Furls Crochet Hooks: Why I Love the Streamline Hooks

If you’ve been a crocheter anywhere on the internet in the last few years, you’ve likely seen a Furls crochet hook in pictures, in reviews and recommended by crochet bloggers like myself. With their price tag, it’s easy to ask yourself if the cost is even worth the reward. Is there a return on your investment? Are the crochet hooks worth the price?

Why do I consider Streamline Crochet Hooks one of my two favorite crochet tools and why do I recommend them? Let’s talk about it!

Furls Fiberarts is in no way sponsoring this crochet hook review. Every Furls crochet hook I own is a hook I have personally purchased or was purchased for me as a gift by a friend or family member. I am a Furls Fiberarts Affiliate but I have never received a product from them for free. This is an honest “I spent my hard earned money on these hooks” review.

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Ergonomic, a fancy way to say “comfortable”.

The definition of the word Ergonomic is “a science that deals with designing and arranging things so that people can use them easily and safely” (via Merriam Webster Dictionary). Which, essentially, is a fancy way to say that an item with “ergonomic” branded on it has been created to bring up your quality life when using that specific tool.

When it comes to crochet hooks, this means comfort.

Comfort goes a long way when using a crochet hook. An uncomfortable grip isn’t only uncomfortable, it can cause actual hand pain and can cause repetitive use injuries in your wrists.

So, how exactly are Furls crochet hooks ergonomic?

The Furls Fiberarts website states that their crochet hooks are teardrop shaped to fit “perfectly” into the MCP joint of the human hands, which allows for more comfort and relaxation of the wrist and hand (via Furls).

The MCP joint (metacarpophalangeal joint) is the medical term for the knuckle where your fingers meet your palm (via American Society for Surgery of the Hand). This joint is used for pinching and gripping, and can be stressed by doing so repeatedly or for long periods of time.

This teardrop shape makes for a wider handle regardless of the actual millimeter size you need for the yarn or pattern you’re working with. All of my Furls crochet hooks, whether a 6.5 mm resin or a 3.5mm wood all have the same handle width. I notice almost 0 difference when switching hook sizes.

Obviously, as crocheters, we pinch and grip our crochet hooks a lot so it makes sense that this tear drop shape allows your grip to be a little bit more relaxed, which takes some stress off of your knuckles and wrists.

A fun experiment: Relax your dominant hand and place the fingers of your other hand on the underside of your wrist, just below where your palm starts. Feel how relaxed your wrist tendons and knuckles are. Now, make a fist with your dominant hand while holding your fingers against your wrist. See how everything moves and contracts? Notice how your knuckles are now tighter?

It makes sense that a wider, teardrop shape helps to keep our wrists and knuckles from tightening up as much. This helps with comfort and our hand/wrist health in the long run.

Another thing that makes them super comfortable…

I also personally find the Furls Streamline hooks to be super comfortable because of their length. The Streamline hooks are advertised as being between 6.5 inches and 7 inches long.

My 3.5 mm Streamline Swirl measures in at 6.75 inches, whereas my aluminum hook of the same size measures in at just over 5.25 inches.

I know this sounds silly and like such a small difference but when I use the smaller aluminum hook, it rubs into the palm of my hand (I have a “knife grip”). This is so uncomfortable for me and it drives me absolutely nuts.

When I first picked up a Furls crochet hook and noticed that the hook actually stuck out of the other side of my palm, I felt like I had won the lottery. No more awkward crochet hook rubbing my palm raw! Regardless of the millimeter size of the hook, they always sit as comfortably in my palm as the other sizes.

I find this especially important with the smaller hook sizes, like 3.5mm. The handle’s teardrop shape is just as wide and the handle is just as long as a 7mm hook, which makes working with yarn of lighter weights (like Fingering) not as painful and daunting.

We don’t have to “put up with” pain.

The reality of our hobby is that we use our hands a lot. Even when we aren’t using our crochet hooks, we’re placing stitch markers, weaving in ends, blocking our projects, winding our yarn or other multitude of things. All of these things require using that MCP joint to pinch and grip.

Not to mention we’re typing, using our smartphones, cooking, reading, gripping a dog leash… the list is endless. All of these things can cause stress and injury to our most important tools as crocheters – ourselves.

When I was just a kiddo, I thought I was invincible and skateboarded everywhere. Well, I absolutely was not invincible because wouldn’t you know it, I fell. I broke both bones in my right arm, a bone in my wrist and dislocated my shoulder. Despite being fairly young when I caused myself this injury, I still have issues from it today.

I wrote a big article on the hand, wrist and shoulder stretches I do as a crocheter because of this injury. I think all of us should have some sort of stretching routine as crocheters to help with strength and flexibility. In that blog post, I mention how the Streamline crochet hooks helped with my hand and wrist pain. What I’m more shocked about, is the hooks actually helped with my shoulder pain, too!

If you’ve ever known someone who was really into going to the gym, you’ve heard the term “no pain, no gain”. That may be sort of true for the gym, but it absolutely is not true for crochet. 

Sure, your hands, wrists, arms and shoulders can get tired – that’s one thing. But if you’re feeling significant pain that lasts, it’s time to think about what is causing the pain and what to do about it.

Whether that is finding a physical therapist, introducing some stretches into your routine, crocheting a little less, investing in quality crochet hooks or a combination of all of the above. You shouldn’t be “putting up with” pain.

The Furls Streamline crochet hooks have options!

The Furls Streamline crochet hooks come in two main options: wood and resin. I have both and I love both, for different reasons!

Both the wood and the resin crochet hooks have the ergonomic design that we talked about above and both feel incredibly comfortable in the hand. They’re the same style design of crochet hook, they’re just made differently.

Let’s take a look at what to love (pros) and what to consider (cons) about both the wood and resin style of the Streamline hooks.

Wood

The wood Streamline crochet hooks come in four different types of wood and 1 striped option, and each are as gorgeous as the next. The wood for these hooks is sustainably sourced, which is a huge plus! According to the website, these hooks are machine carved to ensure they stay as affordable as possible.

What to Love (Pros):

• They’re incredibly light.
  • I measured two of mine with a food scale. Both my 3.5mm and 7mm wood hooks weigh 0.3 ounces (or 11 grams).
• The wood’s texture lends extra grip to the hook, which is great for silky yarn like Lion Brand’s TruBoo and most fingering weight yarn.
• The wooden hooks have sharper tips, especially in the smaller sizes.
• They come in smaller hook sizes with their smallest size being 3.25mm.
• They’re the least expensive Furls crochet hook available.

What to Consider (Cons):

• The smaller hook sizes (3.25mm, for example) can break easily if you have a very tight tension. This is typical for most hooks of any make.
  • I personally have a tight tension and have had my 3.5mm wood Furls crochet hook for nearly two years and have never broken it. Just my personal experience. 🙂
• Some people have mentioned that the wood snags.
  • I personally haven’t had this happen across four different wood hooks, but that doesn’t make it untrue. Furls has a money back guarantee, especially if your hook is defective. If you notice it snagging, make sure to reach out to them!
• Some crocheters may not like the added grip wood provides. Crocheters looking to try wooden hooks but want to try a cheaper option first may want to try out a wood hook from somewhere like Michael’s before investing in a Furls.

Resin

The resin Streamline Swirl crochet hooks (also including Streamline Galaxy hooks) come in 11 different stunning color options. The resin hooks are hand poured using at least two colors. Some of them have simple swirls like the Cream colorway, which is a white and off white blend. Others are more advanced like the Super Nova which has dark blue, teal, pinks and sparkles.

What to Love (Pros):

• These hooks are also super light, though they are a bit heavier than the wood. They’re a decent “in between” weight when compared to the wood Streamline hooks and the Odyssey hooks.
  • My 4.5mm weighs 0.6 ounces (17 grams) and my 6mm weighs 0.7 ounces (21 grams).
  • They are technically heavier than the wood, but they aren’t “heavy” hooks by any stretch.
• They come in a beautiful range of colors and each is hand poured. No two hooks are exactly the same so your hook is unique to you.
• They’re incredibly smooth and work well with any type of yarn.
  • I especially love them for wool fibers or yarns that are prone to splitting as I have found these yarns to split less with the resin Streamine.
• They’re only slightly more expensive than the wood Streamline hooks.

What to Consider (Cons):

• They’re more expensive than the wood Streamline hooks (see what I did there? Hahaha)
  • They aren’t terribly more expensive, though. Only a few dollars.
• They don’t come in as small of sizes (likely because they’d break more often). Their smallest size is 4mm.
• Because they’re hand poured, what you receive will not look exactly like the picture because each is unique.
  • I’ve loved each of my resin hooks. I actually have two of the Cookies and Cream hooks and I love that the color swirl is different. I can easily tell which one is which size without having to look for the number.
• They can be “squeaky” with some yarn, especially if you have a very tight tension.
  • I did notice some squeaking when I used my very first Furls hook. I had a very tight tension previous to using them. Furls hooks have helped me loosen up my tension some and I haven’t heard squeaking since.

What about the Odyssey hooks?

I do have a couple of the Furls Odyssey hooks and they’re absolutely gorgeous. I do find myself gravitating back to my Streamline hooks, though, despite telling myself I’ll “use the Odyssey this time”.

The Odyssey hooks are weighted, so they’re quite a bit heavier than the Streamlines. My 5.5mm Odyssey crochet hook weighs in at 1.3 ounces (38 grams). It may not seem like a significant difference, but it’s certainly noticeable for me and it’s taking me more time to get used to using them.

I may notice the weight more because I broke my wrist and arm when I was a kid and still have issues because of the injury today. So while I personally don’t use them as often, I’m not saying I don’t technically recommend them, either.

There are tons of people who absolutely love their Odyssey hooks and I can certainly see why they do! I just haven’t fully adjusted to the weight of them yet.

Despite the weight, the Odyssey hooks have all the makings of the ergonomic Furls crochet hook: teardrop shape, long handle, smooth finish. They come in a stunning array of beautiful colors and the tips of the hooks are nickel plated pewter, which is great for people who prefer a metal finish to their hooks.

I think the only con I personally have aside from the weight of the hooks is that the size is not stamped on them like the Streamlines. I personally don’t want to write on my hooks with a sharpie or have to have a caliper around to check the size. You definitely could get around this by buying each size in a different color and then remembering what size is which, placing number or letter stickers on them, or something like that.

Aren’t Furls crochet hooks expensive, though?

Objectively, yes. Furls crochet hooks are more expensive than buying a pack of aluminum crochet hooks from a chain craft store or from Amazon.

I think we should change our thought process on “expensive”, though. The question isn’t “Aren’t they expensive?” The question should be “Is there a return on investment?”

I am definitely someone who doesn’t frivolously spend money. I’ve never been the type to spend more on something just because it’s “pretty” or it looks nice. I have been known to DIY things, do repairs myself or just go without something fancy.

It took me a long time to convince myself to purchase one Streamline resin hook. Because the set of aluminum hooks were so cheap, it was hard to justify spending basically that entire amount on one of the Furls.

I had to stop saying “Gosh, those are so expensive!” and start saying “Those are an investment in my hobby and my health”.

Is there a return on investment?

I did finally convince myself to purchase one hook (obviously, haha!). When the hook arrived, I immediately pulled it out of the box and started crocheting with it. It took a row or two to get adjusted to the wider handle but once my hand understood what it was holding, I never looked back.

The difference between the hooks I was previously using (aluminum hooks with the hard plastic grips on them) and the Furls crochet hook was astounding. I could crochet longer with less pain and I didn’t feel like I was holding onto my crochet hook for dear life.

Before trying this hook, I was considering going to a physical therapist again. My knuckles, wrist and shoulder were often very sore and I honestly chalked it up to the injury I had as a kid and assumed I had stopped physical therapy too soon. I knew crocheting wasn’t technically helping, but I didn’t identify it as being a part of the problem.

When basically all of that pain went away, I knew the return of investment on the fancy crochet hook was worth it. Do I still get sore sometimes after a long day of crocheting? Definitely. I won’t lie to you and say the pain is completely gone. Sometimes I do marathon crochet which isn’t always kind to my hands and wrist, regardless of how many helpful tools I throw at them.

I found a huge return of investment after purchasing just one Furls hook. I could crochet longer, I felt significantly less pain and I stopped considering a physical therapist.

There are times where the “fancy, expensive” version of something is worth it. I would say this is one of them.

You wouldn’t go run a marathon in $5 running shoes, would you? Me, either! (Well, I wouldn’t run a marathon anyway but… you know!)

I believe my physical health and well-being is worth the investment in a more expensive hook, as long as it actually provides a service. In the case of Furls crochet hooks, they do.

My “frugal” crochet hook secret…

Speaking of the expense, I’m going to let you in on my “frugal” secret: I almost always purchase one of the Furls crochet hooks when it’s on sale.

If I don’t need a certain size of hook ASAP, I’ll generally wait until Furls announces a sale. I don’t personally buy into the mindset of “it’s on sale so I should get one just because it’s cheaper” but if I know I’m going to need a certain size in the future, I will pick up a hook when it’s on sale.

I absolutely have purchased hooks when they weren’t on sale before, but I would say probably 80% of my hooks were either purchased on sale or in a hook set. No shame!

The Furls hooks aren’t technically sold in packs like some other hook brands, but sometimes Furls runs sales where you can purchase a “hook set” of 3, 5 or 8 hooks. By doing so, you are able to get a discount by purchasing more at once.

The downside to purchasing a hook set is they have to be the same type. For example, if you wanted to purchase a 5 hook set, you’d have to get all 5 in Wood OR all 5 in Resin. You do have the availability of choosing colors or wood type, though, which is a big plus!

I usually let my newsletter subscribers know when there is a Furls sale going on because I like to purchase them when they’re a little cheaper. So if you want to be in the loop for sales (as well as news for my blog!), you’re welcome to sign up for my Newsletter!

Furls warranties their crochet hooks and provide a hook guarantee.

One of my favorite things about Furls as a company is their customer service. They back all of their products with a warranty which I think is awesome.

According to the policies on their website, they will replace products that show up broken or break in “normal use”. They also state that if you aren’t 100% satisfied with your purchase (even if it’s because you don’t think the hook is pretty enough!), you can return the item within 90 days for a refund.

I think it’s amazing that a company stands behind their product so much that they’re willing to replace their hooks even if the hook breaks from normal usage over time. 

Of course, if you just break it on purpose or let your dog use it for a chew toy or break it in a pretend sword fight, you can’t have it replaced – that’s silly!

I haven’t had any issues with my hooks breaking despite using them basically every day for at least an hour. Usually for much more than that. However, I have seen Furls replace hooks before and I feel confident that if I had an issue, they would make it right.

I just haven’t had an issue yet (And fingers crossed that I don’t)!

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Whether you’re crocheting as a hobby or running crochet business, I think it’s important to invest in tools that will make your quality of life better.

Regardless if that is a Furls crochet hook or a hook of another brand that feels like it fits in your hand perfectly, don’t be afraid to invest in quality products. It’s important to take care of your most important tool: you!

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