I hate video yo-yo reviews. I know almost every yo-yo is good now and it’s really about preference but that doesn’t seem to be addressed from what I’ve seen so far. Most reviews boil down to:
Describe the shape and list specs.
Compliment the looks and feel of the anodization.
Talk about how well the yo-yo fingerspins and grinds, which is 2% of the tricks most people will do.
Very little detail into how it actually feels during play and how fast or slow/heavy it plays, the most useful information.
Also hard to find a reviewer who throws fast enough to evaluate that aspect and isn’t also trying to sell you the product from their site at the same time.
I findyoyo reviews to be worthless at this point. I feel opinions and comparisons would be far better. They all spin nowadays so tell me want you don’t like and what it is similar to. Maybe the review is just dead and not needed anymore.
My unpopular opinion for yoyo reviews or yoyo youtubers is:
You should be a semi-skilled player if you’re doing reviews on YouTube. There are many youtubers who aren’t that skilled but are popular and do lots of yoyo reviews. And those people are generally the ones that are just making the very general points on a yoyo as Durfee states.
I know it has to do with the level of the average viewer. The new and more casual players and more basic, broad reviews will be more popular than the more technical reviews by more skilled players because that’s just the majority of the population, for anything. This is the case for many other hobbies as well. I’ve noticed the people with the largest fan bases for many hobbies are generally the ones that aren’t actually super knowledgeable or technical because that stuff appeals more to the very casual people watching which is larger than the niche population that actually care more about the craft
I agree 100%. Comparisons would help, and knowing the reviewer’s preferences even if they don’t match yours gives you a better idea of whether or not you’d like something and how it plays.
Yeah I definitely don’t think you have to be a pro or anything but someone that has a
proficiency in many if not all facets of yoyoing is ideal imo
@pep65 I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong, the argument for it is that the majority of players are new or casual and not super skilled so it may be helpful to have the opinions of someone with that similar skill level. It’s the idea that no matter what hobby or activity you’re talking about, the majority of the viewers are going to be “average consumers” so you would want an average consumer doing reviews because they are more relatable. And this is probably why an average consumer sometimes has the most followers for a given activity.
I just think personally we’d have more detailed and overall just better reviews if more skilled players were doing reviews
Oh man, this is a good one. My gripe with these, is that most reviews are filmed in the “honeymoon phase”. Like, of course you’re going to promote a yoyo that you literally just got (unless it is just genuinely terrible design).
I definitely agree, but you have to remember a few things to understand why this is happening. Firstly, people that are very good at yoyo are usually sponsored, which means that they will promote their product with a bias (which is expected, it’s their job) or not be able to compare to other yoyos outside of their company. Tldr it clashes with their sponsorship. Also, the people that are usually successful with their reviews come across a LOT of yoyos. They buy a boat load of yoyos to review because they have the time and money to do that, making it easy to compare to other yoyos and having more reviews. An up and coming reviewer might not be able to get every yoyo available to review, only a select few, resulting in a person that is able to review more yoyos becoming more successful, even if their reviews are subpar/generalized.
I like most reviews I watch. I never buy yoyos by their recommendation though. I usually just watch them after I have already purchased a certain throw. It helps me with my impatience seeing someone else play with what in waiting for.
YES. Exactly! I would say you need to be generally skilled at least. Not because you are not going to be able to understand every aspect of a yoyo, but because it will prevent you from having opinions biased by your lack of skill. Both Tom and T have bashed on competition oriented yoyos in the past, while they are unable themselves to play the yoyos to their full potential.
Video yoyo reviews are kinda dead for me now. I still watch them, but i know what it’s being said is merely one fraction of the whole experience on the yoyo. I’d say even Yoyojoe’s commentary (who os one of the most skilled player who do reviews) is plain and redundand sometimes. And let’s not talk about Brandon. There was a time when he would label anything that’s not similar to a draupinir ar “boring” or “standard”
Anyway back to Opinion…
People will have opions based on their skill, so an unskilled yoyoer can still have a valid opinion. For example It goes up and down and feels good in my hand and it didn’t tilt unlike…its an opinion, perhaps not a good one, but its still valid.
tbh I watch tokyo-yo’s videos because his videos are well edited and well structured, but his opinions on the actual yoyos is meh. Throws and Brews as well, I’m not a fan. I watch yoyojoe for his trick tutorials rather than his reviews. I can get something out of a trick tutorial. I can respect Brandon Vu because I feel that he’s got a lot of experience to back up what he says. His podcast series has been a lot of fun to listen to, especially his interview with Andre Boulay. Lorenzyo is sponsored by a yoyo retailer, ■■■■■■■■■■■, which is interesting, as it gives him access to a lot of yoyos from a lot of different brands and doesn’t tie him down to the brand. I’m personally a fan of Topyo’s throws since their primary selling point is the value of the price so I feel like in that context, Lorenzyo’s raving about their yoyos is fine.
which i’m not sure if it counts as Unpopular Yoyo Opinion
