Hey @Bunniekins from memory, it's got to do with the length of them, and what they are made of, fitting within the air line safety guidelines, particularly for the US of A. I remember reading all about it some years ago before I bought them cos I was doing a bit of travelling then.
The main things I like about them is the ease of holding, they are light and somehow easy on my hands, and the heads on the crochet hooks are so much easier for me to use than other brands. I did a comparison the other night when I was making that amigurumi Narwhal. I was using the Boye aluminium that was right near where I was following the video on my pc, mostly cos it was handy and I too lazy to get up and get a different one.
But I was having soooo much trouble with it, splitting the yarn that I knew wasn't splitty because I'd made a massive snuggly coat out of it last year and would not have persevered with it had it been behaving like that! I got cross with it and got my Denise hook of same size and it went wonderfully, so compared them and the reason was clear.
There's this whole thing about the shape of heads, and the throat (which is where it narrows to hook the yarn) and the handle being important for size and tension of stitch as well as the way the hook turns to go through stitches and still maintain the correct and accurate stitch size.
Well, the Boye (and many other hook brands) narrow the whole thing at the throat, whereas the Denise just cuts a piece out of the throat but keeps the back of the hook, where you hold the tension of the stitch, the same size as the handle. TaDa. I found why I can crochet do much easier with the Denise and why the others make my hands ache soooo badly.
If anyone @Bunniekins @CheerBear @Phoenix_Rising @Former-Member @Former-Member or any other crocheters are interested in a better explanation of the above, I will take some images to show the differences.
Sorry, that was probably more information than anyone wanted. *shrug*
Now, yarn for a beginner. hmmmm.
Well, as I've said many times, don't pay full price unless you just can't continue in life without it right bloody now is my motto!
So, I joined and get the newsletters with specials, 
I save for the good specials (around the 75% off). I keep a watch in the weeks coming up to Mothers' Day/ Black Friday/ Cyber Monday / Halloween/ end of & beginning of year.
Make sure you have set the bookmarked site to $AU so you can see price at a glance. (Be mindful of the SIZE of the ball, some companies make 25gm balls and at first glance they look oh so cheap, but aren't really. Tricksy stuff sometimes.
FYI - this is the link to the clearance section LoveKnitting Clearance these change at times too.
1. Do you know what type of yarn you like? Wool, wool + acrylic blend, acrylic, cotton, etc.? If it doesn't matter that's even better. Some yarns hurt people's hands, I'm wool allergic but can tolerate Merino woolwash in some brands, also for some people acrylic is really scratchy. I won't use anything with Nylon in it (I do not make socks), or mohair (goat) or angora (rabbit) both are scratchy and awful, and I don't bother with the upmarket trendy things.
2. Do you know, does it matter, what size of yarn you want to use? One way to determine this is to know what sized needles or hooks you really prefer to use over having to use different sizes. If you like knitting chunky items then the larger/ thicker yarns are what you'll want.
I have yarns from fingering/ lace weight to chunky weight in my stash. Sometimes/ often, I just love the yarn and will decide on what to make it into after I've got it in hand. Sometimes I know I want that yarn to make this thing out of.
3. Do you have to feel the yarn before you buy it? I was like that to start with, but I don't anymore, I've got enough in my stash and know enough of the brands of yarns I like, that I can tell by reading a label if it will work for me.
Hopefully, that will help you to decide on some things and then if you'd like some other suggestions, I'd love to help with ideas. And if you're interested in moving into new patterns and stuff, I'd love to be a sounding board for you with that too.
OOOh, so cool to have enticed you to more crafting @Bunniekins We'll have to put another rocking chair in the Craft Corner!
