Working in the office environment, sometimes, you have to find humor in products or situations to help make the day seem brighter (and to reduce stress). A while back while in a sprint meeting in a room we call a SCRUM room, I noticed these markers. I had been in the room a number of times and never saw them and wondered how people were able to write on the white boards, as there were no markers sitting in any ledges or on the table. I wondered if people just brought their own. Then, I was leaving and noticed these little markers hanging inconspicuously on the door jamb. They have magnets on one side of the caps and hang on metal! How fun is that?

The Product

These are fine tipped, dry erase markers. They are barely the length of my hand side to side. They measure only 4 ¾ inches long and are about the size of a pencil around.

These have a little eraser built into the cap to allow you to erase your mistakes. It’s quite handy as you will always have this with the pen. Each pen in the package has the eraser on the top. So, you should not run out. If you do, then you have lost all of the caps in your package and your pens are going to dry out anyway. You might be able to write with the marker if you do leave the cap off for one day. More than likely, it will not, but recap it and try it again later. You might be able to squeeze out some more when the tip gets refueled by the ink in the reservoir.

The pens come in a nice 6-pack with a dark green, black, yellow, purple, red, and magenta. They are also available in singles (of each color) if you prefer to try them without buying a whole set. But, even if you do buy the whole set, they are not terribly expensive. I have seen the 6-pack for about $4.00. So, it’s quite a terrific price.

The pens are low odor (since they are so small) and non-toxic. They also conform to the ASTM D4236 standards. These pens are made in China, are plastic except for the tip and eraser. The cap and the end cap of the pen are indicative of the color of ink inside, so even if you do lose the cap, you will still be able to tell what color the marker is going to be.

The Quartet Re-Writables are handy to use and are exceptionally easy to carry with you if you think you will be moving rooms or traveling and having to use a white board for notes or a meeting presentation. If you are doing a large group presentation, though, I would stick with the standard dry erase markers on the market. These are for intimate settings in a small room where people will not be far away from you. The fine tip makes it very hard to see anything written on a white board from a short distance.

The markers can tend to dry out quickly if they are left uncapped, so be sure to put the caps back on the best you can. I have found a bit of frustration with that, as the caps don’t seem to have the distinctive snap when you put the cap back on like most dry erase markers do. I have even noticed that the caps don’t seem to fit snuggly back on the pen, as there is a small gap between where the pen meets the cap once you have used the markers a few times. It does still seem to protect the felt tip of the pen and keep the pen from drying out. But, if you think you have the cap on and stick the pens to say the door jamb like we do in the SCRUM room, gravity has a way of pulling those pens out if the cap is not firmly in place.

Overall Impressions

These pens are handy, take up a small amount of space and are sort of fun. The magnets that are on the caps make them hang from metal door jambs and allow more space on tables in a meeting room. But, since they are so small, it does make them hard to see, unlike other dry erase markers.

But, these markers are great to travel with since they do take up such a small amount of space. The markers do see to last quite a while unless uncapped. I cannot say specifically how long they last, as I am not sure how long these particular pens have been in the meeting room and how much use they have had. Capping the pens is a bit of a problem in that the caps don’t lock down or click and they seem to have a gap between the pen body and the cap when you put the cap back on the pen.

I enjoy working with these pens and we have them in a small meeting room. These are not good for big meeting rooms where you will have a group of people sitting quite a distance, since the fine tips do not allow for a really broad pen stroke on the white boards.

Handy, fun, and inexpensive make these pens awesome to use in smaller settings and they make travel quite easy too. If you do travel, or even if you like having a white board at home, these would be perfect. But, if you have large meetings or conferences, stick with the broader dry erase markers that are out on the market!

~Thanks for spending time with me today!~



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