The manufacturing process has not changed all that much over the years: individual colour pigments are still mixed with binding agents and pressed into the shape of a lead. We do wish that they would also include the color name or at least a color code for easy identification. There is no pigment name printed on the barrel or in any color chart that I can find, so perhaps creating your own color swatch with the pencils might be a good idea. I am sure most of you have heard of the anti breaking systems in vehicles, well, now the same system is in pencils, well, not quite.

ergosoft® 157 - Coloured pencil | STAEDTLER ergosoft® 157 - Coloured pencil | STAEDTLER

As parents, and I've been guilty of this in the past myself, money is obviously important and so the five free colored pencils that come with the coloring book, will be enough. These coloured pencils therefore also feature ABS, the white protective coating around the lead that increases break-resistance. Thanks to its triangular shape, the pencil sits comfortably in the hand ensuring relaxed and easy coloring. Over 180 years ago, Johann Sebastian Staedtler developed the colored oil pastel pencil, the predecessor of the colored pencil.This is a wonderful system to have in place considering the Staedtler Ergosoft is primarily aimed at the school demographic. The barrels triangular form does not hinder the pencils sharpening ability at all, the Ergosoft sharpens perfectly with all four of the sharpeners I used, I will say however, when using the hand crank sharpeners, for the first couple of turns, when the pencil is brand new, you can feel the sharpener try to grip the pencil. When starting to colour, children often press down too hard as their sensitivity to pressure is not yet fully developed. The individual pencils have a name field so classmates don’t get their pencil mixed up with another’s.

Staedtler Ergosoft Colored Pencils Review Staedtler Ergosoft Colored Pencils Review

Coloured pencils in triangular format, such as our STAEDTLER ergosoft or STAEDTLER ergosoft jumbo in lots of bright colours.

Either way, whoever uses them will know that they have a product that is going to last through many cycles of use, no matter how demanding they may be. With regards to blending, a little bit more work is needed, but never the less, blending is absolutely possible both dry and using OMS.