Addi vs. Knit Pro: a review

The short version of this post:

• The difference between Addi and KnitPro is relatively small, so you'll be happy with which ever you buy.
• I personally prefer Addi Lace. KnitPro Synfonie and Nova being second best, in my opinion.
• Do not buy KnitPro cubics.
• Basic Addi have rounded tips that make knitting (knit and purl) easier and faster, but knitting lace (making increases and decreases) a lot more difficult. So I do not recommend them (even though I use these needle the most often), because sharper tips are simply more versatile.
• Metal vs. wood or bamboo: metal has less friction, thus knitting with this is faster and more pleasant. But, for the same reason, stitches are more prone to drop off metal needles. I'd recommend wood for beginners, metal for more experienced knitters. Metal needles are less prone to breaking.

Long story told short, I own both a set of Knit Pro interchangeable Symfonie wood needles and the Basic set of Addi interchangeable metal needles. I also own a pair of Knit Pro Cubics which are metallic needles with a cubic shape, instead of the regular rounded one (the tip of the needles are still rounded and identical to standard ones).

I remember the time when, as a beginner who had to buy the first pair needles, I had a hard time finding the necessary information on the pros and cons of different types of needles. When it comes to material, there are many choices, and most people agree that is mostly a matter of taste. When it comes to brands, everyone seemed to love the ones they own and very few seemed to own more than one brand. Most reviews I've read were of the type "I'm sure my needles are the best, even though I've never tried any others", which in my opinion is just ridiculous... people should just keep their ignorance to themselves instead of giving advice on matters they clearly don't know enough about. This is what ultimately made me write this post, hoping to be of use to others in the same situation, considering that I at least own more than one type of needles.

I'm not going to defend my opinion that interchangeable circular needles are better than either straight or fixed circular needles. I think the pros and cons of either type are mostly obvious. In addition I've never knitted with any other type of needle, so I'm actually the wrong person to compare them.

That said, there are obviously other brands, but Addi and Knit Pro are the ones available in the shop I've bought my needles and they are also the two most popular brands. When it comes to interchangeable circular needles, Knit Pro has a lot of choice in materials, colours and even shape. Addi has 3 types of metal needles: basic, lace long-tip, lace short-tip,  and also bamboo needles (I believe that is all, and it means it has only the options that are generally considered the very best, although this is definitely arguable). Addi Lace needles have sharper tips, which are appropriate for doing lace, Addi Basic are much rounder than standard Knit Pro needles which have quite sharp tips (maybe not as sharp as Addi Lace, but I've never compared the two).

The Pros:

1. Wood and bamboo: it has more friction than metal, therefore it is easier not to drop stitches. I think this makes it the best material for beginners. You can buy your first pair in wood and then later try out metal when buying another size. It also makes them better to knit cables, because fixing dropped stitches on cables is a big nightmare and, adding insult to injury, cables are also much more prone to dropped stitches in my experience.
2. Metal: it has less friction than wood and therefore the yarn slides beautifully against the needle. This makes knitting with these needles faster and more pleasant, but also slightly more prone to stitches falling off the needle.
3. Addi Lace needles: have sharper tips which is better for doing lace (no kidding! you'd have never guessed if I didn't explain it, right?). 
4. Knit Pro Cubics: I haven't found any pros to these needles. Mostly one uses the tips of the needles to knit, and these needles have standard round tips. Therefore for most purposes these needles are no different than standard ones, but I do not recommend buying them at all, read the cons...
5. Knit Pro Synfonie are the most beautiful needles ever. This is not even a matter of taste (yes, I mean it). It is just a pleasure to look at them and one does look at the needles a lot while knitting.
6. Addi: the click mechanism makes it really easy to attach and detach the needles from the cable.
7. Knit Pro are cheaper.
8. Addi needles are made in Germany (Knit Pro in India) which means they pay fair salaries, health insurance and social security to their employees and also pay a fair amount of taxes for the betterment of everyone living in the country. This was the argument that finally convinced me to pay the extra price for them (you know I'm quite the scrooge, but I also have my principles).

The cons:

1. KnitPro Cubics: when doing cable cast-on you need to knit against the body of the needle and I found it much harder to do this cast-on against the cubic shape. This is the only difference I've found so far between the KnitPro Cubics and regular ones, therefore, unless you never plan to do cable cast-on, DO NOT BUY CUBICS, and even in that case, don't buy them in case you change your mind in the future. 
2. Addi Lace and Knit Pro needles: sharper tips are more prone to split the yarn. Also, some knitters complain about occasionally hurting their fingertips with them. The same thing happened to me when I started using them, but I've learned from experience not to do it again.
3. Knit Pro: the screw type of attachment on these needles requires the use of a pin and is a bit more difficult to do and more time consuming. On the other hand, this really is a small thing, specially considering that one doesn't change needles that often. 
4. Addi's click system makes it much easier and faster to change needles, but it also makes the needles more prone to detach from the cable. I've heard others complain of this and it has also been my experience. I've had Knit Pro needles becoming loose, but I've always realized it on time to re-screw them before the needle detached completely. Addi, however, has a spring on the click mechanism that ejects the needle before you have time to realize that something is wrong [after fiddling around a bit with my needles, I've realized that one of the 3.5mm needles is defective. The click mechanism does not "click" into place like for the other ones. This is the needle that comes loose occasionally during knitting. All other ones are perfect.]

Verdict:
First let me say that if you buy Addi needles, check the click mechanism is working properly in all of them as soon as you get the chance. You should be able to return them in case they are defective. Knit Pro needles can also be defective, by the way, I speak from experience. So checking your needles carefully after buying is always a good idea. If the needles are fine, you will not have any problems with them.

In the end, it really is hard to tell which ones I recommend. I think you will surely be happy with the ones you choose, no matter which. The click mechanism is really sleek, no wonder people who use Addi like them so much. But Knit Pro are cheaper and not that hard to attach and detach either. There is also the tips: Addi Basic are rounder, Addi Lace sharper, Knit Pro are sharp. Once you have your needles attached and are working with them, this should be the main difference you will find between them. So it depends what your preference is.

Addendum: After owning and using the needles for a much longer time, here is what I have to add:

• Even though I still think the difference between them is so small that you'll be happy with whatever you buy, I do find myself choosing Addi over KnitPro most of the times. So, I've been buying Addi whenever I need a new size.
• The round tips of Addi Basic really make knitting easier and faster, in the sense that they avoid splitting the yarn when you're inserting your needle into the stitch. However, they also make decreases and increases a lot more difficult. This means that knitting lace with these needles is more difficult than it should be and for this reason, if you're only going to buy one type of needles (which is very reasonable), I'd recommend Addi Lace or KnitPro, which are versatile needles you can use in any type of project.