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STABILO Point 88 Fineliner Ballpoint Pen – Assorted Colours (Wallet of 30)
These pens have a 0.4mm rounded nib and come in 30 different colours including 5 neons which are truly neon and very glowy! They can be purchased in various different sizes from individually all the way up to the full set of 30. I have a set of 10, 20 and 30 (photographed below) but they come in a huge variety and can be found for a fraction of the retail price on Amazon (links below). The pens are the distinctive golden yellow hexagonal design with white-striped corners and ink-coloured caps and ends for easy identification, they also have the shade number written on them making it easy to find replacements. These pens are super smooth to use and not only beautiful to write with but also to colour or doodle with. Having heard from a lot of people who use fineliners I’ve discovered that both those made by Stabilo and by Staedtler seem to be like Marmite, you either love them or hate them, and almost everyone significantly prefers one brand over the other but this is about a 50:50 split. My personal preference is the Stabilos. I hold the pen very upright when I colour and write and this may be why I prefer them because the Stabilo nib is flatter than the Staedtler fineliners (see photo below).
According to the Stabilo website, the pens have a long cap off time but I’ve not tested this because I don’t want to waste a pen! The cap fits on the end of the pen snuggly so you won’t lose it while you’re colouring and the caps are a very accurate representation of the ink colour. The inks themselves are really bright and vibrant and much more opaque than other brands which seem quite wishy-washy. The ink flows very smoothly with no pooling, blobbing or stopping randomly halfway through your project. They dry really quickly on the page and aren’t wet like a number of other brands are. The ink is water-based so it’s fairly good at not bleeding through paper but this does majorly depend on how much pressure and over-colouring of an area you employ and also the paper quality because these pens do bleed through thin paper so always test in an inconspicuous place first. I’ve found these pens to have very light-fast colour – I regularly leave coloured images out on my table by my window and haven’t noticed any discolouration at all, meaning images you colour with these pens could be framed and wouldn’t be quickly ruined by light. The range of colours is fabulous with a great selection of greens and blues but I do wish there was a yellowy-orange and a pale pink. And perhaps a neon blue? The colours are gorgeous though and I haven’t found any of the pens in my sets to be at all scratchy or difficult to use. They are a joy to colour with because they apply ink so smoothly and evenly and don’t look streaky or gappy. They’re a really good thickness for colouring very detailed images that have super thin linework and because the pen barrel is thin you can really see where you’re colouring so you don’t go over the lines and this affords you a lot of control.
The pens are available in a multitude of pack sizes and packaging options from plastic wallets to desk sets, fabric rollers to pencil cases. The pens are also available in a handy mini size and these are available in 23 colours including 5 neons and are again, available in a number of differently sized and packaged sets. They are even available in 4 erasable colours! These pens match up perfectly colour-wise with the Stabilo 68’s which are felt-tips and that I will review in the future when I’ve acquired a set.
The Stabilo fineliners are comfortable to use, beautifully vibrant and give smooth, even, non-streaky coverage and are by far my favourite fineliners out of the 7 different brands I now own. Because there is such a difference in preference of Stabilo vs Staedtler, my best advice would be to read my reviews of both brands (Staedtler fineliners review can be found here) and then purchase a single pen of each and see which you prefer and then invest in a full set. Below are a number of images of the pens themselves, the sets I have, the colours available, images I’ve coloured using these pens and a comparison of the nibs of Stabilo and Staedtler fineliners and how they look when used to write. If you have any further questions about these pens then do leave me a comment below or connect with me via my Facebook page. If you’d like to purchase a set of these beautiful pens then the best and cheapest place I’ve found is Amazon and they can be found at the following links. Enjoy and Happy Colouring!
STABILO Point 88 Fineliner Ballpoint Pen – Assorted Colours (Wallet of 30)
Stabilo point88 Colorparade Desk Set Containing 20 Colours
Stabilo point88, Wallet of 10 Assorted Colours
Stabilo Point 88 8830-2 Fineliner Pen Set 25 plus 5 Neon Colours
Stabilo Point 88 Fineliners Mini 0.4mm Pack of 12 – Color: Assorted
In The Midst Of Madness 