I have been searching for the perfect pen pouch since I purchased my first nice fountain pen two years ago. I first bought a Lamy Etui pen sleeve while living in Heidelberg, Germany. Lamy's pen sleeves are made of decent quality leather with a nylon-like inner lining that offers effective protection for my pens. I used this sleeve exclusively until I got bit by the fountain pen bug and purchased two three-pen pouches: one from Lamy and the other from Nock.
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The Lamy three pen pouch is made of the same leather as the sleeve and has the same nylon-like lining. It has a magnetic closure on the front and internal dividers that travel most of the way down the pouch. The pen case is not intended for only slender pens, but can easily fit Pelikan M800s, Pilot 912s, or a few larger pens and one smaller pen. It is a nice case; however, because of the magnetic closure, which does not allow the flap to be pulled tight to adjust for different pen sizes, which allows for pens to slide around from top to bottom. I also found the case to be too long, which detracts, for me, from the general aesthetic of the case.
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I really liked the Nock Lookout and still use it regularly at home and for outdoor fountain pen adventures. This is probably the most secure case out of the ones in this review. It is made of nylon and has some fill material between the layers—offering more cushioning in the material for unintentional falls onto the floor. Additionally, the dividers between the pen travel all the way down the case, completely separating each pen from scratching each other. Though the material feels rough to the hands, I have never had issues of micro-scratches on my pens from Nock’s products. However, it felt a bit juvenile bringing a bright orange pen case into university meetings, though that is my problem for choosing the specific color.
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Step in Van der Spek (VdS)... I found the brand after watching videos from SBREBrown and discussing the brand with Dries from the PencilCaseBlog. I ended up purchasing a VdS four pen case from a Dutch retailer and received it a few weeks later. The quality of the case is unmatched (in my experience) for a leather product under $60 US. The leather is quite pliable, unlike some cheap leather pen cases from the bay, and is made of two bonded sheets of leather. The separators, which are also made of leather, travel the whole length of the case—or near the end. I would say that Van der Spek four pen cases are intended for medium sized pens, though M1000s and M149s will fit snuggly together. This case has become my every day carry at the office.
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I hope the images are more informative than my rambling.
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