Mega Brands The Write Dudes 0.7 mm Mechanical Pencils Review

I received these samples from Jamie Wahl from Mega Brands, so that I could try and review some of their stationery products. Figured we'll take a look at their mechanical pencils in this sketching blog and review the gel pens and metallic markers that would probably be more suited for paper crafts in my Cartoon Sketching blog in a separate post.
I have often spotted these carded sets of mechanical pencils in the stationery aisles of Target stores, but I did not get around to picking any of them up since they seemed designed mostly for girls given their patterns and color choices. Though I was a bit curious as to how these Chinese pencils would actually perform as sketching tools, so I decided to start reviewing The Write Dudes Gripz, Edge, and Mini 0.7 mm mechanical pencils first from this batch of Mega Brands samples.
Sample doodles drawn on Maruman Croquis sketchbook. The Edge pencils feature plastic barrels with a metallic finish and a textured grip which I found a tad slippery when sketching at higher speeds.
The Write Dudes Edge Mechanical pencil disassembled into its component parts.
The Write Dudes Mini Mechanical pencil disassembled into its component parts. All the Mega Brands 0.7 mm mechanical pencils featured plastic parts, metal springs, and thin chuck ring with 2 plastic jaws for their clutching mechanism. Judging from their construction and the conical retractable sleeves of the Edge and Mini fun pencils and the fixed plastic sleeve of the Gripz pencils, it is clear that they were designed and built as economy writing tools. The Gripz mechanical pencils felt very similar to the ubiquitous Paper Mate Write Bros 0.7 mm pencils. The pocket clip prevents it from rolling off inclined desks, and its wider grip should allow for longer comfortable writing sessions. I would advise against taking a Gripz pencils apart, for it is far too easy to lose its working spring in the process (I was unable to find the spring in the floor when it happened to me with the yellow one). Yet when a drawing lead breaks and jams the lead sleeve, you might be forced to do precisely that. A thin 0.5-0.7 mm metal rod would be quite helpful in cleaning a blocked sleeve.
While their white erasers (in all three models) performed well enough, they should probably only be used in emergencies since they also function as plugs to keep the spare leads contained within the pencil barrels. In the case of the Mini, the eraser also acts as the only push button. Unless I have spare erasers on hand, I seldom rely on the small eraser plugs of any of my mechanical pencils. Each pencil arrived loaded with 2 to 3 HB leads that were fairly smooth and as dark as your usual No. 2 pencil. Though I found that I liked them better loaded with stronger 0.7 mm Mitsubishi Uni HB lead which yielded a smoother feel with less breakage.
Sample doodles drawn on 110 lb white card stock. All three models of mechanical pencils performed adequately as sketching tools, but do not expect the precision of a drafting pencil with a metal 3-jaws clutching mechanism. Still these brightly colored mechanical pencils should make a few kids happy as prizes in my upcoming summer art camps.
Ninja doodle page drawn with all three different mechanical pencil models. Personally I liked the feel of the Edge pencil best, and I found the Mini pencils a bit uncomfortable for my big hands. Recommended as value priced introductory sketching tools for kids and as classroom prizes.