Uni Alpha-Gel Mechanical Pencil Review

Uni Alpha-Gel Mechanical Pencil Review

There are a few different varieties of the Uni Alpha Gel mechanical pencil – originals, slimlines, shakers, etc. I never planned on getting one because they aren’t available in my part of the world and their main feature is a large squishy gel grip…something I am not usually enamoured with. But in a very polite way Isu from Japan frequently asked me if I had a Uni Alpha Gel, and did I know “...its gel grip is the exact same consistency as Haribo Gummi Bears?” Well, I hadn’t ever heard of Haribo Gummi Bears, obviously another thing we don’t have down my way, but Isu’s sweet tooth got to me and eventually I ordered an Alpha Gel mechanical pencil. A Uni Alpha Gel HD Shaka Shaka M5-618GG 1P chrome green mechanical pencil to be precise.

The bright shiny chrome green upper body and metallic chrome fittings combine to make a rather striking and attractive looking pencil.

The Alpha Gel weighs in at 18grams and in the hand it feels about the weight you would expect for a largish plastic mechanical pencil. I must say that when you first pick it up or wave it around a bit in your hand the movement of the internal shaker weight seems more obvious than on many other shakers, and more noisy when the weight hits the end stops.

I have read that the gel grips are slightly different formulations and consistencies on some of the models. (Unlike Gummi Bears?) My creamy white grip is quite soft and squishy, flowing and moulding under normal finger pressure. I wouldn’t be surprised if the grip has some ‘memory’ and becomes permanently deformed after extended use, but I haven’t used it long enough to say for sure. I have also read on some other reviews that people have had problems with the grip tearing. It didn’t happen to me, but I take extra care with my review pencils because I want to try and keep them in ‘as new’ condition for my collection. I could see the Alpha Gel grip being very susceptible to damage if stored in a pencil case and rolling around with other pencils and items. That’s just plain ole askin’ for trouble. Anyway, it does seem likely to me that the Alpha Gel grip is not particularly robust or durable. I’d also suspect that the grip won’t stay that nice milky white colour for too long in real-world conditions.

Like most gel grips it is of larger than average diameter – about 13mm or 1/2inch to be a little more specific.

Not surprisingly the Shaka Shaka is a shaker mechanism pencil. The instructions for its use were a little beyond me, but you can operate it as an ordinary push top ratchet mechanism, with ten clicks getting you 7mm of 0.5mm lead, or you can shake away and operate it with the shaker mechanism. The push top button can also be fully depressed to lock the shaker mechanism so it doesn’t operate. This doesn’t just lock the shaker, it also makes the pencil non-operational as the lead is no longer held by the chuck and thus can be pushed back up inside the sleeve. Some might say that the lock is not 100% effective, as if you give it a really good shaking you will get a little bit of lead advancement. However the lead is not gripped and it can just be pushed straight back in.

The shaker is readily activated, possibly almost too easily, but that’s a matter of subjective opinion.

I have long since reconciled myself to the fact that if you write a blog, at some stage you are going to end up looking stupid, only the frequency and degree of stupidity will vary, so now for the embarrassing bit. I feel really certain that when I first got my Alpha Gel that the lead sleeve was retracted, and the first push on the top button extended the sleeve out. Now though it is a non-retractable fixed sleeve. So surely it can’t have been retracted when I first got it? But my mind is convinced. Garrrr!!!….I must be going mad. However I will ignore the madness and say that the Uni Alpha Gel has a fixed non-retractable 3mm lead sleeve.

There is a small white occasional use only eraser under the top button. I quite like the pepper-pot arrangement of holes in the top button. As expected you pull the eraser out to refill the lead magazine.

The pocket clip is very good - very springy with an interesting clear plastic tip that catches the barrel colour or not, depending on your angle of view.

Whilst I wouldn’t say no to a Gummi Bear or Jelly Baby, I’m really more of a Milk Bottles type of person. Many Milk Bottles perished preparing this article.

• Best Points – That chrome green finish really is good looking.
• Not So Good Points – Lead sleeve not retractable, questionable durability.
• Price Range – Low.
• Does this pencil make it into the Top 5? - No.

Dimensions – Length 145mm, diameter 13mm at grip. Balance point about 70mm up from the tip.

Note: The alpha symbol is sometimes mistaken and written as oxy and thus the pencil mistakenly called oxy-gel, uni oxy gel or oxi gel or other names along those lines.