Can anyone think of any advantages of plastic over metal for unresponsive play other than price?
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Damage to objects and people is the other primary one. Plastic is softer and safer.
Plastic hurts less. That’s about it.
Some people just enjoy plastic more than metal. If we’re looking at cold hard facts, a metal yoyo will outperform aplastic yoyo any day. But it also kind of depends on the skill set of the person driving the yoyo. For example, Gentry Stein won nationals with a replay Pro.
Possibly aesthetics & feel? You can’t get translucent or UV-reactive aluminum yoyos, and they feel different in the hand.
Aluminum has a lot of other advantages, though.
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To emphasize what smileypants707 said, I kinda feel that on a practical level, Gentry winning nationals with a Replay Pro only tells us that a Replay Pro can be used for very competitive play. However, because it is Gentry who pulled that off, we have to be honest and acknowledge that most of us aren’t going to extract the same degree of performance from it.
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Plastic yoyos that are turned and not injection molded have a great feel in the hand. Normally made of delrin or celcon (those both may be the same thing, not positive). I know it’s not performance based but I really like them.
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I reeeeeally would like to get my hands on a Cabal. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it
It’s sold as POM, Delrin, Celcon, Ramtal, Duracon, Kepital, and Hostaform.
There are also polycarbonate turned yoyos, or hybrids that have polycarbonate in them (the Iceberg).
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After putting a huge ding in a Shutter playing outside on concrete, I mostly only take plastics with me when I go places now. They can usually take a lot of damage before they would be considered unplayable. And now with the level of quality you can get in a $20 plastic, you’d be crazy not to have a couple. Replay Pro, YYF Wedge, Recess First Base - all great plastic throws.
Now, do I think they’re better than metal? Not at all. Just better for taking places because if I break a $20 plastic, it’s not a big deal.
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The idea of standing on a hard surface while practicing things I’ve not absolutely mastered makes me cringe, precisely for the reason you outlined shatterFX.
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Yep, I will always love translucent plastic yo-yos. They remind me of the yomegas I always wanted when I was a kid. I still love protostars, partly for that reason. (It has a weight ring, I know)
I have a translucent “neon blue” Replay Pro that I love to just stare at, mesmerized by its azure beauty.
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Agreed. Delrin with weight rings is in the ballpark of metal though. And I would rank any and every Delrin / POM yo-yo well above regular plastics… like @vegabomb said.
Lol about that…I once hit myself in the face with a clyw big dipper. My lips swelled to twice its size and also a lot of blood.
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There are some benefits, or what could be construed as benefits, around the edges, as others have already mentioned. The fun factor is the difference-maker for me. I mostly play plastic and plastic/metal hybrids because that’s what I like. I like the look, feel and play on the string of my favorite plastics more than anything else. If I needed pure performance, I’d choose a metal, but plastics do everything I need them to do.
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That’s very interesting! What is your favorite plastic/metal hybrid at the moment?
You don’t see a lot of plastic/metal hybrids these days, there are a handful with maybe weight rings on the inside but I know back in the day when metal yoyos were far less common (2005-2010-ish?) it was a more common integrated design element in plastic yoyos. The 2010 Dark Magic II for example
Illustrating how yo-yos were evolving around 2010 this is the first Dark Magic with silicone response pads vs plastic starburst, as well as the “standard” C bearing size!
There’s still a good deal of hybrids coming out, not as many as when YoYoJam was in production, but a decent amount of companies are making them. iYoYo iCEBERG, iYoYo iPPON, YYR POM Draupnir, Mowl Surveil, C3 Gamma Crash, Magicyoyo Vapormotion, 2sick En Passant… And i’m sure more that i’m just blanking on.
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Yeah, what I meant is that metal is very mainstream now … the prices for a full metal yoyo are so low and machining so good, that it’s hard to argue in favor of hybrids which are more complex / expensive to make.
I do love delrin with weight rings, and vapormotion too 