Sometimes an opportunity comes along at just the right moment.
Having posted the other day about visiting the Knitting and Crochet Guild archive, I was thinking a lot about the historical changes – or rather, lack of changes – in the tools that we use to work our yarn. And right when I was pondering the matter, the German company Prym contacted me to say, “S’cuse me Twisted, we’ve just revolutionized the design of the knitting needle. Would you care to take a nosey?”
Obviously, I said yes.
Let’s start with the facts. Prym has just this week brought out a new range of needles called Ergonomics. The clue is in the name: they went right back to the drawing board to try and figure out the perfect needle for your stitches. Many furrowed (knitted?) brows and many, many caffeine-fuelled hours later, they decided that they’d found the answer. Here’s the contents of the package that landed on my doorstep the other day:-
Shall we see what’s inside?
First and foremost, the folks at Prym came to the conclusion that the ideal knitting needle would have a little drop shape at its tip, to better catch stitches:-
Also, the central part of the shaft would be triangular in profile, and slightly narrower than the round portion near the ends. That’s tricky to show in a photograph:-
And they’d be made from ‘high performance synthetic material’ (erm, plastic?) which is flexible without breaking, and is also warm to the touch. Also, the straights could be clipped together, in order to prevent your stitches from wandering off-piste when your WIP is squished in the bottom of your handbag. Look!
Of course I put these needles to the test – the straights, and the DPNs – so that in true Twisted tradition, I can present you with the world’s most nerdy, nit-picketty review. And as I’ve oft said before, needle choice has a lot to do with personal preference, so there’s no point in anyone saying THESE NEEDLES ARE PERFECT, or THESE NEEDLES ARE TERRIBLE! I’ll try and give you an idea of what they’re like, so that you can decide whether or not they’d be right for you. OK?
So let’s cast on, and work a few rounds.
These are the 4mm (US size 6) double-pointeds in action. They’re light, and they’re warm, and I freakin’ love the bobbly nobble on the end – it’s ideal for grabbing hold of your yarn. That’s a genuinely splendid innovation.
One thing to note is that these needles are very grippy. Some of you will love this, some of you will hate it. I was quite slow knitting the Rowan Felted Tweed (pure wool) in these pictures, so I thought I’d change to some more slippery yarn to see whether that helped. Here’s some nice smooth green Rico Design cotton:-
Yup, that helped. Suddenly, I was knitting much faster.
There was another issue with tension, though, that I’m going to struggle to explain without sounding like a total needle nerd. If you look at the photo of the needle tips earlier in this post, you’ll see that the tapered section is quite long – longer than on any other needles I own. (And I own a lot of needles: the Stoic Spouse says you couldn’t find a haystack amongst my needles.) Now, it’s the widest portion of the needle that determines your loop size, and thus your gauge. This isn’t a problem if your needle reaches its greatest width fairly soon. But with these, I found that if I worked my stitches as normal, I was working them on the narrowed part of the needle, and so they were rather small, and very tight when I pushed them further along. Maybe I need to adjust my knitting style to match the needles. Maybe I need to get out more.
They’re handsome beasts, though:-
The design (including size) is printed on and not etched, and so like every other needle with printing along its length, this snazzy pattern is not going to stay put forever. Even after a few thousand stitches (albeit rather tight stitches!) the paintwork was starting to suffer:-
Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to use a needle gauge to check their size, despite the triangular profile, because the end sections are round like a conventional needle.
That reminds me: the triangular profile. This was easy to grip, especially in larger needles. And yes, these needles are very flexible. (I’m sorry, I couldn’t bring myself to try breaking one on your behalf. I just couldn’t.) But they certainly bend quite a bit without complaint. The 4mm DPNs almost felt too flexible, but maybe I’m just a violent knitter. I do wonder what the 3mm needles from the range would feel like, but I haven’t tried those.
Going bigger in size, the flexibility felt less worrying in the 6mm straights that I tried.
And have I mentioned that all of these needles are quiet? Seriously, they’re the quietest needles I’ve ever used. Maybe this doesn’t matter to you, but I’m writing as someone who’s sat through the twinnage’s music class trying desperately not to click-click-click as I knitted on metal or wood. They’re light, too.
So do I like them? Well, I’ll let my knitting tell you the answer, right here:-
Does that answer the question? They are slow, though, so I’ll save them for my slipperiest yarns. And the smaller-gauge DPNs did feel a wee bit too floppily-flexible for my personal preference.
Anyway, let’s talk about the range. As of this week, you can buy these pretties as straights and DPNs. In the summer, a range of circulars will be added. I like the sound of the circulars: the cord will be plastic-covered steel (exactly like some of the early 20th century needles at the Knitting and Crochet Guild: nothing is completely new!) and hopefully less annoyingly curly than some cords that I’ve encountered. Here are the sizes that you can buy right now:-
Straights: 3-10mm (US sizes 2.5-15) in 35cm (14”).
3-12mm (US sizes 2.5-17) in 40cm (16”).
Double-pointed: 3-8mm (US sizes 2.5-11) in 20cm (8”).
These are relatively long needles. I’m not sure the DPNs need to be quite so long but again, maybe that’s just me.
They’re available throughout Europe. (Check the Prym website for your nearest stockist.) Those of you further afield will need to buy them from a European supplier, for now.
So should you throw your hard-earned cash in their direction? The droplet-shaped end really is rather fabulous. It’s hard to describe how wonderfully it engages with the yarn. If you like very grippy needles and if your gauge tends towards the loose, you’ll like ‘em. I think they’d particularly suit a beginner. Their warmth and flexibility is easy on the hands, too.
Go on, you know you want to.
Meanwhile, the folks at Prym have produced a video to show you more. It’s here:-
This post was sponsored by Viral Lab, but all opinions are my own. (Don’t look at me like that! How do you think I afford to buy all this yarn!)
These look very interesting, wonder when they will make it across the pond to the United States? I’d love to try them out.
Hi Elaine,
you will find further information on our microsite https://prym-ergonomics.com/en/. Try out our storefinder to check for stores offering our Prym Ergonomics within the UK.
Your Prym Social Media Team
They do look cool! I never use straight needles any more, but I love the way they click together. And I have more DPNS than I’ll ever need. But it would be neat to give them a try.
You’ve written a terrific and comprehensive review, Phil. It looks like they’ve improved on a number of features like the rounded tip and the ability to clip the needles together (fabulous). Quiet and flexible is nice, too. Perhaps they’ll make the tip shorter in future versions, based on input from users.
I’m glad you had fun trying something new.
I almost can’t wait to meet the circulars. I knit primarily on dpns, but when an Ann Budd patterns says use one circular of this size, I buy it and use it. I think my dream Smooshy yarn that’s making the Terpander socks would love these needles in circulars…How long is that wait?
Huh. They certainly did a good job reinventing the wheel 🙂 Nice review from you too
I do find my knit pro cubicx needles very comfy to use, so maybe I ought to give triangular ones a try too. But as I’m a tight knitter anyway, hmmmm. Thanks for a very thorough review.
Thank you for the very detailed review. Makes me think they are not for me. I like my needles long (at least they do 35cm) and very slippy – metal. I like the wooden larger ones I have because they feel classy but they also have extra long pointed ends which slows me down for the reason of having to slide the stitches back to the thicker bit to get the tension right. I believe long points are for knitting lace but I don’t do much of that!
Looks and sounds quite nice but then I’m a true Dutch woman and have to find out for myself. But of course your sponsored, All your bloggers are. No problem to me.
The clicking together bit is rather nifty, isn’t it? I rarely use straights these days but it’s interesting to see that someone’s put a bit of thought into how they could be adapted xx
wow they look very cool, as a beginner knitter I think I would enjoy trying these. I also think that as a crocheter perhaps the little knobbly end would make the transition to knitting a little easier….
Thank you for the review. I find the rounded tip interesting, but believe that I’d have trouble with the long-distance between tip and widest part of needle. I haven’t yet learned to knit loosely; I’ve only been knitting since 1954.
Very nice review! Do you know if the knobby end interferes when trying to knit multiple stitches together?
Just got home and checked online for reviews after chanceing on these needles in a nearby garden centre and being unable to resist trying them. I bought some of the dpns to try. Thanks for a comprehensive rundown. I will take on board your grippy needle comment and make sure I have some silicone gel on standby to assist if needed. Grippy needles can be so tiring and slippy yarn is not always an option. It’s good to be prepared, thanks for the great review.
I’ll give them a try. I’m particularly interested in the single point long as possible ones. I knit continental and so hold the left hand needle under my arm and knit “off” that needle. I can knit fast but can only use single points as there is not enough for me to grip on circulars. So thanks for the review. I see that I can get them at Jo-Ann’s web site.
I bought the 3mm dpns. They aren’t so great on my non-slippery sock yarn, they are really very grippy. And mine don’t have the size on it, so they must have changed the logo they print. However, these are really comfy on the hands, are extremely flexible (i have addi flexies, and they’re along those lines of flex), and there is zero noise. If only they had them in smaller than 3mm….
I bought the 3mm dpns. They aren’t so great on my non-slippery sock yarn, they are really very grippy. And mine don’t have the size on it, so they must have changed the logo they print. However, these are really comfy on the hands, are extremely flexible (i have addi flexies, and they’re along those lines of flex), and there is zero noise. If only they had them in smaller than 3mm….
Best needles I’ve ever knitted with. Until they broke after 2 weeks. I’m so disappointed… it seems from michaels and Amazon reviews that this is a common issue with their circular needles. I’ll definitely be buying the straights, but unfortunately the circular aren’t quite there yet.
Really?? I guess I’ve been lucky – I’ve had them for a couple of year – a circular & straights and love them! I’m a loose knitter though. I just knitted a zik-zack scarf in Noro with the circulars. The straights are my favorite washcloth needles.
PS I love your amazing crocheted Poang!!