I’ve received 3 single pen sleeves of my choosing from Tao Bao as a birthday present last year. Tao Bao, if you are unfamiliar with it, is a website where you can buy almost anything you want directly from China. The down side is the entire website is in Chinese, if you are not familiar or inclined to read Chinese characters you are out of luck. Though I am told that Google Translatehelps a great deal in working out how to use the site. Tao Bao offers many cheap deals but also many fake “branded” items so keep an eye out on what you buy there. The one I got came with a price tag of just $29 Chinese Yuan (SGD$6.30 / USD $4.60) and add shipping to that, it is still a pretty nice deal.
The single pen sleeve comes in three different colours - red, white and black. Of course, I got them all. Given their price, I highly doubt they are made of real leather. The exterior is smooth and glossy. The sides are secured with stitching that matched the colour of the faux leather. The white and black comes with a small tab that’s the colour of the French flag, while the red has a rainbow coloured one. I thought the small tab gives the pen sleeve a nice little flair. The stitching is nice and clean. There isn’t any loose threads or uneven stitching. The edges of the pen sleeve is unfinished but cleanly cut and smooth. The inside of the sleeve is unfinished but smooth enough that I wouldn’t worry about my pen getting scratched up moving in out of the sleeve.
I’ve used it for on and off through the year and before I wrote this review I've used it for 2 weeks straight. All my pens fit in it, except the Franklin Christoph Model 66, well it’s a desk pen so I can’t expect the pen sleeve to be long enough to accommodate it. As for the width, it accommodate my widest pen, the Delta the Journal with ease. However given it’s material I expect the sleeve to get looser with repeated usage. It is tight enough to hold the pen inside and at the same time not so tight till it’s a pain in the ass to get it out.
The nature of a pen sleeve is to keep your pen protected and not have it roll off a desk. The no brand single pen sleeve from Tao Bao does its job admirably, looking stylish at the same time for a cheap price. I recommend this pen sleeve for anyone who clear to navigate the Tao Bao website
