shellbro opens wide with a tray on the bottom and a mesh pouch on the upper flap. If you're like me, a person who tosses all their supplies into a case and lets a greater power work it out, then the Shellbro will be a good fit for you.

When you open it up, you're definitely going to have to pick through it to find something on the bottom. I have 14-15 pens in there, which pile up into two layers. I personally enjoy the experience of digging through the layers for the specific pen I want, but it's definitely not for everyone.

The mesh pouch is best suited for small items like page flags and a roll of washi tape. I have a correction tape and a glue tape in there, and you can tell that it's almost too heavy for the pouch to hold. I haven't had items fall out and into the tray area, but it sags a little so the concern is definitely still there.

Overall, I really enjoy using the Shellbro. It holds all of my planner supplies and miscellaneous writing tools, so it's my one size fits all case that follows me to work. It certainly isn't the best case out there, but I love it more than anything--and really, isn't that what we all want?

The case comes in three other colors, with two that are perhaps more appealing to the general population. If you don't absolutely need this color like I did, the perpetually out of stock Raymay Clam Pen Case is an excellent alternative. It uses magnets to keep the upper flap up and out of your way.

Here's everything I keep in there:

• Sharpie Brush
• Faber-Castell PITT Artist Brushes - Earth Green and Cobalt Green
• Tombow Playcolor Double-Sided Marker - Tombow TwinTone Double-Sided Markers are an alternative
• Dong-A Neoline Highlighter - Zebra Mildliner Double-Sided Highlighter in Mild Gray is an alternative
• Pilot FriXion Light Soft Color Erasable Highlighters - Soft Blue, Soft Orange, Soft Green
• Pilot FriXion Ball 4 4 Color Gel Ink Multi Pen - Violet 0.38 mm refill added
• Pilot FriXion Ball Knock Retractable Gel Pen
• Zebra Sarasa Push Clip Gel Pen
• Ballograf Epoca P Ballpoint Pen
• Uni SXR-600 Jetstream Ballpoint Pen Refill
• SDI i-Stick Glue Tape - Tombow Mono Permanent Adhesive Tape Runner is an alternative
• Tombow Hybrid Style Mono Corection Tape - Kokuyo Dual Head Keshipita Correction Tape is an alternative

After I finished writing and taking pictures for this review, I took a pair of scissors to the case and snipped off the Shellbro tag on the front. Sacrilegious, maybe, but I really like purple and prefer it uninterrupted by the awkward green splotch on the front.

I purchased this case at JetPens with an employee discount.