Hi everyone, I'm going to give my review on the Ztylus Apple Pencil Case, please keep in mind this is my opinion for my Workflow and uses of the Apple Pencil, so your opinion may differ. I'm trying to give an honest opinion.
First off let me start with the Good. I think the people at Ztylus Innovation did a great job answering some of the problems people stated with the Apple Pencil when it first came out. Problems such as no clip to attach to anything, where to keep the Pencil cap while charging, and the AP rolling off surfaces. I think their concept is simple and efficient, but there was a couple of Cons that I personally couldn't get use to.
I received it on Friday afternoon, and eagerly put it together with the Apple Pencil. Right off the bat, I noticed the thickness and Weight it added to the AP. Now mind you holding both in separate hands, the Ztylus isn't that heavy and the AP does have some weight to it already, but maybe because the Ztylus is thicker and more like holding an old school Marker used to mark boxes and things, it made it "feel" heavier. I say this because I held it in my hand the last couple of nights, for a few hours at a time and it didn't bother me holding it when not in use and when drawing with it.
The point that is hard for me is the Thickness of it. As someone who draws and has done art before, I've never used a drawing tool that thick. I don't use magic markers for drawing, so the thickness is odd to me and doesn't feel natural. That is one of their selling points is that the Pencil Holder is better for holding for long periods of time, than the thickness of the Apple Pencil alone. I can see that being true, but I found it awkward to use trying to get small details drawn when drawing and just didn't feel like drawing with a Pencil/Pen or painting with a brush. So that's one of the biggest cons for me.
I also don't need the Clip, like some people wished the AP had. It does come in handy, just not for my workflow or preference/needs. They have a simple efficient design that answers some of the problems with the AP alone. It's easy to put the AP together with it, the box is much like the AP box, with instructions on how to put it together and can be used to store your AP with the Ztylus holder on it if you wish. It works just like an old twist to open pen. Twist one way and AP nib comes out one end, and twist back the other way to protect the Nib inside and the AP cap is exposed on the other end. When charging, pull off the cap and attach to the Charging adapter and you place the AP cap on the top tip of the Ztylus Pencil Case clip. It holds fine and I had no worries of it falling off while charging. The Clip is good for a laptop bag, or you can even clip it to the smart Cover, but I found that the clip being kind of thick, made the cover stick up a bit. Not enough to not put the IPP to sleep though. The AP being a bit long, the clip didn't fit well on Tshirts I have with a pocket on them, also didn't feel comfortable putting it in my front pants pocket, because of getting up and sitting down. I feared breaking the AP. The clip does provide an answer to keep the AP from rolling off the tabletop and as said has a place for the Cap while charging the AP.
If I were to rate this on Amazon or someplace like that. I'd give the Ztylus Pencil Case for the Apple Pencil a 4 out of 5 Stars. The only reason I took away 1 star is, because I don't need the pencil clip in my workflow and of course the Added thickness which is something I couldn't get use to. Your opinions might vary. I think the company did a great job with it and I think many people will like it. I have tried a lot of AP accessories, a pen grip, a pouch to hold the AP, and I'm always looking at what's new for the AP out there. Right now the best working for me is the Moxiware Magnetic Sleeve for the AP and an Apple Pencil Cozy for cap and adapter. I like having the magnetic option, because I can just attach to my smart cover on the outside on my desk and the cozy keeps the AP from rolling away. When I'm not using the AP I can just keep it on the IPP itself when I have the smart cover off. It's just my preference and not a knock against the Ztylus. The clip I will say is probably more secure attached to the smart cover though.
I'm attaching pics so you can see the Ztylus and I tried to show the different uses, but you can see this on their website probably also.
Pros: Has clip for attaching to something, solves need for where to put the AP
Clip keeps from Rolling away on Desktops
Clip has place to hold the AP Cap while charging and ease of charging
Easy Assembly
Open/Close action - when open can use the AP, when closed protects the Nib in case of drops
Simple effective design
Also wanted to note that although looks slippery from the pics, I didn't find it as bad as the AP alone. Maybe because of the thickness they made it, not sure on that.
Cons: Thickness takes some getting use to
Adds some weight to the AP (May just be my Opinion, could just be the thickness giving it that illusion. YMMV)
Suggestions: I think a lot of people like colors to make things their own, so I think if they offered in other colors besides just the White, it would be a good thing for people who don't like plain white. Just maybe make it a bit thinner, I found the thickness awkward for Drawing.
