Stabilo Boss: the daddy of all highlighters! (Stabilo Boss Highlighter)

Member Name: gemzeh

Product:	Stabilo Boss Highlighter
Date:	17/01/09 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 9 colours, long lasting, easy to grip, make revision so much more fun!

Disadvantages: Can be more expensive than other (lesser) highlighters

Stabilo Boss highlighters are probably the most popular and well-known highlighters in the UK, and every office I have ever worked in has always stocked these due to the strength and reputation of the brand. I use Stabilo Boss highlighters all the time in my job, as I struggle to make sense of finance documents and mind-boggling spreadsheets. Essentially, I use them to either make things look more interesting, or to make sure certain lines of figures or text stand out from the page.

Are they easy to get hold of?

If you don't have access to an office cupboard full of these things, then you can always head down to your local stationery shop to track these down. Stabilo Boss highlighters are stocked at WH Smith, Rymans and Staples. Once in a stationery shop, it's pretty easy to find the Stabilo Boss highlighters as they will be with the other pens, and are in a see through pack. Stabilo Boss highlighters can also be easily found online, including at http://www.cultpens.com. Prices of the pens vary depending on the amount you buy, but each original highlighter is about £1 per pen.

Are they any good?

I've used a variety of highlighters over the years, and have to say that Stabilo Boss are the best brand I have used. They don't always make the most gimmicky highlighter pens (such as two colours in one pen), but they do tend to make highlighters of the best standard. Each pen is nice and chunky, which makes them really easy and comfortable to grip in your hand. They are also of a good length, which also makes them really easy to hold as they sit snugly in your hand. This means you can get up to speed when you're highlighting! (They do, however, come in a smaller version if you want a mini highlighter, but although these safe space in my bag, I don't like them as much. They're not as easy to hold and it takes me a bit longer to go through documents).
The best thing about them though is the large variety of colours available, and the brightness of these colours. They come in 9 different colours, which I find particularly useful at the moment, as I'm revising for a course, and the material is ever so dry (project management...). The different colours mean I can colour code 9 different topics in the book to make it easier for one of the exams, which is an open book exam. They also really help me to jazz up the book (which, incidentally, is ever so dull to just look at, let alone read), as it is just black and white, and when there are more colours over the page, I find things easier and more fun to read. The colour produced by the highlighters is also really bold and bright, and it washes off clothes too! The tip of the pen is also quite thick, which means that if you're highlighting something, you only have to go over it with one stroke of the pen. Other highlighters I have used have tended to be spindlier, which is irritating; as you have to keep going back over something a few times to properly highlight it! The colour also tends to last longer than other highlighters, making this the only highlighter for me!

But they look quite expensive?

These pens do tend to cost a bit more than other highlighters, but I think they are worth the money. I've had some Stabilo Boss highlighters for a few years that I use quite regularly, and they show no signs of running out. In the meantime, other highlighters have come and gone, and they just aren't as good as Stabilo Boss ones. Therefore if you spend the money on these, it should work out as really good value in the long run.

Summary: If you need to make something more interesting, jazz it up with these bad boys!