Product Review – Susan Bates Digital Row Counter

June 13, 2015 /

As you may remember, I recently received a package of free items to review, from Red Heart. Included in the package was a Susan Bates digital row counter. This is a brand new product for 2015 (UPDATE: it’s now available on Red Heart’s site and I have updated the links in this post!). I’m not typically a big fan of row counters, but this one looked intriguing and I wanted to give it a try. I was at my LYS yesterday evening, knitting on my current pair of socks, and it seemed like a good opportunity.

In the past, I’ve used the type of manual row counters where you turn the dials on the ends to make the numbers change. They slip onto knitting needles like stitch markers. Some people love these, but for me they get in the way of the knitting. They also don’t attach to crochet like they do to knitting, so they’re harder to keep track of. You have to put your work down or let go of it to turn the dial, and I always would forget whether or not I had turned it when I was supposed to.

Since I generally dislike row counters, I was not actually expecting to like this product.  It’s in the form of a ring, and when I first saw it I thought for sure it would be too bulky and would get in the way. As it turns out though, I was pleasantly surprised.

Susan Bates row counter

 

The image on the box shows it being worn on the right index finger, but since that’s where I tension my yarn, I wore it on my left hand instead. It took a little trial and error to get the position right. I first put it on as shown on the package – with the counter laying on the top of my finger, like this:

on top of ring finger

Almost immediately, I found I wanted to turn it to rest on the side of my finger instead. In this position I could easily see the screen and push the button while knitting, without changing my grip or turning my hand.

on side of finger       pushing the button

I had the strap fastened almost as tight as it could go. There was lots of room to expand, so it would fit easily on any finger. It was so comfortable and secure, I hardly noticed it while knitting. I actually didn’t take it off when I paused for dinner (nor later when I paused again, for ice cream). At the end of the night (about 4 hours later), my skin was not at all irritated by the extended wear. It was just a little clammy under the strap, like when you remove a ring you’ve been wearing for a while.

Because I didn’t have to drop my knitting to advance the counter, I never missed pushing the button. Because I saw the number every time I looked down, I also never forgot whether or not I had pushed it. To test this, I had marked a stitch before I started, and then physically counted the rounds when I was finished. I had knit 12 rounds, and that’s exactly what showed on the counter. The button is sensitive enough to push easily when intended, but not sensitive enough to easily be pushed accidentally.

12 rounds counted

Yes, I only worked 12 rounds in 4 hours. In my defense, that’s 12 rounds of 2 socks at a time. Besides, a lot of what goes on at knitting / crochet night has very little to do with actually knitting or crocheting! Anyway, back to the row counter:

Another feature I liked is the “memory”. If the display goes off, you just have to tap the button once to wake it back up and bring back the number you last had on it. This means you can set your work down at any time without having to remember or write down your last count. With an MSRP of only $4.95 each, you could easily get a few (in all different colors, of course) and store one with each WIP as needed.

So will I use this row counter with all my projects now? Probably not. Particularly with crochet, I generally find it easy enough to count the rows on the piece itself. With knitting, I tend to work things like socks and sleeves 2 at a time specifically so that I don’t have to count. However, I would happily use this row counter if I’m working a complicated pattern, trying to keep track of pattern repeats, or need to count a large number of rows. This is MUCH nicer to use than the previous counters I’ve tried, so if I do want a row counter, this would definitely be the one I would choose. It may even encourage me to use one a little more often.

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