Paper Mate eraser.max Medium Erasable Pens

I purchased some Paper Mate eraser.max erasable pens as part of a Paper Mate Value Pack at Big Lots. It came bundled with other items, such as a non-working Paper Mate Comfortmate, a Top Notch Grip pencil, and a few other assorted items.

Paper Mate eraser.max in red and blue.

For being erasable pens, they write fairly well. I use that word loosely however, because when I tested these, the blue leaves a lot of white spots. The red left hardly any, but it was somewhat of an off-red color, almost more of a pink. It was tolerable though, especially considering it's an erasable pen. There is a caveat however, after 24 hours the ink becomes permanent and can no longer be erased. From what I have seen and read, the pen comes in red, blue and black. 

Unlike the Pilot FriXion erasable pen, the eraser is an actual eraser. It will wear out over time and leave eraser dust as you use it. The eraser is located on the cap itself, so it must be posted in order to erase. I like this better than the design of the FriXion, where the eraser is located on the back of the pen, and the cap covers it up. Aside from the dust, they erase fairly clean. It didn't show up very well in the scan, but there was a slight bit of residue around the outside of where I erased from the ink being somewhat smeared from the eraser onto the paper. I couldn't wipe it off with my finger, it was kind of smeared into the paper. The writing itself erased completely and effortlessly. Another plus with these pens is they have a pressurized ink cartridge, so they can write upside down (I've tried it, it does work!)

When grading the ergonomics of writing with these pens, they are surprisingly comfortable. I typically like smaller, more narrow pens but these fit my hands nicely and the grip is soft and effective. The pens have a matte finish to them, which helps to prevent slippage and also has a pleasing feel.

In terms of a recommendation, I would choose the Pilot FriXion over these pens. In fact, I think these have been discontinued as Amazon and other office supply websites/stores no longer seem to carry them. In fact, another point I'd like to make about the FriXion is that it comes in many more colors aside from the three colors the eraser.max comes in. If you did decide to get some of these and you can find them for sale, try to get the red instead of the blue, as I find it to be a better choice. The only place I know of that still sells these is Dollar Tree where you can get 4 for a dollar (2 red, 2 blue). For that price, I would highly recommend these. At full price... I'd pass and opt for the FriXions.

-Derek (ThirdeYe)