Needle Sets Comparison

In answer to the question, which set do I like better? There is no good answer.

I bought the plymouth bamboo set from patternworks.com for ~$100. It contains US equiv 5,6,7,8,9,10 needles. But the us 6 is really a 4.25 mm instead of the 4.00 mm that most other manufacturers use. I use the 4.25 mm alot in order to achieve the popular 18/24 gauge in a variety of yarns. There are 4 cables, including a super short one that makes 12″ circulars for knitting sleeves.

The knit denise set is more versatile and half as much $. The set has 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10.5, 11, 13, 15 needles plus 6 cables. The cables can be joined to make longer cables. But, the cables get sticky. I need to wash the cables occasionally in warm soapy water to remove the sticky buildup. But, in hot weather, the plastic cables soften and grab the yarn no matter how often I wash them. I don’t have that problem with the plymouth set.

OTOH, the denise set has a smoother join between the needle and the cable. Iris pulled the plastic cable out of the steel shank on two of the plymouth cables. A little bit of epoxy fixed that problem. In addition, I need to periodically rotate the bamboo needles to retighten the internal screw that joins the needle and cable. I prefer knitting with bamboo needles instead of plastic ones.