Pentel Stein Enhanced Silica Pencil Lead - 0.3 mm - 2B

Ridiculously smooth. I was really skeptical there would be much of a difference between lead brands, and I was very wrong. These just glide over the paper. They do wear down a bit quickly, but this is to be expected of 0.3mm 2B lead. It's very worth the wonderful writing experience. My other 0.3mm leads in B tend to snag the tiniest bit on regular printer or notebook paper. There's absolutely none of that in these. Very nice.

I cant seem to notice the difference between this 2b and the original Ain b. But I must say, this is just as smooth if not a hint smoother as the regular Ain.

I dont like the new container as much as the old one, although it looks better. I feel like I will snap the refills accidentally.

Good lead, buttery smooth, and definitely as break resistant if not a little more break resistant than the regular Ain.

This is the HB lead I've been looking for all my life. Smooth, very little smear if any, and strong! I just ordered the HB Soft and B as well. I annotate in the margins as I read, and prefer to use pencil on the books that have thin paper (my scriptures). This lead is the best for that purpose that I have found.

Personally, this lead suits me perfectly. It has never broken on me except for when I've accidentally dropped the pencil and it landed at an awkward angle. I'm a little heavy handed when it comes to drawing but it's still held up strong for me as long as the lead isn't way too far out.

While it claims that it doesn't smudge, it does, but far, far less than any other lead I've ever used does. Normally I'm covered in graphite, but this lead reduces it by at least 90%, making my paper much cleaner when I draw.

You get 15 leads per tube which is 3 more than you'll get with other leads from Pentel.

Also, the case these come in is perfect. You twist the cap, not pop it open, making accidentally spilling and losing all of your lead much harder to do. As I wrote this, I popped open a case of the o.7mm leads to compare them to this lead, and they spilled everywhere.

Well I don't agree with the whole "smear resistant" deal, I'm an artist primarily and this lead seams to smear just as much as any though it does smear "lighter" in terms of color. Regardless I still swear by this lead its become the only lead brand I use now, highly recommended.