The price points between the high end and low end 4a YoYos are nuts and doesn’t seem to be much difference in material… are they worth it??? 1a YoYos are a bit easier to gauge since I’ve never had an expensive 4a yoyo
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Comes down to preference. I am a competitive 4a player and have been quite happy using contrails as my go to 4a yoyo. That said I have played the more expensive variants and they do have a certain crisp feel to them that I can see why some might prefer them, buy for myself I find the cheaper delrin option just enough.
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What about down at the other end of the spectrum?
Would you say the Contrails is noticeably better than something like the Skyhawk or Flight?
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I concur with @JeiCheetah, it is somewhat preference. The cheaper yoyos are generally made with injection-molded polycarbonate (there are some outliers to this though). For me, I far prefer a machined delrin because of the smoothness on grinds, but it is up to you. To be fair, the Pandemonium of mine was bought directly from Sean Perez and he gave me an amazing deal on it, so I may be a little biased towards price.
After you hit the machined plastic 4a yoyo price range, you step into bi-metals and premium brands, but I will hand that off to someone else, as I have never played one of those 
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If you’re just starting out then something like the YYF Flight is a great choice. As you advance you may want to pickup a more expensive 4a model. You may not notice any difference as a beginner, but as you progress you will notice more subtle differences in material and design.
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I have a marshmallow already. I just ask because with 1a it’s like plastic-metal-bimetal. Here it’s plastic-plastic… and there’s no reviews… but basically it’s all good the more expensive ones have a fancier plastic and design process? Got it if so!
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Saying plastic > metal > bimetal isn’t the best comparison for 1A & 4A. Machined plastic costs around the same as machined aluminum, sometimes more depending on the design difficulties. Maybe use… Molded plastic > machined plastic > plastic/metal hybrid. All of which have their own pros/cons and it’s really a personal preference of the player.
But with that said - If you’re happy with your current yoyo and don’t feel like you need anything else then just have fun with it.
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I’ve noticed there are certain price points that make a difference. $20, $50, $100. The more you go up, the smaller the difference. I bought the popular TI that most people here were getting, but that is my only over $100 yoyo. Honestly, I feel most comfortable with my $50 yoyos as I don’t worry so much if I ding one.
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