Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pens - A Review

My sister bought me a pack of Paper Mate Flair felt tip pens for Christmas last year, and I have used them so much since that I thought it was high time I did a review of them here on the Tin Teddy Blog.

The pack I have is 16 pens, in the medium nib size (.7mm). The colour selection is called “Vivid Colours”.

Paper Mate have been famous for their quality pens since the 1940s. I am already a big fan of their InkJoy ball point pens, so had high hopes for these attractive felt pens.

Beautiful Colours

I particularly like the colour range in the pack I have (the 16 pack called Vivid Colours).  As well as the basics such as primary red, navy blue and black, there are some really lovely colours.  My favourite has to be the soft lilac, closely followed by the hot pink!  These get a lot of use in my journals.

The pens are coloured all over to match the colour of the ink. This is a decent match, especially compared to many pens.

Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pens - Vivid Colours Set

My packet says there are 32 available colours.

I particularly like the look of the beautiful pastel sets available – pastel felt pens are harder to find than bold colours and are so nice to work with in a journal.

Long Lasting and Quality Build

I have been using these pens in my planner and various journals for the past 7 months and none has run out yet.  They write smoothly and are well balanced and comfortable to hold.  The nibs are firm enough to write well with, but smooth and not scritchy in any way.

My pens have the .7mm medium sized nibs. They are also available with am ultra fine nib of .4 mm.

The nibs are not soft enough, or long enough, to use for proper brush style modern calligraphy, but are perfect for standard writing styles.

The lids fit on with a satisfying click and can be placed on the opposite end whilst using the pen – always handy.

Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pens - the nib

There is a silver coloured clip with the famous Paper Mate two hearts logo on it.

I have kept my pens in the plastic pack that they came in rather than putting them in a pencil case as I usually do.  They are convenient like this and the pack opens nicely to allow easy access to the various colours.

“Won’t Bleed Through Paper”

This declaration is on the front of the packet.  There are few things as annoying as writing a page in a journal, or colouring something in, then to find that the ink has seeped through the page and spoilt the other side of it.. or even worse gone right through to the next page.

So do the Paper Mate Flairs live up to their claim?

I have been using the Flairs in a Filofax brand planner, with no bleed through at all.  I have also used them on various other types of paper – and whilst the ink is just about visible with very thin papers, it is still very impressive.

Here are pictures of the front and back when writing with a Paper Mate Flair pen on 70 gsm (thin) notebook paper….

Testing Flairs on 70 gsm notebook paper

and on cheap copier paper. Here you can see the ink, but could easily write over it.

Testing Flairs on cheap copier paper

 

Summary

I own a LOT of felt tip pens, but these are definitely my go-to pens for journaling and planner work.

They live up to their claim of not bleeding, which means I can write, doodle and colour without worrying.

The colours are vivid and consisitent and there is a useful range included.

The build quality of the pens is excellent. They are comfortable to use and are smooth and pleasant to write with.

The Paper Mate Flair felt tip pens are, in my opinion, a great pen for writing in journals and planners, as well as for doodling and colouring.  They would make a great addition to any bullet journal supply bag.

Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pens - Back of Box

Links to Supplies of Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pens

Here are some links to the products mentioned on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. If you buy from any of these links, I may receive a small commission from the shop for sending custom their way. This is at no cost to yourself. Thank you.

From Amazon.com

From Amazon.co.uk

For fancy calligraphy and colouring I also use Tombow Dual Brush Marker pens.  Check out my review of those here, on the Tin Teddy Blog.

Tombow Brush Markers - a Review

 

Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pens – the perfect journalling pen?
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