I was thinking Free Solo when I started reading this. It’s based on the Summit, has great performance, and is smooth on the catch. That said, I tend to like the Top Deck a bit more. It’s heavier, but spins a long time and just seems to have the “depth” you mentioned.
As an aside, I’d also recommend the Grasshopper 1 or 2. They are phenomenal players regardless of price.
I totally agree, that era of monometals was absolutely insane! So many incredible yo-yos were made during that time, and it was all about the metals. Yes there were some plastics and plastic+metal bimetals but if you wanted competition grade, you would get monometals. Jensen Kimmit with was really the biggest upset to that, winning worlds 2010 with a $35 plastic YYF Northstar.
But yes, I’ve noticed there’s a drastically different style of yo-yo design. Back when I was yo-yoing more, throws weren’t “heavy” unless they were like 67-68+ grams, and there were several strong performing yo-yos that would be at or above that range. Someone from my old yo-yo club suggested a yo-yo to me because I liked “heavier” throws, and I was so surprised because 64-67 grams would cover virtually all the highest competition yo-yos in the early 2010s, but now there are throws regularly in the 60-63 gram range.
Great suggestions! I’ll have to take a look into them! I haven’t heard of several of them, but I’ve come across the Klondike, Prestige, and Boy as I’ve searched for throws. Thanks for your detailed response!
Thank you for your suggestions! I haven’t looked into the Top Deck before, so I’ll have to give it a look, especially if it has more depth to it. I’ve heard a lot of good things, and some mixed reviews on the Free Solo. It looks really nice, and is a solid price point, but it is a bit too angular/sharp for what I’m going for right now.
I’ve heard great things about the Grasshoppers and have been looking through BSTs for them. I more often come across Orbital GTX 2, occasionally a GTR, and a proto Grasshopper or Grasshopper 1. To be honest, other than the Orbital being more angular, they all look very similar and it’s a bit challenging to distinguish between them. Is there much of a difference between things like the Grasshopper 1, 2, and GTR?
I know it’s over budget but have you looked at the Klondike? It’s another clyw collad and bimetal which would bring something different to the table.
The Free Solo is actually very comfortable on the catch—not sharp at all. If anything, the Top Deck is a little sharper (not sure how), but both are great. TD just has more weight on the string.
As for the Grasshoppers and GTR, I think they are all similar and based off the OG Grasshopper. I could be wrong in that, but seems like the GTR’s description said it was an evolution of the GH. I don’t have a GTR, but do have the OG GH and #2. They are close, but the OG seems heavier and more sluggish. Honestly though, they are independently fantastic, and you can’t go wrong with either.
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That’s so interesting! Thanks for your insight on this. Looking at their shapes/profiles the Free Solo looked like it would be sharp and uncomfortable to catch but that’s good to know.
And thanks for the thoughts on the Duncan bimetals as well! It’s sounding to me like it’s hard to go wrong with them as long as I like the shape/weight so I’ll keep that in mind as I look through BST.
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I have looked a bit into the Klondike. It looks really good, but it is out of my price range at this point, even on BST. But if that changes I’ll definitely consider it a bit more, thanks for the suggestion!
Hey thank you all for such great suggestions and help! I sifted through everything I could and after everything I picked up 3 very different but unique yoyos (a bit over the original budget but definitely worth it) and I’m really happy with my purchases. Thanks to OhDavidBowie and Yoyospirit for selling some phenomenal yoyos and to so many of you for your help with answering my questions!
For those of you that were curious, I ended up getting a General Yo Majesty 2020, Duncan Grasshopper GTX 2.0, and a One Drop Wizard! I’m honestly blown away at how good yoyos are now and I’m having a blast throwing everything I can think of at these throws. Thanks again everyone for all your help and warm welcome! Excited to be back 
Yo nice picks! It’s cool to hear your perspective as a player that was on hiatus and getting back into it now. Glad to hear you’re having fun and enjoying the new yo-yos.
