Stabilo 68 + 88 point pens

In the adult colouring world, it's all about the fineliners. There are so many intricate designs with teeny-tiny spaces that sometimes a 1mm tip is far too wide. The stabilo point 88 pen nibs measure less than half of that at just 0.4mm, perfect for getting into all those nooks & crannies, and they're also classed as Europe's number one fineliners. The set I received is called the Festival Spirit wrap, which is a really useful way of storing and transporting the 25 pens within.

Each pen has its place, with individual elastic holders to keep them in order. The wrap also has a zipped pocket at one end to store any loose bits and pieces. As I said there are 25 different shades here, which is a really good range- particularly the amount of blue and green tones there are. It would be great to have more reds included, as you only get one real red and a darker crimson colour. 
The barrells on these pens are hexagonal shaped, so no rolling off the edge of the table which is very handy indeed! It's a small thing that makes a big difference. The caps are a good match for their colour on paper (although a few of the greens are very similar) and have a long cap-off time (I haven't tested this so I can't say exactly how dry safe they are). My camera isn't great but I assure you the colours are very vibrant and juicy.

The point 88 are okay to colour with, mostly because they have such a wide range of shades, but I must say the nib itself is too square for my liking. It feels quite scratchy on the paper, unlike my Triplus fineliners which have a rounded nib and glide beautifully. I think this is a design issue that may need to be looked at, because the pen shape and ink tones are great. Some people may favour a squared off nib though... I guess it's down to personal preference. 

The picture above shows you the line difference between points, which leads me nicely onto the 68's. These are much thicker than the fineliners at 1mm, and I admit that I prefer them when colouring as they are round nibbed!

The 88 point pens have the same shaped barrel as the 68's, but the colour runs over the whole length of the pen instead of just the caps. A real plus about these is that they come in FORTY colours! I only got the 10 pack though, and bought 5 neons to supplement them. 
As for colouring... again, they're just okay. I found some of the pens to feel quite dry, as if they weren't going to last very long. Another negative is they 'pill' the paper quite a bit, which is disappointing. Again, It's quite a difference to my Triplus pens which glide so smoothly and don't feather the paper. I would say the 68's are more suited to casual colouring than special use, but at the end of the day they aren't marketed as artist grade.

I've tried to take a picture of the lines they make whilst block colouring, and as you can see each stroke is quite prominent so I think they're better when used on small areas. The colours are really bold and vibrant, they pens are odourless, and they don't bleed through paper which is a huge bonus. 

Here are a few pictures I did with the 68pt pens. 

It may be easier to see if you zoom in, but particularly in the sun picture they do go quite pithy when you colour over the same spot, even if it's just once. Some of the nib thicknesses are inconsistent, a few of them leaving a broader line than others. I would recommend these pens for school use or as I say, the casual colourist, but I have to be honest and say they're not my favourites for quality and coverage on the paper.

I received these pens in exchange for an honest review. You can buy them from Amazon here:

Stabilo Pen 68, Wallet of 10 Assorted Colours

Stabilo 8825-021 Point 88 25 Assorted Fineliner Pens Roll-Up Pack