Staedtler Mars Micro Color Mechanical Pencil Lead - 0.5 mm - Red

avoid at all costs. easily the most brittle lead i have ever encountered. decided to try this out because the uni-ball uni-color was breaking more than i liked, but this stuff is almost useless. have tried in 3 different pencils, all produce similar results.

I initially bought this lead as a prospective alternative to the uniball colored leads. Yet, I was quite disappointed with the quality of the lead. Though it may leave a mark a tad darker than the uniball colored leads, it only does so when it does not break. this lead is much too brittle for any practical use. If the lead is advanced a millimeter too far out of the pencil it without fail would break.

though this lead may provide 2 extra pieces for 30 cents, it is no alternative to the uniball colored leads.

Easily best color lead (0.5mm) available. Uni ball and Pilot eno color leads disappear from aper's surface after some time while this lead still stays on paper visible in my case forever. Since color leads are not really graphite, they are more fragile but I never have problem with them as they are not designed for pressing hard on paper anyway but light touch is needed and let out only 1mm of it through the pencil tip.

People having trouble with 0.5mm color leads ought use 2mm color leads from Staedtler.

Expensive but 5 stars.

I initially bought this lead as a prospective alternative to the uniball colored leads. Yet, I was quite disappointed with the quality of the lead. Though it may leave a mark a tad darker than the uniball colored leads, it only does so when it does not break. this lead is much too brittle for any practical use. If the lead is advanced a millimeter too far out of the pencil it without fail would break.

Though this lead may provide 2 extra pieces for 30 cents, it is no alternative to the uniball colored leads.

Being new to the colored lead fad I decided to buy the three biggest brands of 0.5mm lead. Staedtler Mars MIcro (blue), UNI-ball (red), and Pentel Stein (red). I wanted to buy each brand in red but mars was only offered in blue.

Erasability: Both the Pentel and Mars leads were impossible to erase and act like an indelible pencil. The UNI however erased as easy as normal graphite. (I tried using both normal pencil erasers as well as the premium hi-polymer erasers).

Durability: Both the Pentel Stein and the UNI appeared to be fairly comparable in their durability (the UNI may be slightly stronger). The MARS lead reminded me of those 2 foot long rubber pencils that you use to play with as a kid (huge fail)

The left handed smudge: writing more like an indelible pencil both the MARS and Pentel appeared to be resistant to smudging. Although the UNI smudged noticeably less than a standard graphite lead it could not compete with the other two.

Color and depth: Both the Mars and UNI appear to write with a deeper and smooth feel while the Pentel offers a slightly more crisp feel.

Overall I am most impressed with the UNI however will be investing in the Pentel because I need an indelible pencil for work.