I bought some knitting needles in a Hobby Lobby the other day. They were having a 50% off sale so I figured what the hell. I bought a Boye circular needle in size 10. I figured I would use it to knit a hat or something. Everyone loves the circs so I wanted to see what all the fuss is about.
Now, they had some other brands there but me not knowing the relative advantages and qualities of the various knitting needle brands I went with what I knew. My regular needles are all Boye so that's what I got. I should have gone with one of the more expensive brands. And by more expensive I mean only a couple of bucks.
As the new circ is the same size as the straight needles I have been using to knit the scarf I decided to knit it over to the new circ to try it out. It didn't take long for me to knit it back over to the straights. I like the feel of the shorter needles, but the cable sucks moose nipples in February. It's basically a thick piece of nylon cord much like a really heavy fishing line. And it has way too much memory. It won't hang anywhere close to straight, it's stiff, and while trying to knit it feels like far more effort is going into fighting the stupid cable than into the knitting itself.
A quick question on the knitting forum confirmed my suspicions. The general consensus is that while Boye makes some good straights, their circs suck.
The two top circs everyone seems to like are the Addi Turbos and the Knit Picks Options. I did some checking and while the Turbos seem to only be sold individually (that can get expensive) the Options can be ordered in a pretty decent starter kit with additional sizes of tips and cables ordered to add to it later on. From what I can see of the included sizes I can't imagine needing anything more. They have the kit on sale for $59.99 with free shipping to boot. I guess I'll be ordering one. I'll even pay some additional shipping to have them delivered while I am home this week.
I guess the old adage "you get what you pay for" remains firmly entrenched in the realm of generally true.