Smiggle Hardtop Pencil Case Review | August 2016

I thought it was about time I posted a review on this chunk of a pencil case.

I bought it about two months ago now, and I started using it pretty much straight away after I bought it, so I've been using it for a good amount of time to figure out the pro's and con's. Today I'm going to share them with you!

A couple of you guys actually suggested Smiggle to me, I've never really ventured in there before because it is of course aimed at the younger stationery lovers (which I think is awesome!!).

But I decided to have a nosey to see if there was anything in there I might fancy. Turns out there were quite a few things haha, but I limited myself to one thing as I shouldn't have reeeaaaally been spending any money that day. 

So this pencil case is probably the sturdiest one I own, when they say it's 'hardtop', they mean you could knock someone out with this if you filled it with enough pens! It's hard plastic! This does make it the perfect pencil case for travelling. If you put this in a suitcase or a bag, it will definitely be durable.

The con to the hardtop is that it does make it very bulky, it can't be squished into a bag or drawer. I personally just have it sitting on my desk with me.

Like most stationery items, the thing I fell in love with as soon as I saw it was the colour combination! The camera really doesn't pick up exactly how it is in real life. In real life it's a Raspberry Pink & Light Turquoise/Mint combination. I know in some photo's the pink can look a little bit neon, but it's far from it.

They do have a range of different colours available, the other colour I really liked was the blue one they had with a pink zip.

Around the edge it has a Pink glittery material, which just tops off the awesomeness of the colour combination! They could have gone with a plain colour, but nope! Glitter!!! It's definitely the perfect choice. The zip itself is nice and chunky, and I've not had many issues with it. It can be a bit fiddley around the corners of the case, but that's expected really. I have the same issue with other pencil cases and folios.

I've found that the zip does 'stretch' too, if I fill it up completely. It's not tricky to do up, it still glides around the case quite easily.

Inside there are three main sections of storage, above is the left hand section. I actually found this one the most difficult to fill, it took me a while to find something that I didn't mind having in there. I tried having the pens I use daily in there, but it was too much of a faff to find the one I wanted. I did have it empty for a while, but then I found it worked best for me if I had my coloured pens in there, as when I use them I tend to have them all out at the same time, so I don't need to dig about to find one.

Alternatively if you were planning to use this case somewhat like a folio, this section would be great to keep sticker sheets or paper pads in etc. They will stay nice and flat, and won't fall out anywhere.

In the little net pocket I've just put a rubber, I didn't really want to bulk this out too much.

You then have the main storage on the right hand side. This is where I put all the pens I use quite often. There's no way to secure them in there, they are just loose. The only bit that keeps them from jumping about is the little divider section in the middle. I have found that if I overfill this large section, it does make opening and closing the case a bit more of a faff because pens do jump out.

But that's purely down to me being an eager beaver and trying to fit as many pens as possible in there!

The middle divider is very simple, it just has some pen slots. Most of them are a good size, I could fit two Papermate flair pens in each one. Then there's a couple on the left hand side of the divider bit that are a lot smaller. I've found that one of them fits my little pair of polar bear scissors from Flying Tiger in there nicely.

Overall this pencil case is definitely bulky, BUT it's roomy, sturdy and the colours are just sooo nice (so much better in real life too, trust me!). If you are looking for something that won't get squished in a bag, and has a lot of space, this is definitely one to consider.

Or if like me, you are a sucker for glittery pink stationery and want to find a new home for your 'go to' pens on your desk... Then again, this one might be the one for you!

It was only £10, which for the quality & size of the case, I think is very reasonable.

It is available on their website, so you can have a look here.

It's very hard to tell exactly how the colour's are in real life, from the photo's on there, so if you get the chance to look in store then I'd recommend that. But the one I have is the 'Pink' one, and the other one I really liked was the 'Blue' one.

- Daisy X