Kolinsky Travel Watercolour Brushes Sable Hair Round Watercolour Paint Brush 4Pcs Travel Brushes Set Portable Compact Artist Brushes with Pocket for Art Painting Gouache Acrylic Painting Oil Painting

Given the price, I was skeptical, but the gamble paid off. I got this set on sale for less than £16 - but even the usual price is exceptional value for money.I half expected them to be synthetic, with a dodgy fit and finish, and horribly balanced. I was shocked - because they appear and feel to be genuine sable. If they are in fact synthetic, the manufacturer must have some market-leading technology - because they behave exactly like kolinsky sable.They're brilliant to paint with - they hold a lot of water, are butter soft and still retain a point. They also look great, the wooden handle has a lovely grain and is nicely varnished.To list a negative, it would be that fit and finish isn't 100% - though it's pretty close. There are some minor flaws in the metal and one of the brushes has a ferrule that's not perfectly in line with the handle. But these still get five stars because they don't impact on the use, they still look great - and given the price, I'm amazed they're as good as they are.I can't believe these are being sold for around £20. The only explanation is that the animal which kolinsky sable comes from is native to parts of China - so it's readily available and thus quite cheap to get hold of.I have a no.4 Da Vinci kolinsky sable travel brush that cost as much as this entire set. To replace this set with Da Vinci sable would cost about £160. Could I say those brushes are £140 better? Honestly? No.I also can't believe some reviewers are complaining about the carry case. It doesn't look cheap at all. I suspect it's 'genuine leather' - in that it's lesser grade leather. But it's well put together and it looks really smart. The three brushes for this price are barely believable - the case is just a bonus.

Brushes arrived promptly.The range of size and shape of brushes gives a useful variety of mark making.Brushes have a good hand feel in use with the longer handles fitted. Important to reset the brush shape after washing out, and push carefully into holder to avoid bending bristles the wrong way before screwing the holder back in place. The fit of the holder is reasonably broad to allow for this. It is useful to have the small, neat pouch to carry the brushes together for out and about painting/sketching.

Couldn’t endorse this brush more, it’s doing its work as it should be. Great at holding water and pigment.

These are very portable and work well with watercolour paints. I took these with me abroad and they take no space at all. One fixing the base and brush together, it does become longer than expected. I’m used to using slightly shorter brushes but still works well. The brushes are soft and hold enough product. Easy to assemble and dissemble and comes with a handy carry case. Would recommend.

Thus portable kit is perfect for painting on the go! Really easy to set up and use, nice weight for holding. The only problem I have found is that it's a little tricky to put them back together without bending the bristles, so I damp them a little to put them away.

I was a bit dubious that these brushes would be low quality given their competitive price, but I have been very impressed at how well they perform !They have a nice point and hold the amount of paint or water I would hope for.The handles have a screw fastening which works to both the retain & protect the brush ends when you put them away and when you use the metal end to form the handle. So it feels very secure as you are painting.The 3 sizes are sufficiently different to give you a good range from small and precise, mid-sized with a fine tip to a wider stroke.So far they are as good as my more expensive Escoda travel brushes, so hopefully they will have been a good buy ! Great value and handy to just pop in a bag for travelling.

For the price they are amazing value. Look well made and good to use. Highly recommended. Will they last as long as premium brushes? Who knows.

This was bought as a gift and the recipient rated it as excellent quality and was really pleased with it.