I've been crocheting ten years now. I've gone through almost every brand from Boye, Susan Bates, Clover, and generic brands. I've used aluminum, wood, and ergonomic handles. I thought I had settled into a comfortable relationship with Amour Clover 5.5 and Soft Touch Clover 3.5. But then I began crocheting 6+ hours a day, and my hands were cramping and aching the next day. Plus both my children had chewed on my hooks, not super cute to have teeth marks all over your hooks in videos!
And then I saw them on TikTok. These beautiful, sparkly, blue, swore to alleviate my hand pain Furls Odyssey hooks. I immediately began researching them. They seemed to have a cult following and people were swearing by them. Glowing reviews. Crochet influencers were endorsing them.
Sticker shock set in when I saw the price. $35 for a single hook. Five times what I paid for my Amour. My practical, logistical mind could not justify such an extravagance. So I forgot about them, until Christmas.
I decided since I was crocheting so much I needed tools that would love my hands as much as I loved my work. I was determined to buy them. The website was sold out of the two sizes I needed in blue. Ebay listings were twice the price and Etsy was out of stock. I compulsively checked daily. You know the definition of insanity? Doing something over and over expecting new results? That was me.
I miraculously found one on ebay for the original price, 3.5, in blue. Only one left. The days of searching to no avail created a sense of urgency. Without hesitation I bought it and counted the days till its arrival. While I was waiting, a 5.5 in sky blue became available on Etsy. I sent the link to my parents and requested it for Christmas.
The 3.5 arrived. I was ecstatic. Immediately after making a video I settled into the couch next to my toddler and began working on the Happy Lovey pattern. Not 10 minutes in, my toddler tried to rip it out of my hands. Instinctively I gripped it tightly and refused to let him have my precious hook. I felt something click. As I continued to try to crochet with it, I felt the tip become looser and looser. It swayed back and forth with each stitch.
I made everyone try it. "Do you feel that?? Do you feel the click when it moves??" It was the crochet equivalent to crepitus.
While it began minor, it was driving me insane. The wiggling became worse until it was unusable. Because my toddler pulled on it, I thought there was no hope of returning it. With a broken heart I tried to remedy it myself, a failed venture, and said farewell to my first affair. I ordered another 3.5 mm because that is my most used size and determined to not let the kiddos touch the next one. I chalked it up to the cost of parenthood.
Then the 5.5 arrived and I gingerly took it from its box and guarded it from my sweet, wonderful children. I made a sweater for my daughter and loved how easily it the hook glided through the fabric. I loved the wide handle and the weight of the tip. I loved everything about it.
My next project was a floor pouf using reclaimed materials. This involved 2 strands of worsted weight yarn crocheted over a medium, in this case plastic grocery bags. I've done this before with my Armour and it requires tight tension. This usually leads to serious hand fatigue so I was so excited to see how the ergonomic shape of the Odyssey would relieve that.
I got about half way through the project before I felt the click again. Immediately I stopped and inspected the tip. Sure enough, the tip was dislocated. I inspected the hook again and the entire tip snapped off!
And with that my love affair with Furls Odyssey ended. I love how they feel, how they made my hands feel, how quickly my projects worked up. But I cannot justify 2 out of 3 hooks, each priced $35, breaking within a month of purchase. Moving forward I probably need to stick to single piece hooks rather than 2 pieces adhered together like the Odyssey. Both the hooks that broke snapped at this junction. If you never crochet with tight tension, maybe they will be a dream for you. They simply do not last for me.