I was curious about this in another thread and wondered if the Duncan Freehand Ti can be used for 1a or if that style of YoYo is meant for 5a only.
So, generally in addition to that YoYo specifically, can any YoYo advertised as being meant for 5a be used for 1a reasonably well? I have never tried 5a so I really don’t understand if there is truly much difference other than the counter weight which may or may not need to be used.
Thanks! Sorry for the dumb question…
You can use any yoyo advertised for 5a for 1A play 
I have a question for you.
And this isn’t ‘your quiz’ because I don’t know the answer either.
What yo-yo or yo-yos are supposedly designed for 5A only?
I have a yoyo in mind. It’s Sora Ishikawas IX
This yoyo is very wide and large in size. It’s so large they advertise it for 4A as well. I don’t own this yoyo but I can say already that even tho it’s so stupid wide that it wouldn’t hinder 5A play because 5A barely has any string complexity. The mounts are super simple and many tricks can even be done without the yoyo sitting in a mount at all.
I’d say this yoyo was designed for 5a only. Of course on the product description they say that it can handle 4A and 1A as well but for 4A it is very small and for 1A very large
Most 1a yoyos r good for 5a and vice versa
I honestly like the Freehand lineup for 1A. The closest Freehand Yo-Yo for modern 5A is Freehand NextGen and Freehand AL (first version).
Other Freehand lineup is mainly for nostalgia and if you are up for a challenge — it’s not as rewarding compared to other metal yo-yos. Which makes it a “Freehand”.
The Titanium version is hard to compare with the other aluminum lineup. It’s the same design, but plays differently because of the material.
You can’t really go wrong with any of the new Freehand. If you have the budget for the Titanium, go for it. If not, all the aluminum versions won’t disappoint you.
Thanks guys, think that answers my question!
1A and 5A yoyos are readily interchangeable. I believe the original Duncan Freehand series were derived from a Duncan butterfly design and MARKETED with counter weights as 5A. They were regularly seen in 1A events as well.
Players used to do 4a on them too back in the day right?
Don’t know if anyone said anything but a modern 1A throw can be used for 5A,4A and 3A. But only if you’ve got the balls.
I hesitate to call my throwing “1A”, but I do use a Freehand NextGen without the counterweight and it works. 
