Mechanical Pencils, Leads and Erasers
Carry the right pencil for reliability and top performance.
Why This Pencil?
People who work and write outdoors need a certain kind of pencil. First they need a durable pencil that will stand up to the stress of being carried and used in the field. The pencils sold here may be the last pencil you will ever need to buy -- they are tough, reliable, designed for use in the field, and made in the United States.
All of the papers, notebooks and field books that we sell accept pencil - except iGage Weatherproof and PuffinPaper, which require a pen.
Broad Lead:
Pencils used in the field should have a broad lead that will glide smoothly over wet paper without digging in. The pencils sold here have a broad 1.1 millimeter lead -- much wider than the typical office pencil with a medium (0.7 millimeter) or fine (0.5 millimeter) lead. Narrow leads break easily and can cut into wet paper.
Hard Lead:
Pencils used for note taking in the field should have a hard lead that requires less frequent sharpening, deposits a minimum amount of graphite, and smears less than a soft pencil lead. The pencils sold here have HB leads, the same as the #2 pencils that you probably learned to write with in elementary school.
Finally, the lead in a mechanical pencil is not sharpened. Instead, it wears down during writing and maintains a blunt point. Blunt points are best for writing in wet conditions and on synthetic papers. A very sharp point will dig into the paper, whereas a blunt point will glide over the paper.
What You Get:
Each pencil ships with six extra leads and two extra erasers. We suggest getting an extra package of each so you are prepared in the field. Black pencils ship with black leads. Red leads sold separately.
When a Pen Is a Better Choice
Many people enjoy using a pencil because mistakes are easy to erase. However, some professionals should use pens when taking notes on the job or in the field. Inspectors, investigators, assessors, researchers and others should write with a pen if their field notes could be called upon as evidence in the event of a dispute. These types of notes should be written with a waterproof ink that cannot be erased, in a bound field book, with numbered pages. Notes taken this way are difficult to tamper with and are less likely to be disputed. The bound book with sequentially numbered pages makes the removal of a page immediately apparent. We sell bound environmental and geological field books with sequentially numbered pages here.
