Clover Bamboo Circular Needles

THE REVIEW

When I first started knitting, no one told me about the difference that needle choice can make. My mother, who is not a knitter, was advised to buy me a pair of straight needles. Raising five kids and getting minimal guidance, she purchased the needles I needed for the project based solely on the needle size I needed; our budget guided her to the cheapest options available: plastic or aluminum needles. I started with plastic needles, never knowing that life could be better. My aunt discovered that I learned to knit and enjoyed it, and gave me my first needle upgrade: aluminum needles! As I aged and started to earn my own money, I purchased my first bamboo needles just because I liked the look of them: warm, inviting, and higher-end.

I discovered circular needles because I got frustrated when knitting large flat pieces on straight needles; having all that weight on one-end put an incredible strain on my wrists. These were the early days of the internet, before it was the first place everyone looked for information; instead, I believe it was my local yarn shop that guided me to try a circular needle instead.  It made a tremendous difference, and I swore off straight needles altogether. As I’ve grown more and more as a knitter, that perspective has changed, and I’m actually fairly picky about which needles I use on a project at this point, switching between straights, circulars, and DPNs.

INITIAL REACTIONS: It’s hard for me to give initial reactions, as I’ve been using these needles for many years now. I will say that when I get new needles, I fall in love again with the blunt needles and the general length of the tips in my hands. The tips are 5″ in length, which I find work well as a generic length for most projects. The cord is a clear plastic and connected solidly to the tips.

THE TESTS:  For this review, I’m not going to list specific tests. Instead, I’m just going to share with you my experiences in working with these needles.

I love the length of the tips and how they feel in my hands. At 5″, I’ve found that they are a good go-to for nearly every project I’ve worked on them. The bamboo appears to have some sort of a coating on it, and yarns slide right over them. The only time I’ve struggled with the bamboo is working on some lace weight yarn; in that case, I was knitting a swatch on size 4 circulars, and the yarn just kept grabbing really hard at the bamboo. I bought my first Addi Turbo needles in response, but let’s be clear: this was my first experience with this out of several hundred projects. However, I’m noticing a small degradation in slipperiness on the needles, so I’m looking for some needle tip wax to re-coat my most frequently used needles.

The cord is really sturdy and well-connected to the tips. I’ve never had an issue with the cord breaking or separating from the tips and I’ve had some of these needles for well over 15 years now. However, the cord is a bit stiff. On most projects, this isn’t a big deal, but when working with lace or other projects where getting complete precision is critical, it’s been a bit frustrating. I have never kinked the cord or put a permanent bend on any of these needles, which I consider a major plus.

As all knitters know, needles typically see a lot of interaction – mostly when first entering a stitch to work it. I’ve recently noticed that I’m starting to see some pitting in the bamboo where my needles enter for knit stitches. It’s not severe, but I will be paying attention to it now that I’ve noticed it and probably start budgeting in some replacements. Considering that these needles typically sell in the $7.95 – $9.95 at most Joann’s, they’re completely affordable. Since they last as long as they do, replacing them with the same brand is an easy decision.

Lastly, the blunt tips are awesome if you are concerned about splitting plys. Something about the way I knit appears to encourage splitting, but it happens less for me when I work with these needles. Also, I see less damage to the yarn when I split than I have with other needles.

All-in-all, I consider these to be high quality needles offered at a great price. I have no problem recommending these as part of your core knitting tool kit.