In my commitment to being a regular journaler, I have been adding some markers to my collection that will fill in gaps in my color ranges for my journal headers. I got the Tombow Dual Brush Pen Cottage Collection (10 Pen Set for $27) because it looked like a good opportunity to add colors I will like and a chance to use Tombow Dual Brush Pens a bit more.
The Tombow Dual Brush Pens have a flexible fiber brush tip on one end and a bullet-shaped tip on the other. The brush tip will allow for variable line widths when writing and the bullet tip will provide a monoline when needed.
I find the brush tip to be a medium flexible tip. To get the best range of strokes, a light hand will have better luck and blending light strokes with heavier strokes will have the greatest variety. In that regard, the brush tips can take a bit of experimentation and practice.
The bullet tips are easier for first time users. They are probably comparable to a 1.0mm felt tip or larger so they are not designed for fine details but will be good for adding headers to a bullet journal or underlining.
All the colors are listed by a number designation only. The set included two green, two orange, a beige, a pale ivory, a blue, a pink, burgundy and a deep plum purple (almost black) pens. For the most part, I found the 910 ivory unusable for my purposes. If I were planning to use these pens for more drawing or art purposes, I might find it more useful but for writing purposes, it’s too light to really be useable for me. It might be useful as a blender if I want to try blending the colors of my pens… maybe? Something to consider. The other colors I think will be useful. The colors are a bit muted in tone and less expected than a lot of boxed pen sets. I don’t get “crayola” vibes from these colors at all. They feel more complex and intersting.
My favorite colors are the greens (192 and 312), pink (772) and the burgundy (757). I think the oranges are a much needed citrus pop in my pen collection and will probably be used in the late summer and early fall. I even like the brownish tan (992) as it has a tea/coffee or fallen leaves vibe.
Overall, the color range is to my liking for sure though I’m not sure that I would describe it as “cottagecore” though I’m not sure what colors would be in a cottage palette anyway. I just liked that the colors were more sophisticated and less primary than a lot of the pen sets available. I remain disappointed about the 910 color and think another blue or gray would have been preferred for usability.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
