Are the smaller sizes (especially US 3) fragile, or will they stand up to considerable use?
1891593
Hello! These will stand up to considerable use. I have Stitchberry single tipped bamboo needles and they are much more fragile than these by Ostart. The latter is a lovely darker "polished" wood, not like the Stitchberry that I have to sand on occasion to keep smooth. Even the US 1 is a sturdy set. I live at the beach and store them in a plastic box inside the little plastic sleeves they were shipped in and mine haven't warped at all. I have been delighted with this set of double pointed needles, I use them very often [I don't have a telly so I craft instead]. I wouldn't be able to knit hats and baby things without them. :-)
541176
Yup. They will hold up just fine. I've drop mine a few times while out in the brush. No problems at all.
1609988
Well... they are pretty sturdy but..... also a little fragile. I bought them for my 3 yo girl who played appropriately with them and my 2 year old son slowly crushed and broke off pieces over time.
1420143
Big or small - no problem at all ! Very sturdy and the grandkids love them.
713007
They're not that brittle but I doubt they'd do what you want as they're very small - roughly the size of a quarter of a dime
356407
My two children play with them all the time and we haven't had a problem with them. One or two were on stands. I think one did break, but I am not surprised with the way they play, most things do break.
1484907
They'll hold up fine. My 3 and 7 year olds go at it all the time. They'll get some scuffs but they keep on goin.
916431
Yes! I would be relatively careful with it but as long as it doesn't get shook around a bunch its definitely small enough and durable enough to be portable.
947368
Yes. I bought them for a gift and the person that uses them is on the small side.
2177046
Well constructed, very light weight and not fragile. We live them. We have three
844706
Per other comments, they are fairly fragile if they are bumped or dropped, true. Some items can bounce and survive but these will chip or shatter into pieces. Note: I stack mine in the cabinet but keep a folded paper towel or two between each bowl to prevent any possible chipping. I have had mine 2 yrs or so and all still fine which is a miracle for me!
1145588
The small ones will break. I made some holes in a 2mm aluminum bar and used the small ones to drill a guide hole for the large one; I lost 2 on 3 small ones in the same day.
1261540
I've had no issues putting them on and I've dropped them a few times and no issue. I would describe myself as a bull in a china cabinet when it comes to how gentle I am with things. I would not describe these as fragile, but wouldn't expect them to completely survive a really hard slam on concrete either
1698496
They are fairly sturdy. Depending on how much you throw your backpack around, they should be ok.
878121
I got the 3inch which is pretty sturdy. It is very heavy and should be handled carefully, but I have had no trouble.
1732202
I can only think maybe because of the size? However my girls (2 and 3) use them and have no issues.
578898
They feel durable to me, I've used a bunch of them for moving a couple months ago and had no problems with any breaking (even with more load in them then was strictly reasonable). The plastic is a little flexible, so I doubt they are going to crack unless they stiffen substantially over time. I've not owned them for years yet, so can't conclusively say though.