Illuminated Crochet Hook Review

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my last post and here is my review of the 'light sabre' crochet hook.

 

It really does work and has a distinct value when working with dark yarns. I tried it with some very dark navy cotton using a pattern with different height stitches and the need to identify points where slip stiching needed to occur. At first I thought it might be too bright but this was not the case. The shaft is illuminated but not uncomfortably so and lets you see immediately if your yarn has split which is a great benefit early on in the stitch. The light forms a nice sharp beam from the tip and is great for pinpointing exactly where you are placing the hook and also for using like a small torch when checking back how many of a particular stitch you have done when your are working a pattern.

It is very light and I think it feels roughly the same weight as a 5 or 6mm aluminium hook. It comes with three tiny little battery cells and an easy on off switch. My only concern would be that an acrylic hook and plastic handle may be more fragile than a metal or bamboo hook. I am not going to snap it just for research purposes but it does seem pretty robust and the hook seems well anchored and embedded in the handle.

Just for fun, I did try some stitching with the navy yarn in the dark and yes it is entirely possible to do it, why? remains the bigger issue! If you were trying not to disturb your partner in bed while they were trying to get to sleep or at the cinema  I can only imagine the flashing movements with a small super bright LED torch might still be very annoying.

The real value of this hook, in my opinion, is with dark yarns or when sitting cosily in the evening without the need for a spotlight or increasing the general lighting when working with mid to darker yarns. It would possibly be nice to be able to purchase multiple hooks if they were interchangeable with the handle but that might lead to them feeling loose rather than the robust single unit. I don't have an idea how long the batteries will last as I'm hoping that will be some way off yet.

I bought mine in a 4mm size, as that is probably the one I use most, from Wool Warehouse and they are available from 2.5-6.5mm. There is a little video on the page and apparently, they have been featured in Simply Crochet but it doesn't say which issue. Mine cost £5.99 which I thought reasonable enough to try though when I think about it, all my aluminium and bamboo hooks together probably cost about £6 in total from ebay. However, when I 'saw the light', I had to have it!

In summary - a gadget which works, makes dark crochet much easier, the cost is reasonable if you are only purchasing one or two. I am really pleased with the quality and what this tool adds to my crochet.

I'd love to hear if anyone else has used this or if I've not answered a burning question just let me know.