Tombow TwinTones

I bought a set of six rainbow Tombow Twintones a few weeks ago thinking they were brush pens like the Tombow Fudenosuke as they also make dual brush pens. Actually, Twintones are markers with different sized fiber tips on each end; the wider one is 0.8 mm and the extra-fine is 0.3 mm. They write smoothly creating sharp, clear lines. With bold letters the package says “Won’t bleed through paper!” and that indeed appears to be true.

The ink is dye and water-based and there was very little smudging when I wet the paper. The caps are snug, but not interchangeable. The cap on the fine-tip end has a clip on it.

The rainbow package comes in six bright colours; Violet, French Blue, Yellow Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red.

Of course, Twintones aren’t the only doubled-ended markers out there. I have a couple ZIG Memory Writers made by Kuretake. It’s another long-established Japanese company (started in 1902, Kuretake is nine years older than Tombow). Their catchy slogan is “Reconnect to sentiment by returning to analog, create with emotion, not calculation”. The ZIG tips are a bit larger than the Twintones with the very fine pointed plastic nib just 0.5 mm while the larger bullet-shaped fiber nib is 1.2 mm.

I did some comparisons using the Kuretake ZIG, as well as a Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pen (0.3mm), and a Crayola fine tip marker. Basically it comes down to preference, both in line weight and pen size, as well as what your budget allows.

Comparison between the extra-fine tips of the Twintone, Staedtler Triplus Fineliner, and Kuretake ZIG Memory Writer.

Comparison between the bullet tips of the Twintone, Kuretake ZIG Memory Writer, and Crayola fine tip marker.

If Tombow Twintones were people they would be tidy, talented, and wear terrific, tight-fitting tops.