In response to the OP yes this is a pretty safe bet. Bearings are precision things, not a lot of boutique, small-batch bearing makers lol. Can pretty much guarantee any 10-ball concave bearing comes from the exact same factory in China, so paying $15 vs. $2 is a plain waste of money. There was briefly a post here last year in which it was revealed that Jen paid $3 or whatever for the Trifectas, just like you or I would if you bought them straight from China, so no reason to pay a 500% premium imo. Some of the best bearings i’ve ever played were a ton of 10-ball concaves i bought for <$2 a piece straight from China. “Premium” bearings = hype = waste of money.
Only bearings that might be worth a boutique price, and this is based purely on research and not experience, are the gold-plated NSK bearings that were recently released by a certain Japanese yoyo store(not THAT one). Assembled in clean rooms in Japan by a top-tier bearing company, specifically designed for yoyos. Even then i don’t think i’m quite ready to pay the $15/per price tag.
For me it’s all about value for money. Premium string and bearings simply don’t give me the value-added benefit to justify the massively increased price. I feel the high-end yoyos i own offer me something lower-cost alternatives can’t, plus bearings and strings are very much consumables whereas a high-end yoyo if treated right isn’t.
As I mentioned, I really do think some of my $2 bearings are the best I’ve ever played; the term “ripped off” still isn’t something I would use, though-- I knew the bearing could be had elsewhere for $6 and bought it anyhow, partly because I appreciate the vendor’s value-add and personal attention (she updated her store for Canadian shipping just to accomodate me) but honestly… more because it was convenient. “I feel like a new clean bearing that’s never been futzed with, I like Trifectas… why not?”
The $6 premium I paid was easily worth the time and shipping I would have spent sourcing it elsewhere. But if you have a go-to vendor you’re already buying from (you’re not inconvenienced and shipping is a non-issue) and can save a few bucks? I honestly don’t blame anybody in the least. It’s only sane and proper! Nobody just pulls out $6 from their pocket and lights it on fire!
Strings are a different story for me. I’ve gone through so many standard poly strings in my one short year of playing that it’s ridiculous, and I’ve also tried “boutique” strings from many different vendors. For me, “boutique” strings have been worth every penny. They make a tangible difference in play, add a different feel to play, and in virtually all cases outlast generic or Kitty poly by a considerable margin. I’m not saying they play for weeks (well, except Dragons and Quick 13 t13x!) but a couple days of “fresh feeling play” is still exponentially better than a couple hours tops you get from a Kitty.
And if you’re willing to stretch it a bit past “fresh-feeling”, you get one or two days out of Kitty vs. a few weeks from most boutique strings. Still much longer-lasting.
All of the above isn’t to say that standard poly isn’t right and good for some people. In fact, I think that burning through a few strings a day is STILL economical (it’s not a money or longevity thing for me, really), and I really do like the way they play, too! To each their own! I’m just saying that I get a lot of enjoyment out of the “boutique” strings and I believe the variety available has far more significant impact on your play than even moving from one yoyo to another sometimes has.
It’s a cheap way to change (not necessarily “improve”) performance and add interest to play.
Bearings aren’t consumables unless you never clean them (just like you said, treat them right).
I also like the distinction between expensive yoyos (high end) and expensive bearing or string (boutique). I just think its funny that people will put a higher value on two halves of metal or plastic and not the actual moving part of the yoyo. I’m trying to sell a Strix on my BST, that comes with a concave bearing, for $35 and no one is biting. Value, unfortunately is in the eye of the beholder.
Absolutely. I’ve learned some tricks faster and been more successful with some tricks when using a thicker string. Then when I go back to a thinner string, I can apply what I’ve learned with the thick string. This has helped me a great deal with my progression. So the price of that thicker string is irrelevant, since I’m enjoying more about my yoyos than I did before.
I agree that the standard Center Track is one of the best out there but I lean more towards the twisted trifecta mainly because it is just as good if not better and it is soooo quiet when clean and lubed. I just orderd 10 of them to put in all my favorite throws.
I recently traded for a throw that had an AMAZING 10-ball konkave bearing in it. Increased spin time by a noticeable margin versus my usual center-trac bearings. I asked the seller where he got it from, expecting it to be some $25 special item, and he said he got a bunch of them from a bulk chinese online store for a couple bucks a piece.
I’m getting the sense that bearings is all insane markup and hype.
That said, I am curious about trying to fully-ceramic bearing (the one where even the outside track is made out of ceramic, 100% white), but it’s expensive no matter where you try and get it from.
I’d like to go back to the part of the original post about bearing identification. I wish all brands just used a stamp, so we can tell one from the other more quickly. Some companies initial them, which makes life so much easier for someone like me. I rarely care which bearing is in a yo-yo (unless it’s not working properly), but for a BST description I’d like to give that information. Especially, if I got the yo-yo from someone else, I sometimes have no idea what bearing is in there.
If someone could post a thread to perhaps be stickied, as a guide for bearing identification, I’d be appreciative.
“Trifecta” Bearings are made in the U.S.A., not China. FTR Having different bearings for different throws is a good idea. Some bearings make the yo-yo play better. What is good for one yo-yo may not be good for the other. You have to experiment. Trifecta Bearings are also hand tested prior to shipping to ensure there are no defects.
