Alpha Gel Mechanical Pencil

The Alpha Gel Mechanical Pencil, commonly referred to as the A-Gel or Oxy-Gel, and styled as α-gel is a popular mechanical pencil manufactured by the Japanese stationery company Uni-ball. Mainly sold by major and minor retailers in Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and other East Asian countries, the pencil comes in several varieties, and is known for the comfort it provides when being written with. As of March 2013, it comes in 6 different varieties in blue, pink, and black, and less varieties in the colors green, orange, and red.
Outside of Asia
Alpha Gels are quite popular outside of Asia and are mainly used as writing utensils by middle schoolers, high schoolers, and college students. The main non-Asian countries Alpha Gels are sold in are United Kingdom and the West Coast of the United States in states like Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and California.
In many schools in the United States, such as Redwood Middle School in Saratoga, California where the pencils are very popular, they have been a symbol of high social status, and for this reason, the subject of theft.
Features
Some features of the pencil are credited with making them popular. These features include a very soft grip and simply shaking the pencil to extend the lead. Additionally, they come in a wide array of bright colors which make them seem appealing to the eye.
Price
While in Asia, Alpha Gels can cost as low as a few US dollars, in America, they can cost anywhere from US$8.25 to US$16.50 at major retailers, although some at sites such as Amazon and eBay where people may sell them privately, they can be significantly cheaper or significantly more expensive.

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