Cable needles are - as the name suggests - an indispensable tool when it comes to working on knitting cables. With a cable needle you can easily and safely park the stitches that need to be crossed together in the cable.
Various forms have been established:
the classic version made of a curved aluminum needle (roughly like a “V” with arms)
straight wooden cable needles with grooves
Stronger curved metal needles that you can even bend yourself
There are also other cable needles such as curved wooden needles, but they are not quite as common.
In the classic version, the bend of the needles prevents the stitches from slipping down; with the wooden cable needles, the grooves take on this task.
The important thing is: no variant is better than the other - you have to find out for yourself which cable needles you get along with best.
