It is time to start shopping for Christmas and this year I am giving yoyo’s to a lot of people. I ordered a few YYF One’s and a First Base, but now I am wondering, is there something else that should be on my radar for beginner yoyo? Anything new that is a better choice? Or maybe you just have a favorite cheap responsive yoyo that you would like to mention. I plan to buy maybe a dozen more over the next month so the cheaper the better. However, I have played some cheap yoyo’s that had short spin times that made them frustrating for learning. I want to avoid those. A bad yoyo is not a good deal at any price.
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My recommendations would be:
Under $10: Duncan Butterfly XT, YYF Whip
Under $15: YoTricks Sage, YYF Arrow
Under $20: Recess First Base
I also really like the $6 YYF Spinstar, but only after upgrading the plastic transaxle with the axle, bearing, and (green) spacers from a YYF Loop720. Of course, this upgrade adds significantly to its cost unless you already happen to have a Loop720 laying around that you don’t mind harvesting for parts.
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There are A LOT of cheap responsive and unresponsive yo-yos out there but if you are planning on buying the cheapest ‘ best yo-yo under 10 bucks I would recommend the yoyofactory whip it’s only 5.99 !!! I have given some away to some friends of mine and the feedback is great they carry their yo-yo wherever they go and it is easily switchable to unresponsive by simply just changing the bearing barely any maintenance and believe me once you do you will not find a better yo-yo for just 5.99 and you will be surprised by the feeling of it when you play it unresponsive it doesn’t even feel like a cheap yo-yo at all it’s crazy !!! You can’t go wrong with it trust me 
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I used to recommend the whip, but now it’s either the Spinstar or the Arrow depending on the age and coordination of the person. If I were to buy bulk again, it’d be the Spinstar (or one of it’s many other names) for sure.
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Yeah I’m a fan of the Spinstar for a beginner throw as well. Low maintenance, very few parts and you can get bulk pricing on them.
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: YYF Whip. The best choice for a low priced, responsive yoyo:
OTOH, I’ve never tried a Spinstar, but I much prefer pad response to starburst generally. And the wider gap on the Whip makes me think it’s better for string tricks. Particularly the gateway trick to yoyo addiction: Trapeze.
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I agree with you there pal I personally have been giving these out to my friends and one of them came up to me after I gave them the yo-yo for about 10 minutes and said “ I want to start yo-yoing…” so it works it really does work this yo-yo is spectacular for basic tricks like rock the baby to trapeze and beyond you won’t regret it 
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I also gave them as gifts to a bunch of people (and some Butterfly XTs and One’s and Arrows), but my favorite is the Whip.
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I was also going to say Whip. The pad response puts it above anything with a starburst in my book and it really is great for responsive play and short string tricks. I think it’s the best for a beginner and to going from beginner to intermediate at the lowest price too. First Base would be my choice for going unresponsive, I don’t particularly like it with a responsive setup.
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It depends who the beginner is really. If you’re teaching a teenager or adult who has some level of coordination then you can go with something like the Arrow, Responsive Freehand, or First Base.
On the other hand - If you’re teaching a child who has only been operating their little uncoordinated arms for a few years then you’ll be better off with a Spinstar, 100% of the time. Spinstars respond very easily on weak throws and operate very well with a short string. And super minimal maintenance and trouble shooting.
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In addition to the arrow, I think the arrow pro is also a great choice!
Thank you for this thread. I have a 7 year old grand daughter that needs some coordination.
i really like the speedaholic, idk if it would be good for a beginner though.
I like the feel of the regular Speedaholic, but when I was first going through the responsive section of the trick ladder, I found it too responsive for my skills. I could never land a complete braintwister even (with a loop at the end). I don’t remember if I tried thinner string or anything. At that point I probably just used whatever it came with. I haven’t picked it up in a while to see how it works for me now, but my memory was that the Whip worked much better. The unresponsive XX version is a fine yo-yo though.
My cry for help went unanswered when I got to Ripcord:
I’m partial to the Yomega Raider for a beginner.
oof that sucks
+1 for the Whip. Hard to beat at the price.
This. It depends on the beginner, not one throw would be ideal for everyone to learn on. And I bet this advice is from experience.
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