I own and have used almost every type of interchangeable needle set, from square to round, from carbon fiber to wood, from standard length to shorties. And many of these sets of needles, over my many decades of knitting, have been put to heavy use.

The biggest difference? Durability.

Yes. Knitting needles DO wear out. They break, bend, dent or become unusable in some other way. Some much more often than the should.

Why do a guide?

On a recent post in the All Free Knitting Community group, a new knitter asked which were the best interchangeable circular knitting needles. Because of the expense, she didn’t want to get it wrong. And like most knitters transitioning from new to intermediate, she realized that interchangeable can be a more practical and space saving way to go.

There are lots of reasons to select one or another set, which is why I own so many. But since cost was a factor, my recommendation was for a lower priced, but fairly durable set–not the most expensive, such as KnitPicks’s Short Radiant. Then when they wear out, she could upgrade.

Lots of thoughts went into this recommendation—from practical to psychological.

• Why wood? Wood has more “grab”. The yarn stays on the needle better than other materials making it easier for newer knitters to avoid dropping stitches. And they are warm to the touch.
• Why shorts rather than mid or full-size needles? Shorts, usually around 3” or less, provide versatility at the expense of speed. Longer needle shafts make it harder to do smaller work (socks, collars, etc.). And shorter is more durable (less chance of bending or breaking).
• Why Knit Picks? Price and a handy, see-through carry case.

Buyer’s Guide

This guide will only be covering standard needle types. Most of these manufacturers offer lace and various length options, so those factors are preferential rather than about durability and price. The prices are as of May 22^st, 2020 and they are based on the number of needle pairs in the set—not whether they come with notions, have a nice case, etc. Value should be placed on the needles, rather than the extras.

Knitting needles are a bit like wine. The price does not necessarily match quality and what matters most is whether you like it rather than what comes with it (it is what’s in the bottle, not on the label).

Here’s a chart of how the major needles (I have used) stack up based on my research:

Brand	Shaft	Cable	Grab	Feel	Price*	Durability	Comments
Knitter’s Pride Karbonz	Carbon Fiber	Standard	Strong	Warm	$ 15.57	Very High	Very grippy on yarn, lightweight
ChiaoGoo	Metal	Proprietary	Slick	Cool	$ 11.36	High	Proprietary cord system
Hiya Hiya	Metal	Standard	Slick	Cool	$ 10.43	Moderate	Swivel cable can catch
Knitter’s Pride Dreamz	Wood	Standard	Moderate	Warm	$   6.67	Moderate	Break mid shaft. Loosen periodically
Knit Picks Aluminum	Metal	Standard	Slick	Cold	$   5.55	Moderate	Joins less smooth, Loosen periodically
Knit Picks Wood	Wood	Standard	Moderate	Warm	$   6.62	Moderate	Loosen periodically
KnitPro Cubic	Wood	Standard	Moderate	Warm	$ 16.19	Poor	Break at metal. Loosen often.
addi turbo	Metal	Standard	Slick	Cool	$ 9.37	Very Poor	Coating peels off under heavy use
Clover Takumi	Bamboo	Standard	Strong	Warm	$ 15.45	Very poor	Tend to dent and fray under heavy use

* Price is gotten by dividing the total cost by the number of needles in the set

My Metal Preference: Hiya Hiya or ChiaoGoo

If you like metal needles, I recommend HiyaHiya’s—even though they seem fairly high-priced “per tip”. What makes the cost effective is they work with standard cables. If money were no object, I would choose ChiaoGoo. They have raised the bar with knitting needle technology by changing the material in the cables. And those cables are amazingly great! The problem is that they don’t work interchangeable with other sets—not even other ChiaoGoo sets—meaning you have to buy a full set of cables with each set you buy. I guess that’s why they are called “Premium”.

I do not recommend addi’s given they are most expensive AND of the high-end needles, least durable. I find the “turbo coating” peels or flakes off under heavy use. And while I carry Knit Picks with me almost everywhere, it because I use them as a “notion” rather than for projects because I find the cables loosen during knitting (both wood and aluminum).

Natural Materials Preference: Knitter’s Pride Dreamz or KnitPicks

For the price and utility I prefer Knitter’s Pride. They are really my “go-to” needle, mainly because they stay screwed together when I knit. Knit Picks seem to come loose while I knit, but not as often as KnitPro’s Cubics. I love a square needle for stitch consistency, but it has to stay screwed together!

I did not test HiyaHiya’s bamboo needles, only Clover’s Takumi. And from using them, my feeling is that bamboo should not be used as a knitting needle material—ever. Bending instead of breaking is not beneficial when the ends fray and snag yarn under heavy use.

Best of Both Worlds: Knitter’s Pride Karbonz

If I have to select one and only one set, it would be Knitter’s Pride Karbonz. Unlike metal, carbon fiber is cool, but not cold to the touch. And after snapping my wood needles and bending several metal ones, I enjoy that they take a licking and keep on knitting. Hands down–they are the most durable needles I own. And though the cables aren’t even remotely as nice as ChiaoGoo’s at least I can reuse those from other sets. My ideal set would be if Karbonz would work with a ChiaoGoo cable.

Karbonz do have one downside (besides being expensive)–they feel slower than my woods or aluminums. Though I admit I also seem to be more prone to errors because of mindlessly zooming along. So in the end, giving all the tearing out, they might just help me finish sooner.

Final Thoughts

I hope you will find this useful. It was helpful to me to (re)test my sets for this blog. Doing a side-by-side comparison really helped me figure out which needles were best for different types of projects.

And that really is the crux. No one interchangeable needle set can do it all. But are best suited for some than others.

If I l’ve missed a set you’d recommend, I’d love to hear from you.