What is, in your opinion, the BEST bearing. I have been looking at the Terrapin X Delta cut 10 ball ceramic bearing. To me, it loos amazing but I want to know what you think. Would it even be any better than an OD 10 ball? Or should I go for a CTX? Just give me your thoughts. Thanks!
My recent favorite is the Platinum NSK DS Bearing, probably the smoothest bearing I’ve ever encountered and I really like the DS design. CTX and Konkaves are close runner-ups though.
There is near no difference in bearing across the board. Really what you should ask your self is do you want a profiled bearing or a flat bearing. I prefer flats in most throws.
I have had a terrapin bearing, and it didn’t spin any longer then the generic bearings I have that I have maintained with only lube for many years. Although it was a nice bearing with a ribbon cage and all that. I find those kind of cages to be nice but a bit finicky, they have less room for contaminants to move around the cage so they tend to lock up easier.
Normally I just use what comes in a yoyo. Sometimes I change them out, normally because I have robbed the bearing from the yoyo for another one at some point. At any rate any of those bearings you listed are going to be good bearings, or backed up with a guarantee that will get you another if you end up with a dud. Really can’t go wrong. Although I personally feel you will be over paying for any of them. They still don’t cost crazy amounts of money so no big loss really. Give the one you are most interested in a chance.
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This!
As a newer player I have spent a lot of time digging through information and opinions on bearings in an attempt to find the perfect bearing. I quickly came to the conclusion that ten different throwers will give you ten different answers (which is probably what you are going to see in this thread). Just as many will praise a particular bearing as those that will tell you that they had a terrible experience with it.
For myself, I usually keep a couple of KonKave bearings lying around because I have found that centering bearings are nice when first learning. But once I know a trick I generally swap out to a One Drop 10-ball flat. Why KonKave? Because when I first started I drank that Kool-aid and listened to the hype from a few others, and to be fair they are very good bearings. However, I don’t really notice much difference between them and other centering bearings from a practical point of view.
Luckily, as those above pointed out, bearings aren’t a huge investment and you can try a few. I am not yet convinced that spending more money on the super expensive bearings is necessary. Clean throws and good technique are far more important than the bearing type in my opinion.
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Is the Platinum NSK DS Bearing smoother than the Ceramic KonKave?
The nsk bearings are really good. The yyf gold center track is nsk.
I generally just use whatever comes with the yoyo when I get it.
However, I think any old flat bearing is really good.
Your question is so difficult to answer because it depends so much on preference.