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Try bamboo needles - they give you the best of both worlds. They're not as slippery as metal, but they don't slow down your knitting like wood does. Stitches hold really well, especially with thin yarn, and you can knit comfortably for hours.
I knitted socks with metal needles and kept dropping stitches - they'd slip off with the slightest careless movement. Then I tried wooden ones, and the stitches stopped running off, but knitting got slower and my hands got tired from the friction. When I switched to bamboo, I immediately knew it was the one. The needles are lighter than metal, warm in your hands, stitches stay on them, and the speed feels just right.
There's also the matter of size and thickness - for thin socks you need thinner needles, and bamboo wins here too because it doesn't bend like thicker wooden sticks do. If you're going to knit dense, warm socks from thicker yarn, you could try metal, but overall for this project bamboo is the universal choice.
Metal needles slide faster and work better with smooth, dense yarns, while wooden ones grip the stitches better and are more comfortable for thin or fluffy materials. For socks, I'd go with wooden needles - stitches don't slip off them, it's more relaxed to work with, and they're quieter too.
For socks, the main thing is that the needles are comfortable for *you*, since you'll be knitting them for at least five hours minimum. The guys above wrote correctly about the properties of the materials, but they forgot to mention how they feel in your hands. Wooden needles are warmer, less slippery, and if you have sensitive fingers or just like it when stitches behave better - that's your option. Plus wood makes less noise, if that matters to you at all.
Metal is good when you've already knitted a hundred socks and you know the pace, you don't lose focus. Stitches move fast, work goes quickly, but for a beginner it can be tricky to catch runaway stitches. And if the yarn is thin and slippery - on metal it can slip right off unexpectedly.
My advice: get wooden needles of medium thickness and try them out. If you realize you enjoy knitting, then experiment with metal or other materials later. Needles aren't a huge investment, and enjoying the process matters more than saving money.
The one thing nobody mentioned - metal needles scratch the skin on your fingers over time, and when you're knitting socks (which is a long job), that can cause discomfort even for experienced knitters. From my own experience, I noticed that by the end of the day after using those needles, my fingertips would ache.
For socks, I'd still recommend going with bamboo or quality wood - knitting should be enjoyable, not irritating because of physical discomfort. The stitches hold steadily, and it's easier to knit when you're not distracted by unpleasant sensations.
Another important thing - metal needles make a clinking sound when you're knitting, and if you're planning to knit socks in the evenings or on public transport, it can get annoying for people around you (and for yourself). Wooden and bamboo needles are much quieter in that regard, which for such a lengthy process as sock knitting can be a nice bonus on top of the comfort factor.
I've been knitting for a long time and I've noticed that metal really tires your hands out during long sessions - you'll be knitting socks for more than just one evening. Wooden or bamboo needles are much more comfortable to hold and they don't give you that cold feeling that metal transfers to your fingers. If you're working with thin yarn, wood is definitely more convenient - stitches won't slip off at the worst possible moment.
If you're going with metal needles, make sure they're not too thin - thin ones really do cut into your fingers during long knitting sessions. For socks, I'd recommend getting medium-diameter metal needles if you knit fast and like the pace, or wooden ones if you prefer a slower process without the slipping. Life hack: try wrapping the lower part of the metal needles with a thin layer of electrical tape or fabric tape - the stitches will hold better and your fingers won't suffer.
I've knitted socks with both metal and wooden needles - metal really is faster, but for thin yarn I always go for wood because stitches don't slip between rows and you don't have to worry that everything will fall apart when you're trying them on. For socks this is critical, especially if you're knitting on four needles.
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