Balisong Recommendations

Unfortunately, there’s no such thing.

Balisong market is not comparable to yo-yo’s at all. All of the companies are small, so you’re not going to find anything super affordable. The only manufacturers that are in the game is Kershaw’s new Lucha which can be bought as a trainer for $120~ or the OG Benchmade, but they don’t sell trainers, and their modern bali’s are catered towards the EDC crowd, not flipping. The actual flipping crowd only has a few small brands to buy from, and they’re not manufacturers by any means.

The cheapest “best” option is to buy a Squiddy, which is basically your Replay Pro from a company called Squid Industries that goes for about $50. Since it’s plastic you can take it on the airplane or flip it in public with no issues.

The next step up is Squid’s trainers, which start around $200-$250, this is your aluminum starter trainer that almost all people get. I guess a shutter equivalent, but that price? Not so much. There’s a couple other brands with trainers as well, all around the same price point. The three “top” companies are Squid Industries, BRS (Blade Runner Systems), and The Svix… everything else gets super exclusive, boutique, and expensive. All companies have drops like Yo-Yo’s, but their drops are way more cut throat and ruthless, expect most stuff to sell out in minutes or seconds.

Now, the controversial topic; Clones. There’s a company in china that produces clones of popular balisong designs and sells them for half the price or less. I was looking to buy one the other day, the Squid trainer can be had for $70. If you go with this option, just don’t tell anyone cause that community will go on a witch hunt and hang you. They REALLY hate clones over there. Just look up “The One Trainer Balisong” if you want to buy it.

Stay away from anything on amazon if you want to progress. Amazon balisongs are the equivilant to a fake duncan imperial made of pot metal.

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