The research for this review was in fact, completed weeks ago by our family. We spent an evening testing out various brands and colors of crayons. I have not posted the review yet because I was waiting for a time where D and the boys could add their contributions. I have decided, therefore, to post this blog in two parts, and I am starting with mine.
Four brands of crayons were involved in this review. They are, in alphabetical order: Crayola, Pentech UltraColor, Prang and RoseArt.
Let me start with Crayola. I have to admit that I have always had a soft spot for these crayons that were the crayons of my childhood. However, I wanted to keep an open mind, because although I love Crayola, they are also the most expensive of crayons, and if some other brand were just as good, I may as well save some money.
Crayolas when compared with the other brands of crayons did not disappoint. I found the colors to be true, as well as vibrant with a nice coverage and the crayons held up well. The tips did not wear down as quickly as some of the other brands. The color names were simple, and easy to read. They were also written in three languages, which I found to be somewhat unnecessary, yet educational. Made in the U.S.A.
Overall I give crayola a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars, the half star demerit being given because of their price.
Next we have RoseArt. The color was quite similar to Crayola, although I did not find them to be richer in color as their package implies. RoseArt crayons also held up well and did not wear down as quickly as other brands. The coloring was fairly smooth, although there was one major flaw in them. I noticed a tendency for streaks with the RoseArt crayons when coloring something in solidly. The streaking tended to be a dark color that was not exactly the shade of the crayon, as if the colors weren't blended well enough in the crayon itself. The names of the colors were easy to read, and printed in bolder, larger letters. The names were also only in English, and each crayon wrapper states made in the U.S.A instead of it only being on the box. These are Patriotic Crayons.
Overall I give RoseArt 4 out of 5 stars. I always took RoseArt to be much less of a crayon than Crayola, but in comparison with the other two brands, RoseArt does surprisingly well. I have changed my opinion of them as a crayon in general and find them to be a suitable second choice when Crayola is unavailable, and a suitable first choice if price is the deciding factor and care is taken when coloring to avoid the streaking.
Coming in third we have Prang. First the positives, Prang felt smooth when coloring and had nice coverage. However, the colors were somewhat muted and lacked vibrancy. Also they were a softer crayon (thus the smooth feeling when using them) and therefore the tips wore down quicker, and the edges of the coloring were not as defined. Prang crayons also have the educational three languages printed on them, but the French and Spanish color names are printed next to each other and add some confusion. Made in Mexico with the word Mexico printed on each crayon (and yet still generally expensive.)
Prang gets 2 1/2 out of 5 stars. The smooth coverage is simply done in by the dull colors and lack of line definition. Of course, if they are on sale, and they are not being bought for a picky person, then by all means, pick some up.
Last and surely least we have Pentech UltraColor. The other three brands came in boxes of 24 crayons, and the UltraColors were a box of 64. In all fairness it was likely the presence of a greater selection of crayons that added to our confusion in trying to find familiar colors in the box. Once found, however, the colors were not true, and were less than ultra. The colors looked faded, and were not easily recognizable in the crayon itself. This meant that when looking for a red crayon we pulled out other colors that looked more red first. Colors with horrifying names like pinkleberry as well as mauve, rose, cranberry and raspberry before taking the last red color offered (which looked more like a variety of orange) and finding it to be red. Worse yet, the UltraColors had blatant lies on the package including these three statements.
SMOOTHER! LEANER LINES!, BRIGHTER! RICHER COLOR!, and STRONGER! WRAPPED 2x! And on the back of the package it says "The vividness of UltraColor crayons makes coloring exciting! Each UltraColor has more color and goes on smoother with better coverage than the average crayon. PLUS! Each UltraColor crayon is wrapped 2x in extra strong paper to increase its strength and durability, prolonging the life of the crayon."
Lies, lies, LIES! The crayons were not smooth even though they were soft. They tended to streak as well as to leave more bits of crayons on the paper (like the bits that erasers leave when you erase something, giving you the urge to constantly sweep off the paper) I also noticed that the more you try to shade something in darker, the more likely it was that your crayon would actually strip off the color you had already put on, leaving white spots. The colors were dull and not accurate, and definitely NOT richer. And the double wrapping (which by the way is also a standard feature of Crayola and Rose Art) did not save the crayons from being broken. In fact, this brand was the only crayon we reviewed that was broken during the process. If this crayon is smoother and has better color than the average crayon, as they state, then they must be referring to crayons in china, which is where these crayons are made.
These crayons get a rating of 1 out of 5 stars from me, and they get the one star only because they are, in fact, actual crayons and they color.
I would like to make a side note that we are all reviewing these crayons based on our own personal preferences and thoughts. My husband's review is much more in depth and scientific than my own, (which is not surprising because he is a more in depth and scientific person than I am). As for the boys, who may or may not choose to share their reviews, our 6 year old T picked UltraColors as his favorite, in spite of the fact that they kept breaking for him, and that the colors sucked in almost every way. He was won over by the color names such as Pinkleberry, Mint Ice Cream and Blue Lightning, as well as the name UltraColor itself which begs to be said in a superhero announcer voice. I suppose that Pentech should be given points for their marketing ability in choosing the name UltraColor to appeal to people. I did notice, however that their own brand name of Pentech only appears in very small print in an inconspicuous place, almost as if they are ashamed.
Four brands of crayons were involved in this review. They are, in alphabetical order: Crayola, Pentech UltraColor, Prang and RoseArt.
Let me start with Crayola. I have to admit that I have always had a soft spot for these crayons that were the crayons of my childhood. However, I wanted to keep an open mind, because although I love Crayola, they are also the most expensive of crayons, and if some other brand were just as good, I may as well save some money.
Crayolas when compared with the other brands of crayons did not disappoint. I found the colors to be true, as well as vibrant with a nice coverage and the crayons held up well. The tips did not wear down as quickly as some of the other brands. The color names were simple, and easy to read. They were also written in three languages, which I found to be somewhat unnecessary, yet educational. Made in the U.S.A.
Overall I give crayola a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars, the half star demerit being given because of their price.
Next we have RoseArt. The color was quite similar to Crayola, although I did not find them to be richer in color as their package implies. RoseArt crayons also held up well and did not wear down as quickly as other brands. The coloring was fairly smooth, although there was one major flaw in them. I noticed a tendency for streaks with the RoseArt crayons when coloring something in solidly. The streaking tended to be a dark color that was not exactly the shade of the crayon, as if the colors weren't blended well enough in the crayon itself. The names of the colors were easy to read, and printed in bolder, larger letters. The names were also only in English, and each crayon wrapper states made in the U.S.A instead of it only being on the box. These are Patriotic Crayons.
Overall I give RoseArt 4 out of 5 stars. I always took RoseArt to be much less of a crayon than Crayola, but in comparison with the other two brands, RoseArt does surprisingly well. I have changed my opinion of them as a crayon in general and find them to be a suitable second choice when Crayola is unavailable, and a suitable first choice if price is the deciding factor and care is taken when coloring to avoid the streaking.
Coming in third we have Prang. First the positives, Prang felt smooth when coloring and had nice coverage. However, the colors were somewhat muted and lacked vibrancy. Also they were a softer crayon (thus the smooth feeling when using them) and therefore the tips wore down quicker, and the edges of the coloring were not as defined. Prang crayons also have the educational three languages printed on them, but the French and Spanish color names are printed next to each other and add some confusion. Made in Mexico with the word Mexico printed on each crayon (and yet still generally expensive.)
Prang gets 2 1/2 out of 5 stars. The smooth coverage is simply done in by the dull colors and lack of line definition. Of course, if they are on sale, and they are not being bought for a picky person, then by all means, pick some up.
Last and surely least we have Pentech UltraColor. The other three brands came in boxes of 24 crayons, and the UltraColors were a box of 64. In all fairness it was likely the presence of a greater selection of crayons that added to our confusion in trying to find familiar colors in the box. Once found, however, the colors were not true, and were less than ultra. The colors looked faded, and were not easily recognizable in the crayon itself. This meant that when looking for a red crayon we pulled out other colors that looked more red first. Colors with horrifying names like pinkleberry as well as mauve, rose, cranberry and raspberry before taking the last red color offered (which looked more like a variety of orange) and finding it to be red. Worse yet, the UltraColors had blatant lies on the package including these three statements.
SMOOTHER! LEANER LINES!, BRIGHTER! RICHER COLOR!, and STRONGER! WRAPPED 2x! And on the back of the package it says "The vividness of UltraColor crayons makes coloring exciting! Each UltraColor has more color and goes on smoother with better coverage than the average crayon. PLUS! Each UltraColor crayon is wrapped 2x in extra strong paper to increase its strength and durability, prolonging the life of the crayon."
Lies, lies, LIES! The crayons were not smooth even though they were soft. They tended to streak as well as to leave more bits of crayons on the paper (like the bits that erasers leave when you erase something, giving you the urge to constantly sweep off the paper) I also noticed that the more you try to shade something in darker, the more likely it was that your crayon would actually strip off the color you had already put on, leaving white spots. The colors were dull and not accurate, and definitely NOT richer. And the double wrapping (which by the way is also a standard feature of Crayola and Rose Art) did not save the crayons from being broken. In fact, this brand was the only crayon we reviewed that was broken during the process. If this crayon is smoother and has better color than the average crayon, as they state, then they must be referring to crayons in china, which is where these crayons are made.
These crayons get a rating of 1 out of 5 stars from me, and they get the one star only because they are, in fact, actual crayons and they color.
I would like to make a side note that we are all reviewing these crayons based on our own personal preferences and thoughts. My husband's review is much more in depth and scientific than my own, (which is not surprising because he is a more in depth and scientific person than I am). As for the boys, who may or may not choose to share their reviews, our 6 year old T picked UltraColors as his favorite, in spite of the fact that they kept breaking for him, and that the colors sucked in almost every way. He was won over by the color names such as Pinkleberry, Mint Ice Cream and Blue Lightning, as well as the name UltraColor itself which begs to be said in a superhero announcer voice. I suppose that Pentech should be given points for their marketing ability in choosing the name UltraColor to appeal to people. I did notice, however that their own brand name of Pentech only appears in very small print in an inconspicuous place, almost as if they are ashamed.
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