I am sure you have considered buying an interchangeable knitting needle set. Maybe you already own one. It’s certainly one of the most important knitting tools and the advantages are many: Instead of buying a new pair of needles for every new project, you can use the very same set every time and adjust the needle size and cord length according to your preferences and the requirements of the pattern. One needle set may give you up to 500 different combinations. That being said, you can sort of massage the kinks out in all cases. Putting the cables into hot water also helps to straighten them out/ get rid of the memory effect. What I have no way of really testing is how durable the “fixed” kink is in the long run. I would assume it does indeed damage the plastic a lot more structurally, which cannot be fixed, while the metal wire is less prone to break at that point. Then again, if that theory held true, probably the coating would break, which would be equally as bad, I guess. Those, however, are just guesses. In all my years of knitting, a cable never snapped. Let’s talk about the sets as a whole. In all fairness, I have to mention that my Knitter’s Pride set is some 10 years old now, and I only bought replacement needles in the meantime. But other than the fancy wooden box, the content is, as far as I can see, still the same: Knitter’s Pride The contents of my Knitter’s Pride Nova Platina deluxe set with a standard set in a plastic pouch below We carry different sets and interchangeable needle accessories from brands like Drops, Knitpro,Pony, and Addi for ultimate precision and ease of use. Each of these brands boasts its own patented interchangeable systems that give the cables and the needles a strong, seamless join. HiyaHiya interchangeable knitting needles do have screws at the other end as well, but you get a rubber patch as well. In addition, you get quite a lot of extenders . I really love the concept of their needle extenders. You can easily turn a 5″ needle into a 6″ needle, etc. So, how cool is that? (these adapters are only part of the large sets and not the small sets, but can be bought separately). Their regular cable adaptors don’t have a hole for the pins, though – unlike the ChiaoGoo adapters. Cable stoppers: ChiaoGoo, Knitter’s Pride, addi

This complete collection doesn’t just include various sets with multiple interchangeable needles and removable cables, it also includes individual removable parts that you can keep adding to your collection as you keep moving to different kinds of projects. Here you’ll find single pairs of needle tips, cables, cable extenders, cable stops and more, all in different materials, sizes, and lengths. Addi, being the longest off the lot, could be a nice option for men with bigger hands. A close look at the material & quality of the interchangeable needle tipsI also won’t be comparing any of the cheaper brands (etc.) because I had such bad experiences with these needles in the past. Any maker will be able to assure you that their tools are one of the most important aspects of their trade and quality shows. All four brands produce in stainless steel, though Knitter’s Pride needles are chrome plated (they also offer the mindful collection needles in pure stainless steel), and addi uses white bronze to galvanize their needles to perfection, with a thin copper layer in between. And HiyaHiya seems to produce the screws in bronze (?). As a result,

All four needles are very light. The 5mm needles were all in the same range. ChiaoGoo & HiyaHiya weighs ~8 grams, while Knitters Pride is 9, and addi 10 are grams. Considering that your yarn/project will be considerably heavier, you will not really notice these needles – even for the bigger sizes.Addi offers quality made in Germany, but you clearly pay for it. I do have to say, that the needles are quite a bit cheaper here in Germany (so it probably has to do with import tariffs). ChiaoGoo and HiyaHiya are basically the same prices, while Knitter’s Pride clearly is the most affordable option of them all. Bottom Line: Which interchangeable needle set is the best? Knitter’s Pride has the shortest tapered tip, the longest end, and the best transitions without “kinks”. I always felt this allowed for pretty seamless and fast knitting as your project will easily slide along. That being said, if you frequently knit with big needle sizes (like these 5.5/6.0 mm needles), the longer tapered end ChiaoGoo and addi offers, can be a nice advantage for lace patterns. I discovered your blog a few days ago when I wanted to revise Magic Loop knitting. I found your blog and was very impressed with the clarity of it. I have to admit, I prefer text tutorials to video, as I find them much clearer. With the magic loop technique, you are also set for most circular projects with a very small diameter. You also get the most cables in the ChiaoGoo set, while addi sadly only adds 3 cables. So, if you have a lot of different works in progress, you might have to buy some spares.

Both offer needle adaptors to make those small cables work for the bigger sizes. But a) this means buying these adaptors b) it doesn’t work the other way round (from big to small) and c) this means another join (read: weak link) in your needles. Price That being said, ChiaoGoo clearly offers the broadest range of knitting needles. HiyaHiya is pretty similar, and one could say their needle extenders make it even more versatile (though CG offers them as well), but their small system only goes down to 2mm, while CG goes down to US OOO / 1.5mm. You can buy smaller and bigger needles for Knitter’s Pride and addi as well. But it does have to be mentioned that none of them go down to 2.75 mm / US 2 needles or lower. Anyway, about this article, I discovered Knitpro (Knitter’s Pride) interchangable needles a few years ago and love them. I use the Nova tips which I am still building a collection of. Yes, they do undo occasionally, however, for the ease of knitting with them, that is a small price to pay. If somebody took away all my ChiaoGoos and handed me a gift certificate for the replacement of my choice, cost no object, I’d buy the same sets all over again, with the possible exception of the bamboo Spin set. I can’t remember when I last used the nylon cables (other than as stitch holders on a hibernating project), and I rarely use the bamboo needles, but then again sometimes you want a less slippery needle, so even those are useful.

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I do have to say, that Knitter’s Pride does have the strongest connection, though. I am always having “problems” unscrewing them – that never happens to me with ChiaoGoo. But that’s actually quite noteworthy, because the easier they unscrew, the easier it can happen accidentally. HiyaHiya usually is pretty damn tight as well, though weirdly enough, some needles have a problem with their screws. Hi, Norman. Nice comparison article. I have only used the other brands of interchangeable needles for a few minutes at a fiber event, just to try them out (not counting a truly vintage Boye set I learned on), so I can’t speak to them, but I do have some remarks on the ChiaoGoo interchangeables. Addi, on the other hand, has quite the big step, but it’s somewhat tapered, so it works remarkably well in action and never runs the risk of the yarn getting trapped in between the gap. Tight knitters WILL notice it, however, as they push stitches from the cable onto the needle. I’d definitely say the other three brands are better in that regard. It does have to be noticed, however, that Knitter’s Pride offers the overall smoothest transition between the main part of the needle and the cable. The other brands all have multiple sections where the needles get wider bit by bit. How tight is the join The HiyaHiya cables are pretty similar to the addi cables but even thinner yet. They are also very flexible. There is a strong memory effect, but they are equally well suited for magic loop in my opinion. I always feel the cable is a tiny bit too flimsy, and I do believe HiyaHiya has the worst connection to the cables. Bending characteristics When you turn to lace, or you are an English knitter/thrower, then things can look quite different. Here, you might actually enjoy the bonus friction, as it prevents your needles from sliding out of those stitches. Knitting noises

Getting a 4″ HiyaHiya set and working with the needle extenders might offer you the greatest variability if you are knitting projects with diverse needle requirements (small circumference circular projects, big lace shawls, etc). The only set available at the time of doing this test was a smaller lace set, which only came with 8 needles ( 2.75 mm to 5 mm), 4 cables, 2 connectors, 1 pin, 2 rubber patches, and quite a nice needle size card. You have said exactly what was running through my mind, as I read this review! I have even bought the fabric and designed my custom case. Great Minds thinking alike 🙂 Interchangeable needles work by screwing the end of the flexible cable into the needle tips, tightening with the cable key to ensure the cables don't come undone during knitting. Smooth joins enable stitches to slide easily from tip to cable. Typically 9 needles from US 4 (3.5mm) to US 16 (8.00mm), 4 cables, 8 cable stoppers, 4 cable keys, usually a very simple plastic sleeve, though deluxe editions are available (note: mine has only 8). ChiaoGoo The contents of my large ChiaoGoo 5″ lace setSo, for knitting lace, it works like a charm. For the (traveling) magic loop technique, the cable is sadly not really flexible enough. While it does work, I don’t think it’s ideal here. Here, you might have to buy some spare plastic cables. Addi cable My dad always told me “buy cheap stuff, and you’ll buy twice”. While there are certainly exceptions, I found that adage to be remarkably close to the truth. The last thing you want is a broken needle/cable on a live project. The ChiaoGoo twist red lace cable is the only coated steel wire cable and the heaviest of the lot. It still only weighs a couple of grams, but as we are looking and minor differences between the different interchangeable knitting needle sets to begin with, I felt like mentioning this. On the plus side, this cable has zero memory effect and it basically never curls up. I also like being able to switch to their Cubics tips when I need to. I’ve had both carpal-tunnel and tendonitis problems in the past. I know now as soon as symptoms appear to start doing appropriate exercises again and switch to Cubics until pain and discomfort are gone. Reply These sets ARE expensive. So, only worth it for intermediate knitters who really make use of the full possibilities of a set. If you only ever knit with 3mm / US 3 needles, you really don’t need the full set.