How much does the Ashford Kiwi 3 cost?

Prices verified June 2026: unfinished finish approximately $629 (Paradise Fibers, The Spinnery Store); lacquered finish approximately $799 (The Woolery, Halcyon Yarn). Both finishes are on Amazon. Prices vary by retailer. The lacquered version ships ready to use; the unfinished version allows you to apply your own oil or lacquer to match your studio.

What drive system does the Kiwi 3 use?

The Kiwi 3 uses scotch tension (single drive). The drive band connects to the flyer whorl only. A spring-loaded brake band on the bobbin whorl controls take-up speed. The Kiwi 3 does not offer a double drive option; spinners who want double drive need to step up to the Ashford Traveller or Traditional.

What drive ratios does the Ashford Kiwi 3 have?

The Kiwi 3 comes standard with three ratios: 5.5:1, 7.5:1, and 9.5:1. This covers bulky-to-worsted at 5.5:1, standard worsted-to-DK at 7.5:1, and DK-to-sport-weight at 9.5:1. For fine or lace-weight spinning, the optional High Speed Whorl (sold separately, approximately $48) provides ratios of 7.5:1, 10:1, and 15:1.

What is the Kiwi Super Flyer and how much does it cost?

The Kiwi Super Flyer (Ashford's name for the jumbo flyer kit) replaces the standard flyer with a 27mm (1-1/8 inch) orifice unit. Each super bobbin holds 500g versus 130g on the standard flyer. It comes with 3 super bobbins and a lazy kate. Price approximately $380 at The Woolery (verified June 2026). It fits the Kiwi 1, 2, and 3. Designed for bulky, art yarn, and heavy plying.

Is the Ashford Kiwi 3 good for beginners?

Yes. The Kiwi 3 is one of the most widely recommended first spinning wheels because scotch tension is the most forgiving drive system for learning. The folding treadles and compact size make it manageable for first-time wheel owners, and Ashford's Learn to Spin booklet (included) provides a reliable starting path. Most people starting from a drop spindle or no spinning experience begin here.

What wood is the Ashford Kiwi 3 made from?

The Kiwi 3 frame is New Zealand Silver Beech, sourced from sustainably managed forests. Silver Beech is harder than many craft timbers and carries a distinctive pale color. The unfinished version ships as bare wood; the lacquered version has a clear water-based factory finish. The drive wheel itself is timber-veneered MDF on ball bearings for smooth, quiet rotation.

Ashford Kiwi 3 Review: Scotch Tension Spinning Wheel

Name: Ashford Kiwi 3 Review
Item: Ashford Kiwi 3
Author: The Wool Hall Team

The Ashford Kiwi 3 is a scotch tension single-drive spinning wheel made in Ashburton, New Zealand from Silver Beech, available in unfinished ($629) or lacquered ($799) finishes (verified June 2026). It has three drive ratios, a 10mm orifice, folding double treadles, and ships with three 130g bobbins and a built-in lazy kate.

For the large majority of first spinning wheel buyers, the Kiwi 3 is the decision and the question is only which width. For the minority who need double drive or higher top ratios from day one, it is not.

What kind of spinning wheel is the Kiwi 3?

The Kiwi 3 is a castle-style spinning wheel. Castle wheels are upright: the flyer-bobbin assembly sits directly above the drive wheel on a vertical frame, with the treadles at the base. The alternative is the Saxony or walking wheel design, where the orifice sits to one side of the wheel. Castle wheels are more compact in footprint and more common in modern home spinning.

The Kiwi 3’s frame is New Zealand Silver Beech, a hardwood sourced from sustainably managed forests and used in Ashford’s production since the company began making spinning wheels in 1965. The drive wheel is timber-veneered MDF running on ball bearings. This is the combination that produces the characteristic quiet, smooth Ashford rotation: the MDF core is more stable than solid wood under temperature changes, and the veneer gives it the look and feel of a wood wheel.

Spec	Kiwi 3
Drive system	Scotch tension (single drive)
Drive ratios	5.5:1, 7.5:1, 9.5:1
Wheel diameter	45cm (17.5”)
Orifice	10mm (3/8”)
Orifice height from floor	69cm (27.25”)
Bobbins included	3 × 130g
Treadles	Double, folding, polyurethane hinges
Weight	5.5kg (12 lb)
Wood	New Zealand Silver Beech
Drive belt	Polycord
Finish options	Unfinished ($629) / Lacquered ($799)
Made in	Ashburton, New Zealand

Prices verified June 2026 at The Woolery, Halcyon Yarn, and Paradise Fibers. Both finishes are on Amazon (ASIN B07J3XXC57 lacquered, B07KJR7CCR unfinished).

How does scotch tension work on the Kiwi 3?

Scotch tension is a single-drive system: the drive band connects to the flyer whorl and spins the flyer. The bobbin sits on the same spindle as the flyer but is braked separately by a spring-loaded band on the bobbin whorl. Because the flyer spins faster than the braked bobbin, yarn winds onto the bobbin. The spring tension on the brake band controls how fast the yarn takes up.

To adjust: if the yarn winds on too fast (resulting in tight, compacted yarn), release some brake tension. If the yarn stays loose in the orifice instead of winding on, add brake tension. The adjustment is intuitive after a few bobbins.

The contrast with double drive (which the Traveller and Traditional offer) is that in double drive, both the flyer and the bobbin are driven by separate loops of the same drive band, using two different-sized whorls. Double drive provides more precise control of twist insertion relative to take-up, which matters for fine and lace-weight spinning where the margin between enough twist and too little twist is small. For worsted, DK, and bulky-weight yarn, scotch tension is fully adequate and simpler to set up.

Close-up of a spinning wheel flyer-bobbin assembly showing the drive band around the flyer whorl, the bobbin seated on the spindle between the flyer arms, and the hooked flyer arms that guide yarn onto the bobbin — The flyer-bobbin assembly: the drive band (not visible at this magnification) turns the flyer whorl; the flyer arms rotate and the hooks guide yarn toward the bobbin; the bobbin sits on the same spindle, braked by a separate band. In scotch tension, this brake band is spring-loaded and adjusted by a small knob. On the Kiwi 3, this is the tension system for every bobbin change and every fiber type you spin. *Loggie-log via Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.*

What are the drive ratios and what can you spin?

The Kiwi 3’s standard flyer whorl is three-speed: 5.5:1, 7.5:1, and 9.5:1. The ratio is how many times the flyer rotates per treadle stroke. At 5.5:1, each treadle stroke inserts 5.5 twists per inch of draft: slower twist insertion, appropriate for bulky and thick-and-thin yarn where you need to draft fast. At 9.5:1, each stroke inserts 9.5 twists, appropriate for finer sport or DK weight yarn.

Most of what spinners make in their first year falls within these three ratios. Chunky scarves, lace-weight is the outer limit; worsted sweater yarn is well within the middle range. The Kiwi 3’s 9.5:1 top ratio is not limiting for the majority of what a beginner will spin.

For spinners who move into fine yarn: Ashford sells the High Speed Whorl as a separate purchase for approximately $48. It gives ratios of 7.5:1, 10:1, and 15:1. At 15:1, fine singles for lace weight are achievable on the Kiwi 3 with the whorl upgrade. The High Speed Whorl fits Kiwi 1, 2, and 3.

Wool Hall scorecard of the Ashford Kiwi 3 in two ledger columns: scotch tension drive with 5.5 to 9.5:1 ratios, 10mm orifice, three 130g bobbins on the left; New Zealand Silver Beech build, 5.5kg weight, folding double treadles, and a $629 to $799 price band on the right — The Kiwi 3 weighed and judged: every verified spec read off in one place, with the drive side (ratios, orifice, bobbins) set against the build side (wood, weight, treadles, price), so you can see at a glance where a first wheel earns its place and where the next tier begins. *Wool Hall original diagram.*

How portable and easy to set up is the Kiwi 3?

The Kiwi 3 weighs 5.5kg (12 lb). Its double treadles fold flat for transport. This is a meaningful feature: before the Kiwi 3, folding treadles were exclusive to the more expensive Ashford Joy. The wheel sets up from the box in roughly 15 to 30 minutes and folds for a carry bag.

The wheel is not a pocket-sized travel wheel, but it is genuinely portable compared to most floor-standing spinning wheels. Spinners who bring a wheel to spinning guilds, retreats, and workshops find it manageable in a car.

Assembly requires an Allen key (included). The first-time assembly includes tensioning the drive band, threading the orifice, and setting the scotch tension for your first fiber. Ashford’s included Learn to Spin booklet covers all of this. The orifice hook (also included) threads the yarn from the orifice through the flyer hooks to the bobbin.

An antique Scandinavian spinning wheel in an antique shop, showing the large drive wheel, flyer-bobbin assembly on an upright castle frame, and carved wooden details of the legs and uprights — An antique Scandinavian spinning wheel: the same essential structure the Kiwi 3 uses, built several generations earlier. Drive wheel at the base, flyer-bobbin above on the castle frame, treadle at the floor. The Kiwi 3 is this architecture in Silver Beech with a polycord drive band, polyurethane treadle hinges, and treadles that fold flat for transport, a feature this wheel's maker could not have imagined. *Tangerineduel via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.*

What is the Kiwi Super Flyer and do you need it?

Ashford calls the large-orifice upgrade the Kiwi Super Flyer (not “jumbo flyer”; that is a common informal name, not Ashford’s product term). It replaces everything from the maiden bar upward: the flyer arms, the orifice, the bobbin whorl, and the bobbins themselves.

The standard flyer has a 10mm (3/8-inch) orifice. The Super Flyer has a 27mm (1-1/8 inch) orifice. Standard bobbins hold 130g. Super bobbins hold 500g. The kit comes with 3 super bobbins, a lazy kate, and drive components, at approximately $380 (The Woolery, verified June 2026).

What it enables: art yarn with thick-and-thin, coils, and embedded texture; true bulky singles that would not fit through the standard orifice; core-spun yarn with thick cores; plying multiple heavy singles together. What it does not do: it is not suited to fine or delicate fibers. The super flyer is a large-format tool, and spinners report it struggles with anything thinner than chunky.

Most spinners do not need the Super Flyer on their first wheel. If you spin art yarn or bulky regularly, the upgrade path is straightforward and reasonably priced. If you are unsure whether you will spin bulky, wait and buy it later when the need is clear.

A woman spinning yarn in a traditional workshop, her hands drawing fiber as the spinning wheel turns beside her and finished yarn builds on the bobbin — The rhythm of spinning: draft the fiber, let twist enter, let the bobbin take up. On the Kiwi 3, this happens at three speeds depending on which of the three-speed whorl positions the drive band sits in. The 5.5:1 position for bulky, where the hands move fast and twist inserts slow. The 9.5:1 position for sport weight, where twist inserts faster and drafting requires a longer draw. *Nishant Das via Pexels. Pexels License.*

When do you outgrow the Kiwi 3 and what comes next?

The Kiwi 3 is a scotch tension single-drive wheel. That is its limitation and the reason some spinners eventually step up. The specific trigger moments:

When you want double drive. The Kiwi 3 cannot do double drive. In double drive, the bobbin and flyer are connected to separate whorls on the same drive band, giving more precise control over twist-to-take-up ratio. Spinners who work consistently at lace-weight or who spin tightly controlled fine singles find double drive smoother. The Traveller adds it.

When you want higher standard ratios. With the High Speed Whorl, the Kiwi 3 reaches 15:1. The Ashford Traveller in single drive reaches 14:1, and in bobbin-lead (Irish tension) double drive reaches 13:1. The Ashford Traditional in single drive reaches 17:1. For serious fine-yarn spinning without the whorl upgrade, the Traditional is the natural destination.

When you want a Saxony-style aesthetic. Some spinners want a horizontal wheel with the orifice to the side. The Kiwi 3 is a castle wheel. The Traditional is a Saxony. These are entirely different visual profiles and the choice is often personal.

The most common step-up path from the Kiwi 3 is the Ashford Traveller. It adds both scotch and double drive options (switchable), offers ratios to 14:1 in single drive, and maintains the same brand ecosystem as the Kiwi 3 so accessories carry over. The Traveller’s bobbin capacity (100g each) is actually lower than the Kiwi 3’s 130g bobbins, which occasionally surprises spinners used to the Kiwi 3’s depth.

Spinners who came from a drop spindle before the Kiwi 3 rarely feel ready to step up to the Traveller or Traditional in the first year. The Kiwi 3’s range covers most of what you want to learn in that time. The step-up decision typically comes after you know what weight you spin most often and whether single drive is limiting you in practice.

If you pair the Kiwi 3 with a drum carder for fiber prep, it handles a wide range of wools, alpaca, and blends without strain. The 10mm orifice is the main fiber limiter rather than the drive system. For everything that fits the orifice, the Kiwi 3 is a capable and long-lived production wheel.

The Kiwi 3 is available from Ashford’s US dealer network. Dealers include The Woolery, Halcyon Yarn, Paradise Fibers, and regional fiber stores that carry Ashford products. The Ashford Rigid Heddle review covers the brand’s weaving side if you are considering the Ashford ecosystem for both spinning and weaving.