The SumoGrip Retractable Eraser: Does the Performance Match the Marketing?

I can’t be the only one who’s a sucker for marketing. I’ve used and loved pen-style erasers for over 20 years, but I fully admit that the sumo wrestler logo and red packaging of the SumoGrip Retractable Eraser are what initially grabbed my attention. I mean come on, look at the sumo wrestler. Look at how cute he is!

After I calmed down a bit I wondered if the performance of this “microporous patented eraser” would hold up to the clever marketing…

Sakura and the SumoGrip Line

The SumoGrip is a pen-style eraser in a refillable holder with a red button that you push to advance the eraser forward. It’s made by Sakura Color Products Corporation, a Japanese company founded in 1921 and headquartered in Osaka, Japan. You’re probably familiar with Sakura’s popular Pigma Micron pens, Cray-pas oil pastels, and Gelly Roll gel pens (among other products).

The SumoGrip name and logo originated with the release of the first offering in the line: the SumoGrip Pencil, a refillable (0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 mm) “comfort-grip” mechanical pencil with a chunky profile. According to the Sakura Color Products Corp. website:

Fingers feel relaxed and flexible when holding the specially designed triangular shaped SumoGrip Pencil. The ergonomically correct contour is a natural fit for both adult and teen hands. Physical therapists recommend SumoGrip to carpal tunnel patients and for adults with fine motor skill difficulty.

I don’t know about all that, but when the eraser joined the lineup this idea was continued and now it was the product itself doing the gripping. The SumoGrip features “open-cell foam technology allowing it to easily grab and trap graphite particles from various surfaces. Just like a sumo wrestler grabbing and locking his adversary.” Got it.

SumoGrip Erasers are composed of microporous cells that are constructed like a net that picks up graphite marks and erases better across the surface. Reticulated open-cell foam works like ultra-fine sandpaper to get into the small grooves and pits of the paper surface. Combining our existing Sakura Foam W™ Eraser with a firmer hybrid-matrix formula, the SumoGrip Eraser requires minimal pressure to remove graphite lead from B to 2H degrees.

The SumoGrip Retractable Eraser Design

The eraser was designed with a simple boxy shape and minimal details, color, and labeling. The pen-style holder is a dark, smoky gray with a cherry red button. 

The SumoGrip has a clip on the back if you care to clip it to your shirt, bag, etc.

Behold the open-cell foam technology in all its glory…

 

SumoGrip Retractable Eraser Claims

• Little pressure is required to erase
• The residue forms into strings or strands for easy disposal
• It won’t smudge your paper
• Excellent erasing efficiency
• The black color never looks dirty
• It’s comfortable to use and easy to control

I don’t know that it produced “strings” of eraser debris, but it didn’t produce a lot of tiny, annoying crumbs either. I could combine them into a ball if I pressed down and rubbed them around on the paper.

No smudging!

 

SumoGrip Test Sheet

The test sheet was done on Strathmore Colored Pencil paper 400 series. The erased “Sakura” was written with a standard Dixon Ticonderoga No. 2 pencil. The erased swatches were drawn with from top to bottom: Faber-Castell – Castell 9000 2H, Staedtler Mars Lumograph 100 H, Derwent Graphic B, Prismacolor Turquoise 4B, Conté à Paris Pastel Pencil, Faber-Castell Pitt Compressed Charcoal Pencil Hard, and a Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencil PC 908. [Note: The SumoGrip isn’t marketed for use on the bottom three swatches: pastel, charcoal, and colored pencil, but I was curious to see how it would perform. Pretty good it turns out.]

SumoGrip Retractable Eraser Performance

Claim

• Little pressure is required to erase

True. About the same pressure needed to erase as any other premium eraser. This makes it very gentle on paper, there was no damage to the paper whatsoever.

Claim

• The residue forms into strings or strands for easy disposal

I mean, I guess? If those strings/strands are very short, then yes. But it doesn’t produce looong strings.

Claim

• It won’t smudge your paper

True. I don’t think the few smudges on the test sheet “count” since I was erasing somewhat unnaturally in one direction to keep everything aligned. In normal erasing conditions moving my hand and the eraser around in different directions I got no smudging.

Claim

• Excellent erasing efficiency

True. It performed really well. It easily, cleanly, and completely erased graphite of varying grades. It even did a pretty good job on media that it’s not marketed for such as pastel, charcoal, and colored pencil. The SumoGrip Retractable Eraser could also be used as a tool to create different partially erased values and effects.

Claim

• The black color never looks dirty

True. AND it’s pretty cool looking.

Claim

• It’s comfortable to use and easy to control

True. It feels solid in your hand. The Sumo Grip has a mechanism that keeps the eraser from retracting until you press the button on top and push the eraser in to retract it.

Final Thoughts

The SumoGrip Retractable eraser is a great, sturdy eraser that produces consistent results.

I’m happy to add this eraser to my collection of drawing supplies and will reach for it when I need to erase small and medium-sized elements, which it is perfectly suited for. And while it does have good precision, the chunky holder sometimes blocks your view of tiny details making it hard to see exactly what you’re erasing. Also, the size of the eraser means that it really isn’t suited for erasing those ultra-tiny details like the tear duct on a portrait for example where a pen-style eraser with smaller dimensions would give better results.

As far as longevity, differences in individual use will determine exactly how long it will last for you. The eraser insert itself measures 5 mm x 7mm x 90-100 mm. I didn’t think to measure the exact length before testing. Doh! But after putting the eraser through multiple tests I measured it at 80 mm so I imagine it will last quite a while.

There is also a SumoGrip Block Eraser in the product line that is available in 3 sizes.

Specs

Hybrid PVC foam eraser. Non-toxic. No harmful phthalates. Latex-free. RoHS compliant.

The outer dimensions of the SumoGrip Retractable Eraser holder are 110 × 18 x 18 mm. The outer case is made of Polyoxymethylene (POM) and the red button/clip is made of Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). There is a steel spring that advances the eraser forward. The eraser made in Japan and the holder is made in China. 

A 3 piece refill pack is sold separately. Refilling is easy you just pull off the red button/clip and drop in the refill.

SumoGrip Retractable Eraser Availability

The Sakura Alvin XRFCB150 Sumo Grip Retractable Eraser – Black is available from Amazon.

[I purchased the SumoGrip Retractable Eraser with my own funds. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. None of the links in this review are affiliate links.]