Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starslower-cost alternative to Sharpies
Reviewed in Canada on December 28, 2020
I already have a lot of colors of Sharpie Ultra Fine, and this 30-color set offers a few new colors, at a lower cost per marker. Like Sharpies, these write on glass, metal, and plastic without smudging off once dried (they dry in a few seconds). These have an alcohol smell which I find less unpleasant than the strong pungent smell of Sharpies. The barrel and caps are not a mere copy of Sharpie Ultra Fines, they are a slightly different design. Don't discard the clear plastic, recloseable envelope box these come in - it's the perfect storage for them.
Are these as good as Sharpie Ultra Fine? Some colors are as rich as Sharpies, but other colors are faint - it seems some colors are intended to be pale, but it might also be that the ink flow is weak on some. Overall the ink is more liquidy and flowy than Sharpie...the ink will sometimes even bleed under the ruler, if you're using one. I've had a few markers leak a bit (just a bit) under the cap when not in use - have to wipe with a tissue before using. So the quality of ink delivery is not up to Sharpie. Depending on your purposes, these markers might be crappy, or they might be perfectly acceptable.
A few thoughts on the color selection in this set (see my color samples in this review)...
-it's a diverse range of colors with especially lots of greens, blues , purples and pinks, but short on yellows (only one yellow plus the very bright yellow-green)
-brown, crimson and dark magenta (3 different colors) all have almost identical cap colors
-includes a neat burnt orange color, a greenish-brown, a light lilac (similar to Sharpie Lilac), and 3 greys
-this set doesn't have anything similar to Sharpie's Almond color, Peach, or Navy (blackish-blue)