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In today’s post I will be reviewing; Stabilo Point 88 pens.
Stabilo Point 88 Pens
Product Details
- Manufacturer/Brand; Stabilo
- Item number: 8825-1
- RRP at time of writing: RRP £30.60 but £16 on Amazon
Reason For Buying
Having decided to give doodling a go, I wanted a set of quality fine nibbed colored pens, these looked a good set of colours to allow
Pros/Cons
Pros
- Excellent fine nib 0.4 mm (see graphic on case)
- Smooth to draw or write with
- Good selection of colours, suitable for a range of subjects
- Case is lightweight but plastic so will last a while if you like your pens lined up by colour
- These pens are water-soluble so if you want to bleed out the colour for projects you can
- Pens are also available singly from Art supply stores if you wish to replace colours over time
Cons
- The only colour ID is on the pen cap and base, not the barrel of the pen. So you’ll want to clip caps to base while in use or risk getting colours in a muddle
- With my dexterity issues I found the narrow barrels and caps a little awkward to get hold of. Not a problem if you hands work tho 😉
- Given the high rrp, the case quality is a bit of a let down. It works well but looks like it would rip quite easily, not that sturdy
Build Quality
The pen itself is excellent, the material of the nib gives a smooth writing or drawing surface on different papers/card. The caps fit well, the only quality issue is the case they come in. Not a deal breaker if you are intending to store them in other containers.
Value for Money
TBH I’m not sure I would have paid full rrp, but I got mine from Amazon for around £13 delivered and for that I am very satisfied. They are excellent and if you like to use fine liners in your art, these are excellent quality.
Would I buy it Again?
Yes
Summing up
I’ve used these pens on cheap paper as well as good quality cartridge paper, they perform well and give excellent results. The colour range is good and the glide of the nib on the paper is a joy.
Personally, I would have liked a coloured barrel to help ID the colours and due to difficulties with fine motor skills, I struggle with the small caps and fine barrels. The barrels are approximately the same diameter as Bic biros for reference.
Be aware of the water-soluble nature of these pens when choosing a project to use them on. So if you are using them with mixed media and use anything waterbased over the top, bear in mind the colours will reactivate and move. If you want a water colour look from the pens, scribble some colour onto an acrylic block or non porous surface and use a waterbrush to pick up the colour. This does make for a versatile pen that will have many uses. Single pens and smaller sets are available if you want to try them out before investing in a bigger set.
The other use for these pens, they are great for pattern drafting (dressmaking) due to their fine line. Careful of where you store your patterns though due to the water-soluble ink!
These pens have become a favorite for me for doodle art. Do try them out, the colours and ink flow are a joy.
Links
Here are some places where you can find Stablio pens. They are also available in larger sets with a thicker nib known as Stabilo 68. If you want something more compact to take out and about there were also some pocket-size pens in Staples.
Whats your favorite pen for doodling? Would love to see projects you have created with these pens, do leave me a comment with your thoughts.
Best wishes and thanks for reading, see you soon
Billie 🙂
Go to Billie's Craft Room on Pinterest
Collecting pens is amongst my many vices and goes along with me collecting paint, coloured pencils, pots of H2O and paper of all descriptions 🙂 I just love to see rainbows of colour and when a pen glides over the paper beautifully then that adds to the moment. Thank you for this review Billie 🙂
Hugs Lynn x
Glad its not just me hooked on stationary items 🙂 Paper crafting was just a matter of time eh 😉