The Sharbo Zebra SBA1 is available in array of day-glo colors

As travel writers, we here at WoWasis have some pretty heady requirements for a writing instrument. We need a reliable pen, but also need a pencil to write notes in the back pages of books we’re reviewing. It’s got to be small, in order to fit in any pocket (we carry it everywhere, all the time.) It’s got to be durable, because we often travel in challenging conditions, where a lot of stuff gets broken. That’s why we’ve been carrying the durable, versatile Shabo Zebra SBA1 for over a decade. It simply never fails.

In addition to its metal body and light weight, we can change from pen to pencil with a simple twist that we can perform one-handed. It’s only 5 inches long, so we always carry it in any shirt pocket. The clip is located near the top of the pen, so we don’t look geeky: only ¼ inch is visible above the pocket, and that’s the screw-cap that holds the pencil erasure.

This pen has been rained on, fallen upon, dashed against hard surfaces, dropped from desks, you name it. Amazingly, the pencil lead has never broken (it’s encased in a metal sheath of its own), and the pen has never stopped working due to the abuse we put it through. We bought our first one at Tokyo’s Narita airport, and always have an extra stashed somewhere. We also carry spare refills, which can be found at any store selling Japanese writing instruments, easy to find in Asia, and on the internet, easily available in virtually any Western country.

Zebra’s story is interesting, too. It was originally established in Japan in 1897, and its founder, Tokumatsu Ishikawa, decided to use zebra print as its trade mark in the hope that business’ employees and customers herd together like a big zebra family. The name Sharbo is a combination of “sharp” (i.e. mechanical pencil) and “ball” (i.e. ballpoint pen).

Here are the SBA1’s stats:

• full metal barrel and clip, screw cap out to retrieve built-in eraser
• barrel size: 0.32″ (Grip dia.) x 5.12″ (Length) or, 8mm (Grip dia.) x 130mm (Length)
• refill: Zebra 4C-0.7, Pencil lead 0.5mm

You can buy the remarkably durable SBA1 on the internet, at prices ranging from $10-$20 USD. It’s a miracle of miniaturization that you’ll use forever; no other travel pen/pencil matches up. Highly recommended.