The "fountain Pen Revolution" Leather Roll-Up Pen Pouch

[Jamerelbe]

At the beginning of December, the folks at Fountain Pen Revolution (FPR - http://www.fountainpenrevolution.com) unveiled their new roll-up pen pouch - with a normal retail price of US$29 (plus $3 flat-rate postage), they were offering an introductory price of $19. The offer was too good to pass up - so I placed an order, pretty well straight away. I was away on a family holiday at the time - and was pleased to find the package waiting for me on my return. (Well, waiting at the post office, anyway!)

 

The pouch is made pretty well entirely of leather - a thick, durable, lighter-brown leather exterior...

 

http://i.imgur.com/STNmMuv.jpg

 

while the interior was cut from a more supple (calf-skin?) leather.

 

http://i.imgur.com/xbOhNMl.jpg

 

The stitching on the pouch seems pretty durable too - though you'll notice, the bottom of the fourth pen slot from the left was not properly stitched in to the binding, and has come loose. The leather straps that wrap around and tie together to hold the pouch shut are both sown in to the middle of the 'back' of the pouch, and are made of the same (outer) leather material.

 

I decided to test the pouch's carrying capacity by filling it with a few of my largest pens - a FPR Triveni, a TWSBI 540, a Pilot Vanishing Point, a Jinhao 159, and a Ranga Duofold. All of them fit (relatively) comfortably - though the Triveni and the Duofold both protruded a fair way from the top of their slots.

 

http://i.imgur.com/Cihje3c.jpg

 

Rolled up, the pouch looked like this:

 

http://i.imgur.com/WOgeegn.jpg

 

And from on top, like this:

 

http://i.imgur.com/0QUSVOd.jpg

 

This will help you to see why I only put five of my pens into the pouch: Given their wider girth (the Vanishing Point excepted), a sixth pen would make the pouch fairly bulky when rolled up. That said, with a smaller pen in the 6th slot, it wasn't as bad as I'd expected it to be:

 

http://i.imgur.com/iC6q3Ic.jpg

 

 

So what do I think of the pen pouch?

 

On the plus side (and it's mostly pluses), the exterior is made of very sturdy leather, while the interior leather is soft and supple enough that it's not going to scratch or damage my pens. The stitching (with one minor 'blip' is secure, and I don't anticipate this is going to fall apart any time soon! I like the form factor, too - and the fact that it's big enough to fit my largest pens. The individual pen slots are generously sized (though the 5th a little smaller, while the 6th could conceivably fit 2-3 skinny pens!). The 'branding' on the pouch is visible (see the 'FPR' logo on the bottom left of the exterior), but not obnoxious. I like the 'unpolished', not quite 'distressed' look of the leather - it gives the pouch a rustic aura.

 

On the minus side, it was a little disappointing that the stitching wasn't quite right at the bottom of the 4th pen slot - though it's unlikely to be a problem. And I'm not sure I'm entirely sold on the two leather straps - it might have been better to have one strap, affixed to the right-hand rear of the pouch, so that it could wrap around and tuck in on itself. But that's a minor quibble - it works fine as it is.

 

One last possible concern - Kevin from FPR mentioned this to me - is that the pouch was meant to be manufactured with a leather flap that would fold down over the pen clips, and ensure they didn't rub up against each other. I was able to orient my pens so that the clips weren't touching - due in part to the width of the individual pen slots - but I agree, a flap would minimise the risk of the clips scratching each other. One the down-side, though, I can imagine that the Triveni and the Duofold might foul that up, given how tall they stand. I believe that the next batch to be manufactured will come with the leather flap - so if you're thinking of buying the pouch, you may want to keep that in mind.

 

All things considered, though, $29 is an absolute steal for a pen pouch made from these materials - and the introductory price of $19 was just insane! I'd be more than happy to recommend this to anyone looking for a low-cost, good value, great looking "on-the go" storage option for your more valuable pens.

 

Any questions, feel free to ask - I'll do my best to answer them.

 

Standard disclaimer: I purchased this product with my own money, have no affiliation to FPR, and was not compensated for this review.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Jamerelbe

[stevesurf]

Thanks so much for sharing; it looks like a wonderful pen roll! I hope they add the top flap.

[Jamerelbe]

Thanks so much for sharing; it looks like a wonderful pen roll! I hope they add the top flap.

 

Yep, I'm pretty pleased with it. As I mentioned in the review, I'm in two minds about the top flap: it'll provide better protection for pen clips, but may make it harder to fit my larger pens into it! Then again, I don't often take the Triveni or the Duofold on the road...

[Armand.D]

This is interesting , but i don't have 6 pens to carry with me yet!

 

Thanks for sharing (i didn't know the site).

[Jamerelbe]

A very belated follow-up on this post: when I mentioned to Kevin from FPR that there had been a problem with the stitching on my pen pouch, he immediately made arrangements to ship out a replacement. Didn't ask for it, wasn't expecting it - but apparently this is part of their commitment to make sure they're doing the right thing by their customers. So, many thanks to FPR for their great customer service! Several weeks on I'm still enjoying using these pen pouches: they're stiff without being rigid, very durable, and provide good protection for my pens.

[ndrwcn]

Any recommendations for a place to get something lime this, with a flap?

[edebill]

Any recommendations for a place to get something lime this, with a flap?

 

I got one of these a while back. Crazy cheap. Very cheaply made, but serviceable. They do have the flap you want and hold about 6 pens. The biggest downside? They've got a Twilight crest stamped on them. Several sellers on Amazon seem to be carrying them. I suspect they're overstock promotional items from the movies or some such.

[fountainpenlady]

 

Yep, I'm pretty pleased with it. As I mentioned in the review, I'm in two minds about the top flap: it'll provide better protection for pen clips, but may make it harder to fit my larger pens into it! Then again, I don't often take the Triveni or the Duofold on the road...

I know this is probably very late in commenting, but I wanted to thank you very much for this review. Timely for me.

I just ordered this pen roll and something which you can put on a book/journal and holds two pens via Massdrop.

I had been looking at a Franklin-Christophe 6 Penvelope. However, I love using pen rolls. Yet, my collection is much like the "Three Little Bears", as I have one which hold two pens, four pens, five pens, eight pens, none which hold six pens; all, except two are made of cotton.

 

By chance, I went to Massdrop and found this pen roll being offered. Although, I guess I am buying it at its regular price, because there was no discount for volume or anything, now that I have read your review feel much better. A bubble burst on there having been no discount for volume, since this is my first time using Massdrop, doubt I will repeat using them. However, I am relieved due to your review of the quality and function of this pen roll being offered. Although, I would have loved to find out about the site directly, before using Massdrop as they seem to serve only a middle man position, I am looking forward to receiving it. I just wanted to thank you again. The follow up mention regarding their customer service, also helps to make me feel as though this will probably be another nice source for my pen accoutrements in the future.

 

Edited February 25, 2015 by fountainpenlady

[fountainpenlady]

 

I got one of these a while back. Crazy cheap. Very cheaply made, but serviceable. They do have the flap you want and hold about 6 pens. The biggest downside? They've got a Twilight crest stamped on them. Several sellers on Amazon seem to be carrying them. I suspect they're overstock promotional items from the movies or some such.

Do you like it? They look so cheap. Although it may have a top flap, I am unsure whether I would like putting my writing babies in something which seems equivalent to appearing as if it came from Wally World. No disrespect to them, shop Wally World often. Yet, when it comes to my fountain pens, security, safety from damaged and presentation takes precedence over simple serviceability. Just my opinion though.

Edited February 25, 2015 by fountainpenlady

[fountainpenlady]

Any recommendations for a place to get something lime this, with a flap?

Levenger offers one without a flap though.

If you can find one, there is one offered by Libelle, see Amazon.com to get a look at it, although they are sold out, I saw one being sold elsewhere, but can not remember offhand where at the moment. Libelle holds five pens.

I purchased mine many years ago from Levenger. Levenger has one now, not Libelle, no flap though. Levenger.com

Here is one I found, which is made by Aston, it has the flap like Libelle. It also has a velcro closing, this may be a Libelle equivalent,

if you really want a pen roll with a flap.

 

http://www.penchalet.com/pen_accessories/pen_carrying_cases/aston_rollup_pen_case.html

Edited February 25, 2015 by fountainpenlady

[GHigley]

I recently bought the flap version of this pen roll and like it other than for one disturbing feature. It leaves a sticky substance on pens. It cleans off, but this is not what I want to find when I pull a pen out of a $38 case. The exterior of the roll is an attractive leather, but the interior is PU. I have all-PU rolls (bought for less than 2 bucks on Amazon/eBay) that may not look nearly as nice, but that I trust more. The sticky stuff will likely dissipate with use, but it should never have been there. Sometimes what appears to be a good buy really is - other times not.

Edited August 28, 2016 by GHigley