And had a bit to spend (maybe $100) and could get a great deal, what sizes would you recommend I get to be able to do the most number of projects with them?
If you were buying Addi turbo circulars
I’m willing to bet a lot of people will suggest you should get the Knit Picks Options set. They, in my opinion, are just as wonderful as Addies, but are interchangeable and for 60 bucks you get many ways of changing them out…several “options”.
They are just as smooth as Addi’s and the cord is awesome!
my 2cents 
You’re right. :teehee:
I have both, and I can say with all honesty that the Options are just as good as the Addi’s. I can’t tell the difference between the two as far as how it feels to knit with them. The Options are just as slick as the Addi Turbos. For me and which ones I use, it all depends on whether or not I want to wait for Knit Picks to ship them to me or if I’d rather run down to my LYS and pick up the Addi’s because I need them now.
I’d like to know how interchangeables are smooth.
What happens at the joint, where the cable and the needle meet?
How can that be smooth?
I like my addis. Slick, and lightweight, and the cables are NEVER curly, like the walmart brands, and the boye brands are.
I’m a die hard Addi fan. I JUST got my options this week and I LOVE THEM!!! They are slick and smooth and WONDERFUL. The tip screws on to the cable and the join is absolutely smooth.
It’s the way the joint is constructed. I think it’s also the nickel plating. You can see a line at the join, but there are no jaggedy bits. I’ve used the Boye Interchangeables (which I did not like), and their joint wasn’t very smooth at all and the yarn would catch on the join. Because of my experience with the Boye’s, I was leery about getting interchangeables again, until I heard all the positive remarks about the Options.
i have used both and prefer the options set. the cables are both equally great (although i do like how the addis say the length and needle size on the cable). the biggest reasons why i like the options are the fact that they are interchangeable, inexpensive and i prefer my needles to have pointier tips. i felt that the addi’s tips were too blunt.
I love Addis, but I since I got my Options, I only use Addis for sizes that I don’t have Options in (yet). They’re amazing - and an awesome investment when you consider how much that many Addis would cost.
I just got my Christmas present in the mail (Whheee!). 17 Addis that my husband ordered from an ebay seller in the UK from size 1.5mm to 10mm with cords long enough to use for magic loop (80-100cm) (all for 99$, or $146 with shipping and insurance to Korea). If you get the longer cords then you can magic loop anything that is too small in diameter. The size would depend on what you would normally use.
But as for Addis vs. Options, I prefer Addis. I have the Options set but for my purposes, the tips are more pointed than I like. I only have about 8 or 9 Addis but I intend to buy more.
Just my 2 cents.
I never thought I’d find a needle to match Addis, but I have to agree on the Options. The only thing that I might complain about is that if you don’t tighten the join enough it becomes unscrewed. That said, it’s my own fault because I’m too lazy to find the little thingy to screw them in.
If I had the money, I’d get even another set of Options and then all the sizes of 16" Addis.:shrug:
I have both and for my money I’d go with Options. If you have money to spare then 16 inch for hats and 24 inch for other things and if you like ML then 40 inch cords for that. As for needle size that depends on what you like to make most.
I think the Options are very comparable to the Addi Turbo Lace needles. I have some of both, but almost exlusively used my Options. I like the pointier needles though, so that may effect your decision…
The Options joins though are very smooth, and the cables are just as flexible as the Addis, IMO.
chuckle I am not surprised by the response to this question at all. I would personally do the same. Buy the Options and double up on the sizes that I use the most. I basically have two full sets of Options with extra cables and all that. I was using the Addis for the smaller sizes because I have at least two of everything (in the smaller sizes) in Addis. I found that I don’t love the addis anymore. The ends aren’t pointy enough for me. The options do take a bit to get used to but the pointiness is the reason I bought additional fixed needles in the smaller sizes of the options. Everything has been replaced with the Options for me at this point. The addis are great but they just don’t hold a candle to the options anymore.
But back to the original question… if you are going to get Addis, I think you should look at the patterns you do most, or most want to do, and see what kind of needles you would need for them. My answer to your question a year ago would have been 7, 8, 9, and 10 sized needles in longer lengths so i could magic loop or 2 circ knit. Now i would say 5, 6, 7, and 8.
I’ve never used the options or the addis, but I will say that an interchangeable set is definitely the way to go. I bought my denises and suddenly a whole new world of patterns has opened up to be because I finally had the vast majority of th needles that I needed.
I’m not sure how it adds up with the knitpicks, but when I did the math for the denises, it came out like this:
10 tip sizes x 6 cable lengths = 60 needle combos for $55
v.
60 needles x $9(average needle price I had paid previously) =$540
Now, I probably wouldn’t need all 60 of those needle sizes, but now I know that if I ever did come across a pattern that required them, I would have them already. Plus, now all I need to collect are dpns
Obviously it’s up to you, but I think you can see how the interchangeable sets can be much more affordable in the long run
I bought a Denise set before I ever heard about Options or Addis. They fulfill every need except for socks, for those I bought Addis. They are so cool to work with, the cable has no memory at all, which makes knitting on two circulars a lot easier.
From what I’ve heard, if I had it to do again, I’d buy the Options.
I prefer my Knit Picks Options over the Addis that I own. I love the pointier tips of the KPO’s and the affordable price! I have the set and extra tips in my most used sizes and am still planning to buy another whole set plus replace the small size Addis I have for socks with the KP small fixed circs.
wow, thanks for all the responses. I’m still confused! LOL
Everyone has an opinion (and to my behest, they’re not all the same! :roflhard:).
Another quick question… someone was selling Addi Premium needles. Is there such a thing? Is it the same thing as the turbos? :shrug:
I don’t know anything about premium needles but they could just be calling them something slightly different–especially if they are in another country.
I have a TON of addis but I also have a few of the options needles and I agree with most–I find that the joints are a non-issue. I love both–for different reasons. I love the price of the options but I’m fairly impatient so I tend to go w/ Addis b/c they are quicker for me to get a hold of. I do like the pointy tips on options but at first I found that they were a little painful on my fingertip where I’d push against it from time to time to move the knitting down the needle. Either way–I think you’d find that you’d be very happy with either choice. Do you know anyone who has options–maybe you could borrow a set and try them out or just buy one of their standard circulars to try. You wouldn’t get a feel for the joins but I PROMISE it’s not an issue–I had a boye set and practically gave them away b/c I couldn’t stand the joins. I swore off interchangeables until a friend let me try her options…
Good luck with your choice–whatever you choice.
That’s so cool! Nice hubby… 