I have tried several brands of needles including regular sharps, betweens, etc. I cannot use betweens, they are just too short for me for me to manipulate (arthritis). I found that the Thimblelady needles are perfect for me. They are longer and thinner and they just seem to melt into the fabric. The only problem is that they do bend quite easily, but I haven't found anything comparable. If you're interested you can order them at www.thimblelady.com. They were developed by Liuxin Newman and used to be sold through one of the catalogs, but she now has her own company working out of Australia. They are a little more expensive, but well worth the price.