Nomadic PE-09 Pencil Case

Nomadic: (1) of, relating to, or characteristic of nomads; (2) roaming about from place to place aimlessly, frequently, or without a fixed pattern of movement; (3) a Japanese (of course) company that makes pen cases, bags, backpacks, pencil cases, and more pen cases.

I've already written about the Nomadic PE-06 case that I got for my son. The PE-06 is a nice case, although it's rather small. My daughter has a much larger collection of pens and pencils, she NEEDED a new case to hold all of them, and she had me at "I want . . ." Of course, one thing led to another, which led to the Nomadic PE-09 Pencil Case. I acquired the navy blue version, which has a bright orange interior.

The Flap

Sorry about that crappy picture. Anyway, the PE-09 is huge - it has a large main compartment that is accessible via the main zipper on the top, a Velcro-affixed flap with a zippered pocket (shown in the picture above), and additional pouches and interior mesh pockets. The main compartment is basically a large interior volume with a little mesh pocket that is suitable for an eraser, a piece of candy, or a lucky bottlecap. I estimate that at least 30 standard sized pens/pencils could fit in the main pocket. Take a look:

Main Pocket

The zippered flap pouch is held in place with a couple of pieces of Velcro that make a lot of noise when the flap is released. This may be an issue if your goal is to extract that super special pen or pencil in a stealthy and inconspicuous manner. The next picture shows the "secret" pocket that is hidden behind the flap. Here you will find more storage space, and some mesh liners that are sure to please anal retentive organization freaks.

Hidden Pocket

I like all the pockets and stash spots in the PE-09 case. I don't like the noisy Velcro, but I can live with it. Another feature (or flaw) that I don't particularly like is the way that the main compartment remains accessible even though the zipper is closed. It's hard to describe: the primary zipper seals the top of the compartment, but leaves gaps on the two sides. These gaps are large enough to allow pens and pencils to slide out of the compartment, which may occur during extreme stationery competitions or simply as a result of tossing the case into a backpack. I admit that the likelihood of actually losing something is rather low, but still. Check out Exhibit A:

Pen Exit Hole

To be honest, my daughter loves this case, and it works great for her. I don't think she's lost anything yet, which means that I'm probably griping about a non-defective feature.

OK, so I'm not 100% satisfied with this particular Nomadic case (I'm glad that it's not mine). That said, Nomadic makes a bunch of other cases that are worth looking into if you are in the market for one.