I was a child of the 90s boom and just recently got back into yo-yoing. My girlfriend’s twin nephews (7-year-olds) have been watching me do tricks and want to get into yo-yoing. Their mom asked me what’s a good starter yo-yo for them. I realized I have no idea, since I only know 90s throws and my only modern responsive is a Deep State, which doesn’t seem like a good stater. So…
What’s a good responsive yo-yo for 7-year-olds to start with?
I searched the forum but couldn’t find a thread. Feel free to link one if I missed it.
Here’s the thing, those little rascals are not gonna have the skill or power to throw a normal yoyo. People are giving you the normal starter yoyo answers. I’d say find something light and easy to learn how to throw the correct way with enough power to retract back to the hand. Find something cheap and easy then once they learn how to throw and catch, they can be upgrade with something better. Like a reward… idk thats my opinion.
It’s a good opinion. Even though they’re relatively cheap, I don’t think I should “break the bank” with a Recess, because I can totally see them getting frustrated with it and then stopping, which would be a waste. Food for thought for sure.
Get a Duncan Butterfly and an Xt. Go nuts, get some extra string or pads for yourself. Shop here, of course, support the yoyoexperts that support the forum.
If the kid is very young or never thrown at all, get a regular butterfly. If they’re a little older or are ready for more than a sleeper, imho there is only one answer: YYF Whip! I’d say that or the Spinstar or the Butterfly XT are all fine and similar…but, since you did say “best” in the title…Whip it is. I’m not sure why the Whip is my favorite of all the low cost plastic responsives, but probably because it has pads rather than starbust response. It just played more reliably for me and got me through the trick ladder up to where I needed to learn to bind.
Starburst works and probably saves a ton of money/labor when you’re making thousands and thousands of pieces. YYF uses it on some great yoyos, too (Loops). But after using the Whip for a few weeks I actually wondered why YYF bothered with pads and made such a great yoyo for $6. So few people probably really appreciate that. I’m glad they did though.
Looking back at the OP, I see that the age of the kid is 7. I’d say get the Whip and if they don’t take to yo-yo, you’ll enjoy it probably more than most other throws at that price.
Funny you say that because to be honest they are kids that give up pretty easy on things, so in the back of my mind I’m thinking, “Which yo-yos would I like if they give up on it?”
