If you’re going to buy needles and don’t know where to start, my advice would be to get the longest circular needle you can. In the case of this review, it’s a 47″ circular needle from the Knit Picks Options Interchangeable Needle sets. You’ll remember that I did a review of some interchangeable circulars a while back. At the time, I didn’t do the Options needles from Knit Picks. Well, the other day I was in need of some needles (yes Anne, it’s really true) and I took my own advice. I got some circulars in a 47″ length. I wasn’t planning on getting a set of interchangeables because, as you know, I don’t need them. However, when I checked out the price of getting 1 regular needle against the price of getting the Options needle and 2 cables, end caps, and a tightener, there really was no Option (pun not intended).
Yes, I bought the needles, and have discovered that the name is very appropriate – as you have a lot of Options. The first is material. I got the multicolored Harmony Wood tips as that’s what was available. They also have a nickel plated metal tip and a Zephyr Acrylic tip available as well. There is a try it first kit you can get from their website that comes with all three tip options, 2 cables, tightener, and 2 end caps. You get all this for $19.99! That’s a great bargain if you look at the price of 3 circulars on their own, and then consider that you’re getting 3! Even though individually they still come out cheaper than getting fixed circulars, you can save even more money by getting the set. The Harmony (wood) set is $84.99, the Nickel Plated (metal) set is $69.99, and the Zephyr (acrylic) is $49.99! For he quality of these needles that’s the best value I’ve seen on the ICN market.
But what about the needles themselves? Well, you can see a close up of them in the picture above. The join is smother than any I’ve found on an ICN set before. There is no crimping where the nylon cable meets the metal from the tip. The taper is gradual and fits the join perfect. Knit Picks has also opted to use a screw to attach the cables to the tips. There are pros and cons of the screw method as opposed to the twist and lock method used by some manufacturers. I’ll leave that debate untouched, but I would like to point out one thing about the screw tech used here. In order to tighten the cable to the tip, you are given a tightening tool, and there is a small hole drilled into the taper on the cable to accommodate it. I don’t know if the manufacturers realized this, but the hole is large enough to thread lace weight yarn through (you’ll have to use a floss threader though as it’s a small hole). The advantage of that is that when you’re knitting lace (or any other complex patter that might need it), you can use this to carry along a life line! I’m just saying. 🙂
I like the cable used by Knit Picks as well. The website says that they have no memory and therefore won’t kink, and I believe them. Even though the cables came wound into loops to reduce their size, I didn’t have to steam them at all. I’m using the 47″ cables and they’re dead straight. The caps provided are great to convert your cables into stitch holders. They screw onto the end of the cables just like the tips. Actually, I only have 3 criticisms about the needles I got. The tip is very sharp. While this is great for lace, you will need a little time getting used to it so you don’t split your yarns. In particular, because of the way I knit using the continental method (I push on my left needle with my right index finger), I had to let my fingers “toughen up” and get used to the points. Also, the hole mentioned above for tightening could be a little bigger to accommodate slightly thicker yarns. I know this wasn’t the original design intent, but why not kill two birds with one stone? Lastly, I didn’t see extenders. If they’re available, they need to make them more visible, and if they’re not, they should be.
Even so, there are definitely more pros than cons concerning this needle set. I think the idea of a try it first set is fantastic. And the fact that you can buy the tips individually at a reasonable price is also great. I for one ten to like wood tips for some fibers and metal for others. Since all the tips fit all the cables, you can double up on your favorite sizes and/or just have certain sizes in certain materials without having to buy more than one set. Of course, at these prices, you could almost get all three sets at the same price as one of some of the other sets out there! It might be time for you to consider your Options if you’re looking for Interchangeable needles. Here’s a link to the website – Options. If you live in Vancouver, you can try them out at Wool Is Not Enough.
Hugzzz 😎