Back From Hiatus! Looking For New Throw

Yo-Yo Reviews Looking for Help/Recommendation
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Hey all!

I’ve been yoyoing since ~2009, and took a bit of a hiatus for the last several years but I’m getting back into it! I’ve still been throwing periodically but haven’t kept up much with the yoyo scene, new throws, new tricks, etc until the last couple months. I have competed before, and my favorite types of tricks are flowy, flashy, hops, slacks, whips, and things like boingy boing. Haven’t gotten super into complex tech tricks, speed combos, or horizontal but I do dabble with them on occasion.

It’s been about 7 years since I’ve got a new yoyo and I think it’s time to change that :sweat_smile:.

Preferences:

  • My top 2 favorite yoyos of all time are the SPYY Dynamo and CLYW+OD Summit (if that doesn’t date me enough at this point). I really like V and H shaped yoyos, and some honorable mentions in my collection are the CLYW Avalanche and OD Rally (RIP because massive cracking).
  • I don’t have a huge preference on size but I gravitate towards mid to full sized throws. I do enjoy some undersized yoyos but I’m not a big fan of oversized yoyos, at least for 1A.
  • I’m also pretty flexible on yoyo weight but if it’s much heavier than 68 grams I have a harder time with it. I tend to stick between 64-67 grams give or take a gram.
  • I like floaty and solid yoyos but I’m not a fan of the “rock on a string” kind of yoyo or a yoyo that’s so light that there’s no depth to it if that makes sense.
  • Yoyos that are fun but also strong performers. It doesn’t have to be the most competitively viable yoyo ever, but I’m also not looking for experimental or gimmicky yoyos either.

What I’m looking at now:

  • I’m very interested in the newer runs of General Yo, especially the Prestige and Majesty and maybe the Torrent II. They always seemed incredible when I was newer at yoyoing but I never had a chance to get one.
  • ~$80 or less (not a hard limit, but I would be hard pressed to go beyond 90-100 unless it’s really special).
  • **A yoyo that’s fun to play/has personality. This is subjective for sure, but there’s something special about playing a yoyo that’s both a strong performer and is just plain fun to play with. The SPYY Addiction comes to mind as a fantastic example of this and I’d be very open to buying one from someone or considering a yoyo that is similarly fun and performant.
  • Brands I am interested in, in no particular order: General Yo, CLYW, OD, C3

What I’m not looking into:

  • Excessively sharp yoyos. I’m looking more for something soft in the hand that is comfortable to catch
  • Plastics. While I absolutely love throwing the plastics I’ve had so far, the ones I’ve had tend to have durability issues long term and I’m looking for something that will last for years to come.
  • Cheap metals that cut corners. I don’t need the nicest yoyo ever made, but I am looking for quality > quantity.
  • YYF, Duncan, Yomega, etc. Each of these are great in their own right but I don’t intend on getting something from these companies for now.

Hopefully this is helpful but I’d love some suggestions on your favorites given that background!

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I think the Prestige is actually probably similar to the Dynamo. The Summit has a newer rendition called the Free Solo, it’s without side effects.

Grabbing a Protostar kinda helps fill the void if you miss your Rally - They’re rather expensive to pick up in good condition these days. Since, you know full well about the cracking issues.

I would recommend the Hattrick 2 personally. It’s probably one of the few bimetals out there that’s a “pure” organic. No response bump, no schmoove, just pure OG organic with bimetal performance.

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Great points! That’s one reason I was leaning towards the Prestige because it does appear to be pretty similar to the Dynamo. That said I am happy to try other styles as well :smile:. I had no idea the Free Solo was based on the Summit, I’ll have to check it out!

Totally agree on the Protostar. I love that throw and I actually have an OG Northstar that I loved to death, but it got unbearable pulsating vibe after trying to swap halves with someone and I just couldn’t stand it after that. That’s one other reason why I’m trying to steer clear of plastics for now.

Would love to hear more of your thoughts on the Hattrick II. How does it handle more advanced tricks that may force it off axis or have multiple layers of string in the gap? I’d love to get a throw I could still rely on for competitive play since I am planning to get back into it to a degree.

While the Hattrick II is a bit higher than I’d like to pay, I’ve heard nothing but good things about it and may be willing to consider splurging for it if it’s the right fit. I’ve never played that style of bimetal before so I’m not exactly sure what to expect. The closest I’ve ever played were the old school YYJ plastic bi metals like the Spinfactor X or the Phenomizm.

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Justin Dauer really likes the Hatrick 2 a lot. He’s sponsored by Duncan so you never get to see him using it, but I can assure you, he does it justice and it can handle quite a bit. That being said, he’d likely never compete with a hatrick for obvious reasons.

For what it’s worth, it’s kind of a coin toss on if you’ll like the Hatrick 2 or not. It has a heavier feel to the yoyo that I would say isn’t the “norm” within yoyo design at the moment. It’s certainly more of a niche yoyo, being high wall, organic, and bimetal. A lot of people are playing faster and prefer things that have more agility, or ease of movement during play. (I personally enjoy the Hatrick 2 a lot, but I also enjoy high wall organics)

Since you’ve been gone, the Bimetal game has basically changed all of yoyo. For $80, you can buy a Grasshopper 2, leave again and not have to think about buying another yoyo for the next 7 years. The performance difference between a bimetal and monometal are quite significant while not being too much more within the cost for the user. You basically skipped all of the “trial and error” phase of bimetal development. While we’re still innovating in yoyo design, I feel like a lot of companies have kind of found their footing in what works and what doesn’t.

I would say that if you’re only going to spend $80~ on one yoyo, I would most certainly, buy a bimetal yoyo. This is because it seems like you have interest to get into modern tricks, and are not necessarily a beginner by any means. I think that returning players will find a lot of joy in bimetal designs, they’re simply better performing yoyos. This leads to having more spin time, stability, and ease for learning new tricks.

The caveat is that they aren’t as durable as a monometal for rather obvious reasons (two pieces of metal being joined together have a ton of potential to shift during impact). But with that being said, I just step on my bimetals to reseat the steel rim, and the vibe gets “good enough” to smooth for me.

I know you have no interest in throwing Duncan yoyos, but I really think the GTR/JS/GH2 are stand outs within all of the bimetals you can buy at the moment, and they’re extremely affordable second hand off the BST.

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Wow, thank you for the detailed responses! I really appreciate your insights on this it helps a lot. Especially regarding bimetals that was very eye opening. I had no idea this style of bimetals had gotten so popular and refined!

To clarify, since I don’t always pick up on cues, when you were saying that Justin likely wouldn’t compete with the Hattrick, is that because he is sponsored by Duncan and would usually compete with Duncan yoyos or some other reason?

Your comment on durability was my main concern with bimetals up to this point, whether plastic+metal hybrids or metal-on-metal hybrids. Since it’s two different materials bonded together, the halves of the yoyo are no longer a single cohesive piece but now have bonded add-ons that could lend themselves to getting out of place, falling out, etc. I have no idea how likely that is, but it is a concern that encouraged me to stick with the familiar territory of monometals. That said, this is super helpful and I’ll definitely be giving the Hattrick some serious consideration.

I’ll take a look into the Duncans you mentioned as well, but I’ve struggled to find Duncans I really enjoy playing at mid to higher level play. The Raptor was the closest I could find to my style but it still just left something to be desired. Maybe I’m biased, but I’ll take a look into them see what they’re like.

Thank you again for being so detailed in your responses this has been super helpful. I hope you have an awesome weekend!

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Yo I just gotta say—this is the best and most clear looking for a recommendation post I’ve yet seen. Also welcome back!

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100% get a wish, there’s one on the bst for $45 shipped which is absolutely insane for a $120 yoyo. CLYW, great feel while still being able to be pushed. it would be a tad bit heavier though since it’s a bimetal (and also it has snow tires lol), but definetly try it out, probably your best intro to clyw

edit: @zaf has the post, i’ll link it for you for convenience

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The yo-yos from the Duncan you’re familiar with and the Duncan from the present are a night and day difference; they’ve really put a lot of effort into making well performing yo-yos and must treat their sponsored players well; several of the current top players are sponsored by Duncan: Justin Dauer (as mentioned), Polo, Kris Toledo, Jonathan Sitanggang, to mention a few of their more prominent 1A players.

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Self plug here! You might like this yoyo I had machined if you were a fan of SPYY yo-yos. Heavily inspired by the Radian/Addiction. Only thing sharp is the spike :grin:

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My bad, this was poorly worded on my part. It’s because the Hatrick is too high wall. For competitive nature, you want the yoyo that gives you the best advantage to win, you don’t want anything to hold you back. The Hatrick wasn’t designed to be competitive in nature, rather its more so giving power to an old school design so that you can enjoy the best of both worlds. High wall with impressive stability and spin time if you play clean.

I have seen Justin do Horizontal with yoyos I imagine most people could not do zontal on, so basically anything in his hands looks great. But when it comes to competing, a miss here, or a mistake there can cost you the competition. Competing with a Hatrick or any high walled organic in a competitve setting like Worlds or Nationals, etc would be the equivilant to trying to race the LeMans in a Kia. You’re not gonna start out the gate gimped.

I could see the mindset years ago, a lot of pros were still competing with monometals, and generally speaking, they were expensive to produce and we didn’t have the right fitment or weight distribution for the first few years imo. But it’s 2023, we’re all sold on bimetals, it’s a done deal, here to stay and I would urge that you join all of us in the land of bimetal glory.

Reseating a bimetal rim is relatively easy to me now. It’s just a simple part of yoyo maintenance if you do ding the yoyo. I also enjoy steel rims on my yoyos because they’re more durable to dings. 6061 can gash on a concrete hit and you have to sand it down so it’s not so sharp. I’ve reset my rims for a lot of my bimetals countless times without a tool - just my foot, or a hammer - and I go back to jamming.

That all being said, I believe that using bi-metals as a tool to improve your throwing is invaluable to have. When you throw a bimetal and learn a new trick, you can sit in the mount longer and take your time dissecting the trick as you watch the video. Once I gave into bimetals it just simply made it more enjoyable to learn a new trick.

These days, people just have both. I’d say my collection leans more towards monometals because once I learn my trick I don’t feel like I need a bimetal to perform it anymore, just play what I think feels good.

I completely understand your sentiments here, I don’t want to force you or twist your arm. I have the fortune to play a lot of yoyos at DXL and it’s of my personal opinion that Duncan bimetals are the best “bang for your buck.” The Grasshopper 2 has absolutely no business being that good, at that low of a price. A lot of other companies would be asking $120+ at the minimum for something this good. Duncan has changed a lot over the last few years and have been making great stuff.

I would argue they have nothing in the monometal selection and would definitely say you should look elsewhere in that department. The Barracuda is probably their best, and imo, its a bit dated atm when you compare it to something like a Spotlight or Pheasant, and other competitive monometals.

But if you only have a $80-$100 budget, then the best suggestion personally would be to hop on the BST and find a few used bimetals for a good price like stated above. The Wish for $45 is a great price. That leaves left over funds to buy a second yoyo and some string. I’d get a monometal you think looks good, and a bimetal off the BST.

edit (i would definitely go for yoyospirits above over the prestige)

Welcome back, hope you have fun!

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Looks like you’d really enjoy the CLYW x luftverk plastic peak.

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Thank you! I figured being clear would help make this a more productive post and it’s definitely turning out that way! This whole thread is one of the reasons I love the yo-yo community. People are so helpful and want each other to enjoy the hobby too. It’s honestly very refreshing and I’m glad to be back!

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Great suggestion! I’ve never heard of the wish but will definitely check it out!

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Oh yea, I also have a newer run General Yo Majesty I would sell ya for pretty cheap if you would be interested! In pretty much new condition, I just don’t use it much.

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That’s great to know! The Duncan I remember is when they only had a few metal yo-yos, and most of their yo-yos catered to a beginner/novelty audience, but that was like 10+ years ago. I’m glad to see they’ve done well making high performing yo-yos, I might have to look into it a bit more!

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That’s a beautiful yo-yo, well done! Also, would love to chat about the Majesty, feel free to PM me!

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I’m with you there, and the plastic peak was honestly what got me thinking of finally getting a new yo-yo after so long. That said, based on the issues I’ve had with plastics up to this point from a durability POV I’m taking a break from getting more plastics for now. I may change my mind going forward but for now I intend to go either bimetal or monometal. Thank you for the suggestion!

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That makes a lot of sense, thank you for clarifying that! That’s one reason why I haven’t gotten any organics in a while because I tend to want a yo-yo that I can play casually or competitively and it’s hard to justify having a yo-yo just for one context or the other. That said, I have a few solid contenders for competitions that maybe it could be a good time to consider something a bit more laid back and just fun to play.

That was a great analogy, thanks for clarifying that! I’ve never tried to compete with a high walled organic but that helps me put things in perspective a lot better.

That’s really interesting, I hadn’t considered that bi-metals would aid in spin time and stability but that does make sense when you put it that way. I bet that would help a lot for performance in general actually.

Thank you, I’m excited to be back and have been having fun already! It’s so nice to actually be getting back into things, learning tricks and getting a lay of the land when it comes to new yo-yos. Thank you for all your help, this has been fantastic!

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No problem!

Feel free to DM me if you have any questions later on.

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When I read your post, what stands out to me is the yoyos that were your favorite. For me both of those yoyos were released during the golden age of Monometal design 2010-2015. Soon after this time everything changed with the popularity of bimetal designs and the insane popularity of speed play. All yoyos became super light with little to no mid weight while maximizes rim weight.

For the most part, I haven’t seen or played a lot of yoyos that truly fit that era of yoyo design that aren’t based on yoyos from that time period. My suggestion, if you want to get something similar to what you have liked in the past, is to pick up a one drop top deck, a clyw boy, a hollywood yoyo design Dopamine, a Huatian Re pinecone, a recess tropic alien, or a generalyo prestige.

A lot of people really like the free solo and compare it to the summit, but it hasn’t satisfied my desire for 2010-2015 type designs. It has the look, but lacks the personality to me. However, many disagree with my opinion.

If you want something that fits new trends but is also very great, I suggest the Unprld recognition for monometal, and the clyw klondike for bimetal.

The recognition absolutely blew my mind with its performance. I didn’t know a monometal could be that good.

I haven’t played the klondike yet, but the consensus is that it is as good as a bimetal can get while still having loads of personality.

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