Pen Review: WRITECH Journaling Kit

Having watched lots of planner set-up videos recently, I am seeing a lot planner and journal supplies that were purchased on Amazon. A lot of these products are from brands I’ve never heard of before so I got curious.

I tend to purchase name-brand writing tools from smaller, online retailers like JetPens and Vanness Pen Shop but, in an effort to see what the competition is offering, I decided to take a chance on the WRITECH Journaling Kit (9-Count with Pen Bag) in Vitality Blue & Green ($19.59, approx.$2.17 per pen ). The Kit is also available in Red & Pink, Earthtone, and Blue & Purple.

As a starter set for setting up your first journal or planner, the set seems like a good option.  The zipper pouch that ships with the set is a frosted, flexible plastic with a color-coordinated vinyl top — Instant Travel Kit!

The WRITECH Journaling Kit includes:

• 4 Dual Tip Brush Pens (2 colors in 2 different styles)
• 2 Retractable Gel Pens
• 2 Retractable Highlighters
• 1 Black Fineliner
• Pen Bag

JetPens also offers similar sampler sets but many are currently sold out. Prices for JetPens mixed pen samplers start at about $33 and include over a dozen pens (approx. $2.53 per pen). So, pricewise, the JetPens sets are comparable in price to the WRITECH set.

Reviewing the individual tools:

The waterproof liquid fineliner black ink pen will remind many pen folks of the classic Pilot Precise V5 but the nib is a bit wider at 0.4mm.

The larger brush pens feature a tapered brush-style, felt tip on one end and a small bullet tip on the other.

The smaller brush pens have a slightly smaller brush-style, felt tip on one side and a metal-housed tip on the other. The finer tip reminds me of a Marvy LePen tip.

There are also two 0.5mm gel retractable gel pens and two retractable highlighters.

In testing, the colors are light green and light aqua overal. For me, the 04 Liquid Fineliner is a bit too wide for me. The brush markers work well and have pleasantly flexible brush tips. I always think the “dual-tip” option is a nice bonus but is seldom the reason I reach for or purchase a brush pen.

I do like the retractable highlighters. I don’t think I’ve had any other retractable highlighters which seem like a good tool to be retractable.

The gel pen colors are pretty but I tend to prefer much finer tips for gel pens.

Despite the collection being made up of some of my favorite colors, I am unlikely to use the gel pens or the black liquid ink pen. The brush pens and highlighters might get some use but overall, I find that I was disappointed with the collection. So, about one-third of the tools may get used.

I’ve been color theming my planner each month so having a selection of pens in  a specific color family is a quick way to get my monthly theme started. But this set got me thinking about how I could better utilize the pens I already own. So I went through my various pen bins and re-sorted them by color.

I realized when I did this experiment I don’t have a lot of blues or purple but a massive amount of green pens. Surprised? Nope. Me either. The center container is reds, oranges, brown and yellow as my Autumn palette. These containers actually make me excited for the different seasons so that I can use them in my planner and use pens I REALLY like.

If you are just dipping your feet into bullet journaling or planning, the WRITECH kit is a quick way to acquire an array of options in a favorite color plus a black fineliner. Just be aware of what tip sizes you prefer or what your comfort level is with the brush-style pens. To be honest, I would rather collect individual pens in colors I like in the sizes I like. Though this method may lead to a few pens that aren’t to your liking, I feel like your odds of building a collection you genuinely like is much higher.

Are you a “buy the set” or “buy just the sizes and colors I like” person? I often fall for the set because I think it’s a quick way to have lots of options but after repeated disappointments with sets that offer colors I don’t want (or tip sizes, etc) I think I’m leaning towards a slower, one-a-time process.

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