After looking to complete my pencil case with a kuru toga, I chose this pencil. Very happy with it.

Pros
- Combines the kuru toga technology with an alpha gel grip. This makes it better than other kuru togas because it combines two favorites into 1 pencil
- I bought the red grip version because it looked nicer online. The ones with the colored barrels did not appeal to me since I wanted a colored grip. Furthermore, red was more visually appealing than black or the teal colored grip
- More on the grip. There's a simple red grip below the alpha gel grip. Guess this makes it squishier? Looks cool though.
- The grip has more traction than any other alpha gels. Yet, the best grip is still on the non-shaka, HD alpha gels.
- Now for the mechanism. VERY COOL. haha...I don't use my shaka shaker anymore since at times, it just feels cheap. I use the kuru toga for writing notes and the Metal barrel HD for jotting things down.
- Stupid, yes. BUT there's NO japanese "uni" sticker on this!!! I find this awesome since the uni label will fall off over time and looks downright awful after much use. Instead, the labels are printed on the barrel of the pencil which is much nicer. See, little things like this make this pencil a tad better than the other alpha gels.

Cons
- The color of the grip isn't as vivid as it looks online.
- The barrel etc is all plastic. However, the kuru toga mechanism/the main pencil part is metal which is very nice.
- Grip isn't as squishy as other alpha gels. The shaka shaker version is the squishiest, followed by the HD. This kuru toga firmer than both of these grips.
- Not a shaker pencil. + i haven't found a way to take it apart and insert a shaker. downer

I agree with benjamindk1 - I wish the collar retracted. I love my current Kuru Toga and would gladly pay for a more expensive model -- if I could safely carry it around in my shirt pocket without stabbing myself.

kuru toga and alpha gel go together like bread and butter. so nice to write with.

AMAZING pencil. Converted me to the rotating lead life. Like others have probably said, cursive and other writing styles where you don't pick up the pencil often don't work so well, the lead will wear down unevenly. But it's great for maths!

No more broken leads. Always with a sharp point. The slightly thicker barrel and soft grip works very well for arthritic hands.

best mechanical pencil

Really smooth, easy to write with, just a great overall pencil!

I have two gripes about all mechanical pencils: the uneven wear of the point, and the stabbing that I have to endure every time I try to find it. The Kuru Toga solves the first problem beautifully. Other pencils solve the second problem, but no pencil (that I know of) solves both. Of all the Kuru Toga models that Uni sells, they don't have a retractable, pipe-locking, or, for God's sake a bloody cap to prevent the completely unnecessary stabbing that happens when clumsy hands try to pick it up. Still, I love this pencil.

Good
-Kuru Toga works great and works well
Bad
-Grip isn't as soft as the other versions

Overall, I recommend it!

For mechanical pencils, you just can't beat the kuru toga in my opinion. The soft grip makes this an absolute pleasure to hold and use. For me it was worth shelling out a few extra bucks for a better pencil body after trying the lower-priced kuru toga.