Because today is my BIRTHDAY!(Happy birthday to meeeee!), I treated myself to a trip to the yarn store. They're having a sale starting on Thursday, so I managed to resist buying yarn, but I did accomplish what I set out to: purchase some of the new Addi Lace Needles!

The store (River City, for any of you locals who want to get your hands on these) just got them in yesterday and hadn't put them out yet, but I was stalking them and called to find out if they were in earlier, so they dug them out of the back for me. (A spouse or friend of one of the yarn store ladies came in while I was wandering around, and said "feel free to ask for help!" I smiled at him, at which point one of the store people came out and said "ok, Sarah, I've got the 3 sizes here that you wanted - what cable length do you want?" The guy kind of sheepishly said "ok, never mind, you clearly know what you're doing!" It was kind of funny.)

Now, I'm weird about needles. The ones I use the most are still my Denises, because I like how they feel in my hands, but I'm not wild about the cords and obviously, they don't work for socks. I have a few pairs of regular Addis in sock sizes, and I like the needles but hate the tips and don't like the cords much. I love the Knit Picks needles, but the nickel makes me a little scratchy, so I was THRILLED when I heard about these new needles. I took them out of the package, looked them over, and immediately bought four pairs.

I got size 1 (2.5mm) with a 32 inch cord (80cm), and size 4 (3.5cm), 5 (3.75cm), and 6 (4.0cm) with a 47 inch cord (120cm). The size one is for socks, obviously - my favourite size and length for magic loop. The others, I opted for a longer cord, as I can always magic loop a smaller thing but can't stretch a smaller cable for a bigger thing. I eventually want to get the size 2 and 3 as well, but figured I'd start with my most used sizes.

After I left the store, I went for dinner with Jamie, and transfered my current sock over to the new needle. I knit on that for a good half hour while we were waiting for our food, and when I got home, I moved my Rogue sleeve (yes, sleeve!) over to the size 5 and knit a few rows on that.

So how do they stack up? Let's compare, shall we? My apologies for the mediocrity of these photos. I'm not a photographer. Click on photos for larger ones.



Here are all three of my size 1 needles. Top is the KnitPicks, middle is the original Addi Turbo, and bottom is the new Addi Lace. Let's look at each of them, shall we?

First, the original Addi.



I really don't like knitting socks with these, because those tips are just not pointy enough. Still, the needle itself is nice and slick.

Here's the KnitPicks circ.



Nice and pointy, and without the taper that the Addi has, which I really like. Just as slick as the Addi, but I've already worn the finish off one of these. (Fortunately my Secret Pal sent me this nice shiny new one for my birthday!) I don't think that's all that normal, though - as they make me a little itchy, I suspect I might wear the finish off a little faster.

Here's the new Addi.



Obviously, much pointier than the original Addi, but with the taper that the regular Addi has. Pointiness is about comparable with the Knit Picks. (I poked myself with all three to test. See what I do for you people?)

What about cables? I didn't take any photos of the Knit Picks cables (there are a zillion out there in blog land), but I did take one of my old Addi to point out why I'm not wild about their cords.



Hmpf.

I love the KP Cable, but I had one pop out of its join last week so I'm a little disgruntled with them. Still, the flexibility is pretty incredible, and I am fond of the purple. So how's the Addi Lace cable?



And ten seconds later...



Pretty darn flexible. It's not quite as bendy as the KP, but it's pretty close. It's also a nice pink colour. More importantly, it has the size imprinted on the needle. Woo!

How's the join?



Great. It also tapers there, much as at the tip. It is really, really smooth.

Let's look at some of the larger ones. Here are the tips of my size 5 KP and Addi Lace needles.



The KnitPicks tip



And the Addi Lace



So how do they stack up? Here's my opinion.

The hollow brass needles are fantastic. Super light weight, and no allergy problem for me. (Yay!) They also seem like they aren't going to lose their coating as quickly as the KP. Reasonably enough, since the KP are a hell of a lot cheaper. That said, the resin on the Lace needles mean they aren't quite as fast as the original Addis, or KnitPicks when they're still new and shiny. Still, after about two rounds of my sock, I'd stop noticing. They're still REALLY fast. Just not quite AS fast.

The tips are really, really good. I'm not wild about the more abrupt taper, but I'll get used to it, I think. I also don't really like the taper at the end of the needle going to the join, but I'll survive. The KP needle has a shorter taper that I prefer, which means the needle itself is a bit shorter. (not by much.) The join is really smooth. Cable? Great. It's magic looping through my sock with no problems so far. Keep in mind that in the larger needles, I'm comparing an interchangeable with a regular needle.

The Lace needles are also noticeably lighter, which is nice. They feel good in my hands and not quite as stiff as the nickel-plated needles.

What don't I like? The lack of size availability, but I suspect that's a temporary problem. I prefer the short tapers on ends of the KP needles, but the tips of the 1s aren't quite as noticeably tapered as the larger sizes. I also think that's something I'll get used to. I wish they were as zippy as the originals, but I think I'll adapt as I knit with them, and the lack of any nickel is probably better for me. I wish they weren't quite so expensive, and I'm kind of tempted to send Jamie to a yarn store in London when he's there this summer, if they've made it over there by then, as they're so much less expensive over there.

But overall? Two thumbs up. Anyone else planning to try them?

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to enjoy the last ten minute of my birthday. Stay tuned for a photo shoot with my sock pal socks! Here's a hint: they're FABULOUS.

Labels: Addi Lace Needles, Review