Zephyr Needles - a Review

This afternoon my mail-lady delivered the tip set of the new Knit Picks Zephyr Interchangeables that I'd ordered last week. I opted to get the US7/4.5mm, as it seems to be my go-to size when trying out new needles. It took me a bit to find a spare cable to attach them to, but once I hunted down a 24", I knitted my Clapotis onto it, and used it for about a half-hour. The Clappy yarn is a wool-cotton blend sock-weight, which glided nicely over the needles, and looked neat through the needles. The Zephyrs are smooth and lightweight, and feel very comfortable in my hands. They're not as slick and fast as KP's Nickel needles, and are similar in "stickiness" and drag to KP's Harmony wood needles. Zephyrs will probably be wonderful for getting through airport security without issue, and for teaching kids to knit on. The slight flexibility that the website and KP podcast mention was not noticeable to me when knitting, though they do bend a bit if you hold them with two hands and try to bend them gently. Zephyr's tips are the usual KP-super-pointy, though they're just the teeniest bit duller than my Nickel tip of the same size. I didn't notice that at all while knitting, only when holding the Nickel and Zephyr tips side by side. I'll try to get a picture of the three needle types next to each other to add to this post later today.

I'll likely only use Zephyrs with 100% wool yarns in the future - I knit tightly, and like to go fast, so that small difference in the drag make the Z's best for wool for me, though I hear there are those knitters out there who are less picky than I!

While they won't replace my love for my super-slick Nickel needles, Zephyrs are an excellent addition to KnitPicks' interchangeable collection, and a good value for a very reasonable price - starting at $3.49 for a US4, up to $6.49 for US17, and $44.99 for the full set! (Add a few balls of yarn on there to make the $50 free shipping minimum, too!)

Now if KP would only make the Harmony needles in a blonde wood version...