Comparing soft pastel brands - Rembrandt, Koh-i-noor, Jackson's and Sennelier

I have used pastels in the past and it is a medium I would like to experiment more with, specially for plein air. I have bought years ago a smaller set of Rembrant pastels (80) and another set of koh-i-noor pastels (48). These make up a good initial set of pastels, but they are both what's called a medium pastel - in between a soft and hard pastel.

So I have been curious to try out more soft pastels, but usually the prices discourage me. Of the most popular brands Sennelier is the most affordable - Unison, Schmincke, and so on, are a lot more expensive. Turns out Jackson's produces its own handmade soft pastels, which are more affordable than the other mentioned brands.

The Rembrant pastels are the hardest, as it can be seen in the image above, they are much more difficult to smudge then the remaining three. I would say the next in terms of softness are the koh-i-noor. These are in the same price range of the Rembrants, but they have the downside of not being sold open-stock and have a limited palette (maximum available are 72 colors).

The softest and most pigmented are without a doubt the Sennelier, but the Jackson's pastels come quite close in terms of softness and pigment. I would say also that they are quite close in terms of pricing: the Jackson's retail for 2.10£ and the Sennelier for 2.70£. So if I would consider a set to have long term, I would go with the Sennelier.

Since I am considering pastels more for plein air painting/sketching I think I will probably test out a set from Jackson's to begin with, since they are more affordable.

I have also acquired recently a sturdy pastel box, also from Jackson's, it has made all the difference in organizing my pastels and now I actually have the storage to get more pastels if I want to. I have liked it so much I am considering acquiring one for my oil pastels.

For more on comparisons between pastel brands and pastel storage, follow these links: Pastel info by Lindsay Weirich and Pastel Storage Solution by Jason Morgan. You will find more information easily, but these two resume the most essential points.

Thanks for stopping by!