Pentel Twist-Erase III Mechanical Pencil - 0.7 mm - Red Body

This pencil is one of my more preferred pencils that I use out of my collection. Not only in this lead size but all three lead sizes (.5 , .7, .9). I usually take the .7 and .9 to work with me because the lead is more durable and when I'm in a hurry to jot something down, I don't have to worry about breaking the lead as much. The thinner .5 I usually use when I'm taking notes in my Bible or study binder because the thinner point allows for more words per inch.

As a previous poster noted, it's a "well balanced pencil", indeed it is. It's sturdy in the hand and it performs well.

I do however have a few minor "quarrels" with the design. It seems that after one of these has been used for a few months on a regular basis, the grip seems to loosen from the barrell and kinda binds up; sliding out of the desired area for the grip. My .5 was bad for this, so I actually took a bit of superglue and glued the top of the grip to the barrel. It kept it from sliding, but it still feels loose.

Another thing I find irritating is that the top eraser assembly slides off the pencil way too easy, especially on a well used one. It always tries to come apart when I pull it from my shirt pocket or from my pants pocket. Some sort of "click-lock" in the design would keep this from happening unintentionally.

But despite this, I still enjoy using these pencils. I recommend adding them to your collection.

This is my absolute favorite mechanical pencil. It has a somewhat heavier weight than most pencils, but it is very balanced. This is because the whole thing is made of good, thick plastic and metal. I have had one of these for nearly 7 years and is still holding strong under frequent use. What makes this pencil even better is the low price of it.

My absolute favorite pencil- I have been using these for years- I am an architect and use this (.7mm B or 2B lead) for all my sketches. The soft lead and amazing eraser are the combination I like to sketch what-if's and turn them into finishes concepts.

Although I did not purchase this pencil from Jetpens, I own the blue Twist-Erase III mechanical pencil, exactly as it looks in the picture, and I believe that it is excellent.
There are 2 major factors that make up a mechanical pencil, the first being the exterior (comfort, aesthetics, clip, etc). This pencil is 5.5" or almost 14cm long, and has a nice comfort grip that makes is easier to hold. Although the grip is not really squishy, it still cushions your fingers so the pencil is comfortable to write with. (However I sort of wish the grip extends a bit lower as I hold my pencils near the tip) The pencil clip is nice and tight, and not loose at all. The clip is also metal, so it most likely will not break easily. The upper body of the pencil can be twisted to advance the eraser, or clicked to advance the lead, and is intuitive and easy to use.
The second major factor of mechanical pencils is the performance of writing. A 3mm drafting sleeve helps add accuracy, even though this is not a drafting pencil. The eraser erases pretty cleanly and lasts a while (I have a Pentel Side FX that uses the same E10 eraser refill of the Twist Erase III. I've been using the Side FX for school for several years, and I have yet to wear halfway through the first eraser, which may partially be due to the fact that I also use other erasers. Just in case you wonder, the side FX is also a decent pencil, with a side advance button, twist eraser, and short drafting sleeve. Usually it's cheaper than the twist erase 3, but not as comfortable.) Under constant use, I expect the twist-eraser to last about 3 to 4 months. Refill erasers can be easily found at retail stores like walmart. The amount of lead advanced per pencil click is consistent, which is definitely good because you don't have to waste time trying to fix the amount of lead that came out so that you don't end up accidentally breaking the lead. I hate it when pencils are inconsistent when they advance lead, so luckily I don't have that problem with this pencil.
Overall I am glad I purchased this pencil. I have checked two other places, (amazon, walmart) and found the pencil to be cheapest here on Jetpens. If you just want a good quality pencil that is not too expensive and will serve you well, the Twist-Erase III is probably the way to go. However, if you want more task-specific pencils for drafting, you will probably be better off with a sharps, Graphgear 1000, shift pipe lock, etc.. Compared to similar pencils, like the Pentel Side FX, although the Side FX is cheaper, it is just personal preference to which pencil is actually better. You may like the twist-erase more, you may like other pencils more. My conclusion is that this pencil is worth it's cost, and if you need a pencil, you won't regret choosing this one.

I loaded mine up with some dark Pentel 2B .5mm lead and it writes amazingly, no lead breakage at all. The real incredible thing is that this pencil can take blue and red .5mm colored uniball leads too and they don't break. They're not the darkest colors for writing (although blue is ok) but nice for underlining or drawing. The eraser does a perfect job on the 2B lead totally erasing it like it was never there. The eraser can even erase most of the colored lead which isn't usually easily erasable. I'm not sure a better pencil exists outside of the expensive japanese imports, but even they have tiny erasers. Pentel should keep this exact mechanical design with all their future pencils but offer more updated designs and grip styles. You can't go wrong getting this pencil, but whatever you do don't get a plastic mechanical pencil.