What they share
Every addi circular has hollow brass tips plated in nickel — light, cool, and slick enough that stitches move with almost no effort — and a soft, pliable cord that lies flat out of the packet and has a smooth join where it meets the tip. The plating is the whole point: addi needles are fast, and the differences between the lines are differences in tip shape and length, not in that. Whether a fast metal needle is what you want at all is the needle material guide.
Side by side
| Tip | Shaft | Lengths we stock | For | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turbo | Rounded, medium taper | Round | 16", 24", 32", 40", 60" | Everything; the fastest plain knitting |
| Rockets | Long, sharp lace taper | Round | 40" | Lace, cables, decreases; magic loop |
| Rocket2 Squared | Sharp | Rounded square | 24", 32", 40" | Even tension; hands that tire on round needles |
| FlexiFlips | One Rockets tip, one Turbo tip | Round, with a short cord in the middle | 8" pair | Socks, sleeves, mittens |
| Clicks | Interchangeable tips | Round | Set, with cords | One kit for every length |
Turbo
The original and the one to mean when you say "addi". The rounded tip slides into a stitch without splitting the yarn, which is what makes plain stockinette and ribbing fly; it is also the tip that lace knitters find blunt, because it does not pick up a tight decrease as easily. Stocked from US 000 to US 19 across the five lengths, with the odd metric sizes (2.25 mm, 2.75 mm) in the sock lengths. If you knit sweaters, hats, blankets and scarves and are not particular about tips, buy Turbos and stop reading.
Rockets
The Turbo's cord and plating with a longer, sharper taper — addi's lace tip. It gets into a knit-three-together, a cable crossed without a cable needle, a twisted rib. The sharpness costs a little speed on plain fabric, and a very loose knitter can split a soft single-ply with it. We stock Rockets at 40", the magic-loop length, which is where most people meet them: a 40" Rocket in a sock size is the magic-loop sock needle.
Rocket2 Squared
The Rockets' sharp tip on a shaft with a rounded square cross-section. The square gives the fingers something to register against, so stitches come out more even — addi's claim, and knitters with uneven tension tend to agree — and some hands with arthritis find the shape easier to hold for long sessions. Otherwise a Rocket. We stock 24", 32" and 40" from US 1 to US 11, which covers socks through chunky sweaters.
FlexiFlips
A pair of 8" needles, each with a short cord in the middle and a tip at each end — one Rockets tip, one Turbo tip, so you pick the end that suits the stitch. They are used like double-pointed needles with two needles holding the work and one knitting, for socks, sleeves, mitten thumbs and hat crowns. Stocked from US 0 to US 8. The sock needles guide compares them with the other ways to knit a sock.
Clicks
The interchangeable system: a set of tips in a range of sizes, cords in several lengths, and the connector that joins them, so one case replaces a drawer of fixed circulars. The fixed needles are a little lighter at the join and the join on a fixed needle can never work loose, so Clicks are for the knitter who wants every size at hand rather than for someone buying one needle. We also carry the Click hook set, the same system with Tunisian crochet hooks on the tips.
Which addi to buy
Plain knitting in any weight: Turbo, in the length the circular length guide says. Lace, cables or anything with a lot of decreases: Rockets, or Rocket2 Squared if you like the shaft. Socks: a 40" Rocket for magic loop, or FlexiFlips if you prefer to hold needles. Every size and length at once: Clicks. And the sizes to go by are the millimeters stamped on the needle — addi's US 1 is 2.5 mm where the chart says 2.25, which the needle size chart explains.