Hello all-
I was given a DV888 (responsive) for Christmas by a friend. Last yoyo I owned was a Duncan Butterfly about 20 years ago. I was amazed at the changes to the sport.
So I’m progressing through the list of tricks pretty well. Have all the beginner tricks down, I can hit trapeze consistently, have brain twister down, and just learned stop-and-go. So I’m a pretty solid intermediate.
I’m looking to upgrade. I like the DV888, but it’s just too small in my hand. My oldest son, nine, has started using it, and already has a few beginner tricks down.
My question is, can I use an unresponsive yoyo to do the intermediate tricks I already know? I know it won’t do looping tricks, but that doesn’t really bother me. I think I’ve got the basic idea of binding. So is it in my best interest to just step up to an unresponsive yoyo or to buy one like the DMII or iYoyo 2 that can be switched out?
If I can get away with an unresponsive yoyo, I can get more bang for my buck in something like a Replay or similar plastic throw.
Suggestions on unresponsive plastic other than the Replay that I should be looking at? The only nicer yoyo I’ve used is DV888 so that’s the only shape I know, but I’m drawn to the V shape. Budget is around $40 (USD).
I started out with a DV888 for my first modern yoyo as well, responsive but I quickly converted it to non-responsive. I agree about the size, it was too small for me as well. I quickly bought a Shutter and Replay Pro and they were a much better fit.
Once I had my binds down on the DV888 I converted it over to non-responsive and didn’t look back. I can do all the same tricks as on the old fireball but now I can do a bunch of tricks I couldn’t do on a responsive yoyo.
Any of the One Drop or YYF models in the $40-55 range will be nice. I look for anything 55mm in diameter with a minimum weight of 65 grams. I also prefer V shapes and feel like its helping me learn as its easier to land on the string, finger grind, etc.
It isn’t a precise response to your question but it comes close…
My 17 year old son gave me a DV888 for Christmas as well. His Christmas break was spent trying to teach his mother to learn how to bind. From one parent to another, if you decide to mod the DV888 to unresponsive (and if you don’t already know), you will need:
The YF Upgrade Kit
and
a YF tool
Well you could probably get along without the tool but tools are fun and there is a pretty red YoYoExpert exclusive one. Honestly, with a little bit of research, you could just order the various parts separately but the kit is easy.
I learned a lot about which bearings and axles will work with which YF yo-yos from browsing at www.yo-yo-usa.com which allows sorting the various yo-yos by weight, axle length, shape, material etc.
Then, I fell down the rabbit hole of vintage yo-yo collecting with one innocent eBay search.
Things like pop the clutch and (for me, I’ve seen some variations) stop and go are the only ones of the top of my head that I can’t do on a responsive. So you should be good with it. If you want a new yoyo then the Replay is AWESOME.
Ordered a Replay (Aurora) today and a Butterfly XT for my six-year-old. Going to hand down the DV888 to my nine-year-old to learn on. He out grew the Yomega Brain I got him almost instantly.
Can’t wait to get the Replay and try it out. Already looking at onedrop throws. Live within an hour of Eugene
Yup yup! There are good stop-and-goes for unresponsive. Logan Willis’ “Broken Sky Bind”, Charles Haycock’s “Stop n’ Go Dat Triangle” and my variation, “Pickpocket GT”:
I like that one. Maybe I could actually get it in stead of Dat Triangle Fiasco.
There is an easy one where you act like you are going to do a double or nothing and instead of going around your nth and landing on the string, you just bring the yoyo up in the middle and land on all the strings. You end up in basically a trapeze stall. Sorry, I don’t have a video. If someone really wants to see it I might could make one.
