ChiaoGoo's FORTÉ 2.0 set covers the same sizes as the TWIST and SPIN 5-inch Complete sets, US-2 (2.75 mm) through US-15 (10 mm), with different tips: carbon fiber in the small sizes and African Blackwood in the large, both with stainless steel points. It also carries nine cables, scissors, a tape measure, and a tin of tools, in a case that opens like a book.
Here is what is in the set, how its tips and cables work, what it makes, the FORTÉ carbon fiber tips we sell by the pair, and the other ChiaoGoo sets in the same sizes.
From FORTÉ to FORTÉ 2.0
ChiaoGoo's first FORTÉ set used African Blackwood tips in every size. For FORTÉ 2.0, ChiaoGoo changed the US-2 through US-8 tips to carbon fiber, kept African Blackwood for US-9 through US-15, and added three red TWIST cables to the six SWIV360 cables.
Carbon fiber is strong at small diameters, where a wood needle can flex or snap. Blackwood is dense and smooth at the larger diameters.
What's in the Set
- Tips. 14 pairs of 5-inch (13 cm) tips. Eight pairs in carbon fiber on the Small [S] join: US-2 (2.75 mm), 2.5 (3 mm), 3 (3.25 mm), 4 (3.5 mm), 5 (3.75 mm), 6 (4 mm), 7 (4.5 mm), and 8 (5 mm). Six pairs in African Blackwood on the Large [L] join: US-9 (5.5 mm), 10 (6 mm), 10.5 (6.5 mm), 11 (8 mm), 13 (9 mm), and 15 (10 mm). Every tip has a stainless steel point and join.
- Cables. Nine memory-free cables: six silver SWIV360 cables in 14-inch (35 cm), 22-inch (55 cm), and 30-inch (75 cm) lengths in each join size, and three red TWIST [S] cables in the same three lengths.
- Tools. A metal tin, 2.5 x 1.6 inches (6.5 x 4 cm), holding 4 cable connectors, 4 end stoppers, 2 adapters, 2 tightening keys, 2 darning needles, 2 safety pins, 20 metal stitch markers, and a heart-shaped rubber gripper. Steel scissors, a retractable tape measure, and a two-sided swatch ruler with a 14-hole needle gauge sit in their own pockets and straps, and an elastic band in the center of the case holds a pen.
- Case. A man-made leather-look material, zippered around three sides to open like a book, with a removable double-sided needle board that holds all 14 pairs in elastic loops, an elastic strap for the tin and tools, and four pockets.
How the Tips Work
Carbon fiber and blackwood both have more grip than ChiaoGoo's stainless steel tips and less than SPIN bamboo. Every FORTÉ tip has a sharp stainless steel lace point, the same kind of point as ChiaoGoo's TWIST Lace tips, and ChiaoGoo laser-marks the size on each tip.
Snug each tip onto its cable with a tightening key through the hole in the cable's join, every time you put a tip on. A finger-tight tip can work loose as you knit. The rubber gripper gives your fingers a hold on the tip while you turn the key.
Two Kinds of Cable
All nine cables are memory-free, with a multi-strand steel core in a nylon coating. The six silver SWIV360 cables have a swivel at each join. A swivel lets the cable turn independently of the tips, so the cable does not twist as you knit. A swivel is optional: some knitters like it, and some find it can snag with fine yarns and tight stitches.
The three red TWIST [S] cables are the same memory-free cable without the swivel, in the same three lengths, so the set gives you both choices in the small sizes. The two adapters in the tin put a Large [L] tip on a Small [S] cable, so a US-9 or larger tip can knit on a red TWIST cable too.
What the Set Makes
With any pair of 5-inch tips, the 14-inch cable makes a 24-inch (61 cm) circular, the 22-inch cable a 32-inch (81 cm) circular, and the 30-inch cable a 40-inch (101 cm) circular. Each SWIV360 length comes in both join sizes, so all 14 sizes make all three lengths: 42 circular needles from one case. (All measurements are approximate.)
For longer circulars, a 37-inch cable makes a 47-inch (121 cm) circular and a 50-inch cable makes a 60-inch (151 cm) circular. We carry both lengths in SWIV360 [S], SWIV360 [L], and red TWIST [S].
FORTÉ Tips by the Pair
We also sell FORTÉ carbon fiber tips by the pair, in 5-inch (13 cm) and 4-inch (10 cm) lengths. Each length comes in 15 sizes, US-2 (2.75 mm) through US-15 (10 mm), all with carbon fiber shafts, including US-10.75 (7 mm), a size the set does not include. The tips use the same Small [S] and Large [L] joins as the set, so they fit its cables and every other ChiaoGoo [S] and [L] cable.
The 5-inch tips add US-10.75 to the set, a second pair in any size, or carbon fiber in US-9 through US-15, where the set has blackwood.
![A pair of ChiaoGoo FORTÉ interchangeable knitting needle tips on a white background. Each tip has a dark gray carbon fiber shaft, a threaded stainless steel join at the left, and a stainless steel lace point at the right. Laser markings read [L], the ChiaoGoo logo, and 10.5 on the join, and 6.5 mm on the point.](http://smartisans.com/cdn/shop/files/carbon-fiber-tips-2.jpg?v=1768587951&width=1208)
The set's 5-inch tips make nothing shorter than a 24-inch circular. FORTÉ 4-inch tips on an 8-inch cable make a 16-inch (40 cm) circular for hats and cowls, and on the set's cables they make 22-, 30-, and 38-inch circulars. One pair is also a way to try carbon fiber before you buy the set.
The Tools Kit
The tin in the set is the ChiaoGoo Tools Kit, item 7599-SL, and we also sell it on its own. Everything in it fits the Small [S] and Large [L] joins on TWIST, SPIN, and FORTÉ tips, so you can add the same accessories to a TWIST or SPIN set. None of it fits the Mini [M] join.
A connector joins two cables of the same join size into one longer cable. End stoppers turn a cable into a stitch holder while the tips go onto another project. The two adapters are [L] to [S]: a Large tip on one end, a Small cable on the other.
![ChiaoGoo 7599-SL Tools Kit laid out beside its open hinged silver tin: two black Large [L] and two white Small [S] end stoppers inside the tin, with T-shaped metal tightening keys, darning needles, safety pins, silver cable connectors and [L]-to-[S] adapters, black and clear ring stitch markers, and the red heart-shaped ChiaoGoo rubber gripper](http://smartisans.com/cdn/shop/products/c56b4ab19299a0b63619affb991e6b57.jpg?v=1668540373&width=2500)
What the Set Does Not Do
The smallest size is US-2 (2.75 mm). For US-000 through US-1.5, ChiaoGoo makes the stainless steel Mini sets.
FORTÉ 2.0 comes only as this Complete set, with no Small or Large version. Its case comes only with the set; the ChiaoGoo Interchangeable Case, which we sell on its own, holds FORTÉ tips in 29 labeled pockets.
The cables are memory-free, not kink-free. ChiaoGoo explains that the steel core holds a permanent kink if you pinch it or bend it sharply, and that repeated bending, tight tension, and lifting a heavy project by the cable or joins wear a cable over time. Our post on what to do when a ChiaoGoo cable snaps covers seven habits that help cables last.
Other ChiaoGoo Sets in the Same Sizes
Two other ChiaoGoo sets cover US-2 through US-15 on 5-inch tips: the TWIST 5-Inch Complete Set, with surgical stainless steel lace tips and six red TWIST cables, and the SPIN 5-Inch Complete Set, with Moso bamboo tips and six SWIV360 cables. Our guide, ChiaoGoo Interchangeable Sets Compared, goes through every set by size range, tip length, and material.
The Bottom Line
If you knit on 24-inch and longer circulars and want more grip than stainless steel gives, the FORTÉ 2.0 set has carbon fiber and blackwood tips from US-2 through US-15, with swivel and non-swivel cables in the small sizes. If you also knit hats on 16-inch circulars, add FORTÉ 4-inch tips and an 8-inch cable. If you want to try carbon fiber first, start with one pair of FORTÉ tips. If you want the same sizes in steel or bamboo, choose the TWIST or SPIN 5-Inch Complete Set.
Smartisans has been an authorized ChiaoGoo dealer for more than a decade. Every authentic ChiaoGoo product you buy new from an authorized dealer carries a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects. Lifetime means the life of the product: the ChiaoGoo warranty covers manufacturing defects for as long as the product should last in normal use. Our post on ChiaoGoo's lifetime warranty covers what it includes and how to file a claim.
Originally published January 4, 2024, as "We've got 'em! The ChiaoGoo Forté 2.0 Knitting Needles." Rewritten November 2, 2026, and combined with our June 10, 2023, preview of the set.