we feel like we’re buying a high end guitar but we’re not jimmy page.
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I have a pretty smart friend who likes to say “to compare is to despair.” We shouldn’t compare our throwing, which we live every throw of, to another person’s social media highlight reel.
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I like to think of yo-yoing as music 
Are the Ramones or Nirvana extremely musically talented? Not really. Does their music rock? Yes it does.
Are they comparable in talent to Led Zeppelin, Motorhead or Metallica? No.
But their music can definitely be played amongst them!
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haha, exactly!
Still makes no sense to me. You should buy the best gear you can reasonably afford, no matter what your current skill level is. The better the gear, the smoother the learning experience.
What in our culture makes you feel like you have to “earn” a high-end piece of gear with your skill level?
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This is a position that I can relate to very much. I used to think like that because everyone was better than me.
But I used that as motivation, and worked very hard for several years. You can get very good pretty fast if you work hard. And attaining a high level of skill is one of the most satisfying things you can do.
I know this is something that me and the more collector minded people on this forum but heads about, but if one were to have the discipline to consistently work, the results gained are satisfying on so many levels.
And I know some people that I’ve talked to say they aren’t interested in getting better. Ok to each their own I suppose. But especially if you’re really feeling the skill gap between others and yourself, I’d set some time aside to work on what you’re missing.
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I’ve had quite the opposite happen to me as I just remembered. Several years ago I had just shared a trick on Instagram with a new titanium throw I got… Had some kid telling me that I play like 
and don’t deserve nicer yoyos. Not wanting to stoop to his level I kindly removed his comment and blocked further interactions with him as I don’t need that kind of attitude from others.
One time I bought an expensive throw and when I went to play it, I felt like I couldn’t handle it and wasn’t worthy… Then a few days later I came back to it and found out I was just having a rough day.
I will have to say this though, it is fun to have a friendly rival with a fellow thrower, drives motivation in both of us to learn a given trick as we used to trick challenge each other. It wasn’t a goal of who could do it first but a matter of both of us had to be able to land it before we move onto the next new trick. And when one of us were slipping behind, the other would help. Fun times.
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Stuff like the car you drive and what job you have. Or being homeless and panhandling for the new iPhone. For the most part you earn you’re money (practice) and buy your products according to your own abundance.
With that said:
@zslane " The better the gear, the smoother the learning experience."
Recently been considering this argument. If the gear is better, you can get there (wherever you’re going) faster. I think this is the right approach.
That’s really obnoxious that someone would say that.
I’m not saying this it you at all (I’ve seen your stuff, and it’s great ), but it does aggravate me a bit when I see people practicing their trapeze or double or nothing on a Draupnir.
It only takes about six months the or consistent work to get to a skill level where one could put a nice yoyo to work doing some horizontal tricks or something that a good throw is designed to do.
Why, exactly, does this bother you? 
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It’s just a pet peeve. It’s like seeing someone practicing happy birthday on a Stradivarius.
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And that’s a source of aggravation because… ?
It depends on what kind of gear.
As a beginner, the better the gear the more likely it can get wrecked.
Because it’s seems a bit silly to be using yoyos carefully designed for the most high level competition tricks for the basics…
People at that level wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a draupnir and a magic yoyo. There’s no reason to buy a yoyo like that except just to spend the money and to feel like you have something shiny and premium.
Obviously everyone can use whatever they want, I’m not super broken up about it, but as I mentioned before, it does seem a bit silly.
As I also said, to each their own, I’m not here to judge.
I see both sides of the coin - but I will say, a more “advanced” yoyo lends to beginners being able to fuss around more without worrying about losing spin before they get a chance to practice a new trick/element
Not to say you can’t get good on a plastic. But the higher tier throws will give a noobie more time to get the trick down
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For sure. There’s also a happy medium. I learned on a shutter.
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I started out on b-grades of high end yoyos…was nice having that extra stability with the models I had selected (phat/chunky rims were a norm at the time).
Shifting back to comparing notes, one thing I like to do is compare myself to my old self. Every once in a while I’ll go back and look at old trick videos and see how much smoother I got (or maybe rougher?), how much I’ve learned, and perhaps rediscover something I may have forgotten.
I have to admit though, in 1997, my 6th grade self thought I was the coolest (or nerdiest among the actual “cool” kids) kid on the school yard as among all of us who were throwing at the time, I was helping others getting a proper throw and teaching them what I knew (which honestly was not much).
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This is why I am really glad I moved from the cheap beginner yoyos that were recommended to me to a Deep State. Yes, it was a bit narrow, but the longer spin time really helped. I went from being ready to give up, to having fun learning tricks.
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Heya NitroBobby916…
This has been bothering me since you started this thread.
I should have stepped up and gave you a direct answer.
But, better late than never.
Don’t take this too personal, but>
Everybody ‘is’ much better than you🤓
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Truth.
kgb