Wide Open Pencil Case

I took a chance on this little case -I want to take my sketching/painting gear on a trip to Europe in as small and light weight a conveyance as possible. This is not an urban sketching trip and I doubt anyone else will be doing this so I can’t be lugging along and pulling out a lot of gear. I have a larger Lithitlab case that is my “vault” for all things extra I like to have with me locally. I love it but its format is too large for this need to order another. I want to be able to have something that can easily be put in my purse (to be determined). I can get everything I need in this small compact case EXCEPT my palette - even my smallest, dearest Whiskey Painter’s palette is too thick at 7/8” total (includes projections from mixing areas & thumb ring) to zip up the case. So my dilemma is, do I love this case enough to spend $50+ on a “pocket palette” (at 1/4” thick & I THINK will fit in vertically) to save size and weight & still have a palette? I have an old “freebie” make up bag that EVERYTHING fits in, including 2 Whiskey Painters palettes, but loaded it weighs almost 1# (more with a Moleskin sketchbook, BUT the sketchbook fits in it!). This case loaded would be just under 1/2# , is half the size, and in reality I would have more than I actually need. It would seem like an easy decision. I’m keeping it no matter - will probably bite the bullet and order yet another paint palette. Love how it feels in my hand. Very well made. Zippers are excellent. Lays flat. Will update with photo when resolved.Update: ordered the Pocket Palette and even smaller Demi Palette from Art Toolkit. The Pocket Palette is business card size. Both those small, but more than adequate paint palettes fit in this Smart Fit Lihit case. Everything fits beautifully and this fits in the crossbody bag I’m taking nicely. For travel sketching or just everyday to throw in a purse or backpack or just keep in the car - you can’t beat this.

this’ll be a short review but this is a good option for anyone who has a minimalist set of pens and wants a small compact case to keep them in. i like how it looks and it’s pretty organized with all of it’s pouches as i keep a few pens and pencils in there. i’ve had it for a few months and it’s pretty durable and waterproof; the color is nice and i think it’s a good value for money. it’s very functional and i could see it being used outside of just pens.

very cute and compact way to carry all ur goods. im an artist so in the past i’d grab like 20 pens, sticky notes, tape, and other random crap and it’d be so bulky, but now i can just grab this lil sucker and it’s great. i love it!!

I have used this case nearly every day for almost three years. I use it to organize my go-to mechanical pencils and pens. The internal pockets make it easy to keep them in their proper places and serves to protect the tips of my very fine pencils. It has travelled in my backpack the entire time and has held up wonderfully. It is not large enough to store wooden pencils, so keep this in mind.

I bought this for pens, pencils, highlighter, a small ruler, a couple of clips, a small sticky pad and several other items that tend to get lost down in my bags. Everything I need fits in this just perfect and it easily moves from travel bag to work bag to church bag. I wouldn't want it any larger.Mine is a nice blue and very subtle - I didn't want it to stand out. It has a nice zipper and the inside pockets are perfect as well. I don't see anything that I would redesign even if I could.Mine had no odors, the zipper was strong, it was brand new, no sign of previous wear and it arrived in perfect condition.I highly recommend.

TLDR: Holds quite a lot, and even holds bulky objects well while still zipping up for storage / travel. Chunky even when not fully packed, but stands up well on a desk. Stitching is good, fabric is durable, pockets hold items semi-securely, zippers are only okay and will likely break far sooner than anything else.I have a few other Lihit Lab products and their utility can be hit or miss, so I wasn't sure about this one at first. After it went for sale at half price, I figured it wouldn't hurt to add it to my (already substantial) pencil case collection.I prefer to have my drawing tools laid out where I can easily grab them, but they are also easy to pack up and move if needed: traveling, cleaning, panicked relocation due to roof leaks, or just wanting to work in a different location. This means I mostly gravitate towards tool pouches that stand up on their own but close up securely. This does not disappoint! Sits comfortably on my desk, holds a ridiculous array of supplies and looks pretty good too. One thing to note: this is a chunky case even with nothing in it. The shape of it doesn't really fold flat well, and the wide bottom means that even if you only have 3 pens in it (but why would you buy this if you only have 3 pens?), it's still just as wide as if it held 13 pens.The outer fabric is a tough nylon / canvas (Cordura-like) fabric that so far hasn't stained. Stitching is solid all around and inside. The pouch opens wide to allow you to see most everything inside of it, and even has a crease on the side with the 3 pockets to "fold" it open more. The bottom is made of a synthetic leather-like material which is much smoother to the touch; I assume this is to make it "grip" desks a bit more than the nylon.Inside on the sides of main area there are 5 mesh pockets, 2 on one side and 3 on the other. On the side with two pockets, one is ~33% the length of the pouch while the other is ~66%. The 3 pocket size has equally sized pockets. One could pull the stitches out of either side to increase the pocket size (I would recommend doing this on the 3 pocket side). The pocket lips are made of a slightly stretchy elastic, so bulky items will fit in these pockets fairly easily. However, the elastic is only slightly stretchy so it's a possibility that bulky things could fall out if you zip this up and throw it in a bag; since it zips up the items shouldn't get lost in the larger bag but just something to be aware of.The zippers are smooth but plastic and not-YKK brand - I suspect this will be the point of failure as they have been in so many other Lihit Lab products. The pulls are tiny, I mean seriously tiny, but they come with extra plastic pulls threaded through them. If Lihit Lab would just invest a little more in their zippers, the longevity of their products would likely double.Aside from the zipper quality, my only complaint is that pet hair is attracted to this like bees to a flower.I normally keep the following inside it:* 13 misc pens / pencils (regular length) - variety of Micron, Pitt, and Pentel Touch pens / markers + a regular Sharpie* 3" x 4" Pentalic traveler's sketchbook* 2 pads of sticky notes* 2 rolls of washi tape / stickers* small Altoids tin (kneadable eraser, paper clips, binder clips, eraser refills, lead)* Staedler mars plastic eraser (chunky kind)* 192 page pocket size Moleskine notebookThe case still zips up even with the Moleskine - although it's a tight fit.2023 edit: Added some photos, particularly to show that a pocket Moleskine fits and zips even when stuffed with other things. Zippers are still going strong but my skepticism remains. This has become my daily driver and holds whatever set of drawing implements I'm obsessed with this week without complaint. It sits right next to me on my desk and is handler than I ever could have predicted. I don't always store the pocket size notebook in it but the smaller notebook lives there permanently. My only gripe is how much it attracts cat & dog hair, which you can see in the last photo. If this is currently priced at $13 or under and you're on the fence, buy it. You will find a use for it.