The red color is more pink compared to the Caran d’Ache. The Bi-Color is often about $5 for ONE PENCIL and uses the color rich pigments from a company known for their artist grade pencil products.
When comparing the Red and Blue Zensations pencils to the Caran D’ache Bi-Color is a pretty unfair comparison. Being able to carry the Zensations pencil instead of the Prismacolor Col-Erase means no need to carry a sharpener or point protector.
The black pencil is similar in hardness to the Col-Erase and even kind of erasable. As such, I wanted to compare the color and softness of the Zensations Black pencil to the classic Prismacolor Col-Erase Black and the red and blue Zensations to the classic Caran D’Ache Bi-Color. I frequently use black colored pencils as an alternative to graphite as it tends to smudge less - handy tip, lefites! I also love the red/blue pencil combo and use them to highlight, underline and add details to my planner and journal.
My inclination would be to purchase the pencils individually since the cost difference is negligible and you won’t end up with the lighter, less usable colors. Even a turquoise might have made more sense. I suppose it could be considered a very cool grey but most 12-color colored pencil sets would be more likely to include a brown or sepia color and a true neutral grey over the too light peach and sage. In the 12-color set, I found the #14 sage green to be an odd choice for such a basic set. The peach color #04 was also very light and challenging to use. If you want a white colored pencil for tinting other colors or blending, go for a softer brand like Prismacolor Premier (sold individually at most art supply stores). It might be usefull for tinting darker colors but I am pretty skeptical. The white #21 pencil was not particularly useful except on dark papers and it was still pretty translucent. I really like the #05 Blue (in the set) and #16 Terra Cotta (purchased individually). Most of the darker colors (reds, blues, purple and black) were much softer and more pigment rich than the lighter colors. It a nice feature though I found that once I bent it into the stand shape, it was hard to close it back up for transport. Also, the plastic housing the set came in can be transformed into a standing pencil case for ease of use. The packaging indicated that the pencils were refillable though, at this time, I was unable to find replacement leads. Whether you want the whole set for coloring or urban sketching or you just need a couple of colors for highlighting your journal pages, the price of these pencils make it hard to pass them up. Regardless of what I say about these pencils the portability and the comfortable soft, triangular shape makes the pencils worth owning. No stabbing yourself with those wickedly sharp points! The cores advance with a click and a half-press of the knock will allow the core to be pushed back into the plastic housing for transport. The 2mm leads were hard enough to sharpen to a strong point so I was a little worried the cores might be very hard. The pencils come with blunt tips but a 2mm lead pointer made these wickedly sharp. I know that, at this price point, the quality of the cores may not be as high as pencils sold directly to the art market but I had never seen 2mm mechanical colored pencils so I couldn’t resist trying them. The cost for these softly-rounded triangular, plastic, click-advance colored pencils was too good to pass up. Wonder Fair stocks the set of 12 ($11.76) as well as individual pencils ($0.90 each). I visited Wonder Fair in Lawrence, KS this weekend and was delighted to find the new Zebra Zensations 2mm mechanical colored pencils.
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