The case of the wrong WOPEX

North American WOPEX

A very belated clarification…

Staedtler Canada gently let me know that this post featured the wrong WOPEX pencil. The 2010 post reviewed a light blue finished version – but in Canada and the US, a green version (the same colour as the 2H WOPEX sold in Europe, as far as I can tell) is the general offering.

The photo above shows a package of WOPEX pencils as sold in Canada.

14 Replies to “The case of the wrong WOPEX”

  1. I was wondering why the WOPEX pencil I got at a local stationery store was green and of HB grade. I wanted the light blue one.

  2. I have just bought (in Spain) a package of three black WOPEX pencils that come with a black plastic sharpener and a small (and also black) rasoplast eraser. The show an Art. Nr.180 HB-9 on the side. The green WOPEX do not have the 9. Is there any difference, beyond the external colour, between these two WOPEX pencils?

  3. Hi David, that’s an interesting question – Staedtler has been known to vary their budget pencils between markets, but why vary a premium product that has been the subject of much media? Won’t regional variants just confuse the public and dilute advertising messages?

    A note – WOPEX is becoming quite the overloaded term – it is a product name, but with the new Noris eco pencil, it also gets a demotion to being just a material name.

    So here are details from the pencils themselves:

    Europe 2H - EAN 40 07817 180013 Art. Nr. 180-2H
    Europe HB - EAN 40 07817 180006 Art. Nr. 180-HB
    Europe 2B - EAN 40 07817 180020 Art. Nr. 180-2B
    North America HB - EAN 40 07817 180099 Art. Nr. 180 10-HB

    On the pencil’s main face, the North American variant additionally has the grade marked as both “HB” and “2”.

    The erasers are another interesting angle – I’m not aware of Staedtler selling this type of eraser by itself.

    And to try to answer your question – I don’t know if there is a difference between the two versions. I don’t detect anything obvious.

  4. Staples in the US started selling a Staedtler woodless pencil that seems to be made of WOPEX material rather than the woodless pencils I have from Faber Castell (back when I took art class in college). Here’s a link to it on the Staples website:

    http://www.staples.com/Staedtler-allXWrite-2-HB-Graphite-Pencils-5-Pack/product_949299

    It is not advertised as WOPEX, but the material is definitely some sort of plastic polymer that writes and erases like a pencil.

    Staples also sells a Rasoplast set of 3 too:

    http://www.staples.com/Staedtler-Rasoplast-Black-Erasers-3-Pack/product_949298

    They still sell the famous Staedtler Mars plastic eraser too, just in a different area of the store. <_<;

    I couldn't resist and bought the pencils and the erasers even though I have plenty already. D: I noticed them around August or late July when stores started advertising their Back-to-School supplies.

  5. Hi,

    Last week I bought an 18 count package of Staedtler WOPEX HB 2 pencils from my local Staples for only $3.00 US. Incredible price!

    They are lime green in color with an attached white Latex and PVC free eraser. These pencils are light weight and sharpen great. I am a math instructor who tries every pencil I can find. These pencils are now my favorite.

    I’m going back to Staples to buy more.

  6. I got these pencils at Staples for $3.00 (18 pack) in NYC.
    As you mentioned it is a bit heavier than a regular pencil but no complaints. I love the weight, the smoothness. I tested for smudge marks and barely if not none at all. I have to do some additional testing on the eraser, as it didn’t erase as clean as the Staedtler Mars.

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