I’m only just learning watercolor painting; however, it’s been highly stressed that we shouldn’t skimp out and should buy high quality materials, even as a newbie. I have used really cheap materials as a kid, so just like everyone else, you know that brushes fray and don’t hold their shape, the paints are really opaque and chalky, etc. A good quality brush isn’t even a comparison.I can’t tell you how this compares to extremely expensive brushes, but I can tell you that it feels nice to paint with. There are no loose hairs and it holds watercolor paint nicely. I also have some other Silver brushes that I’m used to, and they’re great to work with. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with this brand or even this brush, specifically.