Furls Fiber Arts vs Ommi Crochet - A Review

 

 

        

[Furls (bottom) and Ommi (top) hooks. Both are acrylic and swirled red and another color. On a background of crochet]
 

Hey! Today I'm going to be talking about some crochet hooks. So many crocheters talk about "heirloom tools" or the concept of needing to have a "luxury experience" while crocheting so that it's a more enjoyable hobby.

Y'all.

We're not gonna talk about just how silly that is when you can buy ergo hooks from Walmart or Joann for $3, and they will be just fine, and sometimes, even though yes, I do have a Clover Amour hook, I often go for my cheap Susan Bates hook instead. And I still have fun crocheting!!

What we're going to talk about today is the much lauded Furls Fiber Arts Streamline hook (mine is acrylic, I got it as a bday gift), and whether or not you actually need a $25 hook or if the comparably shaped Ommi hook that costs $11 (I also got it for my bday) might not be better. Or at least the same, if nothing else.

Furls is a company who makes all of their hooks by hand or by hand-turned machine, and they do a lot to make sure their hooks aren't super expensive, and they're designed to reduce cramping. All lovely sentiments, but they also have hooks that sell for $85 a pop, so take that as you will.

I know next to nothing about Ommi, except I found them looking for Furls hooks on Amazon, and finding them for half the price. They're made in India, and have a "comfortable + durable + affordable" slogan, and they do free 90 day returns or exchanges. Nice. The most expensive Ommi hook I could find cost $14.

[The Furls hook. Looks like a cherry vanilla candy, main swirl of color at the top. You wanna eat it]
 

On to the Furls hook. It's very pretty, vibrant, and interestingly shaped, with a fairly short taper from the straight neck into the ergo handle. It's bright red (cherry) with a white swirl. This hook is in a discontinued color. It holds nicely, has a light weight to it, and has the size and Furls Crochet screenprinted on the side.

Pros: It's light, it's bright and colorful, it works well with various yarns with only a little squeaking (this is normal for acrylic and resin hooks), and it's nice to hold

Cons: the price tag ($24.95?), the swirl is mainly at the top (I know it's hand poured but come on), the head of the hook is odd, in a shape I'm not familiar with, and the screen printing is actually pixellated. How this wasn't sold as a 'second', I don't know.

 

 

[The Ommi hook, which is pick and pale blue and purple with flecks of white and red]

Now for the Ommi hook. It's also very pretty. It's red pink blue white and purple (also swirly), feels a little lighter, but also holds nicely. The taper is more gradual to the ergo part, and has the size debossed into the side. It also has a tapered throat, the Furls is an inline.

Pros: It is very smooth, very light, and very pretty. It also works very well with various yarns with only a little squeaking, and it's very nice to hold as well.

Cons: The color is not what's advertised. I ordered one that was supposed to be cherry red and bright turquoise, and I got a very muted colorway, which seems to be a consistent issue with Ommi's resin hooks. Still, it's pretty, even if it's not what I asked for.

Y'all, these hooks crochet exactly the same. They glide through the yarn nicely, they have tension on the yarn when you need it (sometimes my Amour hook drives me crazy because it slips too much), they don't pop out of the stitches constantly, they're nice to hold (and warm to your hand if you like that, which is a selling point for a lot of people), and they're really pretty.

If you ~want~ to treat yourself to a Furls hook, do it! Don't let anyone tell you not to. But you don't have to. It's perfectly fine to buy a similar, less expensive hook, like an Ommi, and use that.

It's fine to buy a $5 hook. Take it from me, the person who literally experiments with almost everything: use what you like it really isn't going to wreck your experience, even if it's $ vs $$$.