Review by Tina Koyama
Usually made of lightweight plastic or aluminum, pencil caps save you from being stabbed by sharp pencil points and keep your bag or pocket from being marked. You’d think that something as simple as a cap would be easy to choose and be happy with. Given all the colored and graphite pencils in my daily-carry, I have tried many caps, all of which imply that they are one-size-fits-all. Yet as with sharpeners, subtle differences in pencil barrel size make finding a universal pencil cap challenging. It should not be so loose that it falls off on its own, nor so tight that it’s a struggle to remove or mars the pencil’s finish.
I had heard good things about the Sonic Cupot (6 for $3.25) accommodating many different pencil sizes, so it was time to give it a try. Giving an eyeroll to the “boyish” set and the “girlish” set, I opted for the rainbow assortment. I like that they are brightly colored yet translucent, allowing the point to be visible.
Most pencil caps are straight-sided or tapered tubes made of one material. A unique feature of the Cupot is its “soft rubber rim that grips the pencils without damaging their paint.”
I popped a Cupot onto each of six pencils, some of average size and others that tend to give me trouble because they are slightly larger than average – two Caran d’Ache (Museum Aquarelle and Grafwood) and a Derwent Drawing Pencil. In every case, the Cupot went on without feeling forced, stayed on without any doubt that it might slip off, and pulled off easily without scratching the finish. I even tried one on a “mini-jumbo” pencil, and while it does fit, it feels a bit forced and requires muscle to pull off, so I probably wouldn’t use it on that. But for all other pencils, the Cupot is, indeed, universal. Finally, one size fits (almost) all!
Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
I love these CuPot point protectors and have 2 dozen of them in service. I think I bought one of each color scheme and an additional of the darker color scheme. Tina’s review is spot on.
This is a useful and charming review! It’s crazy that there are “boyish” and “girlish” and “rainbow” sets! Annoying that everything has to be gendered (are the rainbow ones gay?). I ordered the “boyish” set as it appealed to me more than the others. Anyway, thanks for the tip, I didn’t know about these and am pleased to find out.