I have been away from yoyoing/the forums for a long time. Last time I was here CLYW was the most popular. They had just switched to a Chinese manufacturer… Jensen was making the best tutorials.
Whos the most popular USA/Canada company now? Whos making the best trick tutorials? I was looking into the yoyofriends KOI because I want an organic throw. Was thinking of the titanium one since I dont have any titanium throws. I really liked the organic markmont classic… the ART grail…
I feel like there should also be like a new bearing now? has there been any tech advances w those? 10ball one drop and center trac were my favs…
Gonna save you a lot of time and a lot of money and recommend you the CLYW Klondike. I know to the rest of the forum I sound like a broken record at this point lol, but it really is one of the most loved and popular releases of last year, and for good reason. CLYW is usually known for their more casual stuff but this is a super high performant banger that doesn’t lose the classic comfortability that CLYW is known for. I know you said you like organics (and you definitely listed some of my favs) but if you really want to see where yoyo design has been trending lately - that’s the yoyo to check out (or the W!LD or Kagerou if you want non-CLYW options, they’re all very similar).
The big companies that were around 6 years ago are still around and no one has really replaced them. The biggest difference is probably the addition of YoYoFriends, they lean on the more performance side of things but do have great organic models like the Koi, which you mentioned. Duncan has stepped up their game and has become more of a serious competitors company, which definitely wasn’t the case 6 years ago - they have a super banger bimetal lineup that was considered the best for like, the past two years.
No real changes on the bearing front - but if you haven’t heard/seen it, do yourself a favor and check out the YYR DS Bearing. I’ve tried literally every bearing out there and that thing is truly a cut above the rest. Hop into bearing threads on the forum, you’ll see it recommended a ton and people thanking others for turning them onto it. It takes the quiet/smooth aspects you love about a OD 10ball and the performance of a Center Trac and combines it into the perfect bearing.
Also, check out Polyform. Since you mentioned Canadian companies, it’s Jeffrey Pang’s latest project and everything they’ve put out is just super fantastic, based on what I know about your taste from just your post, you’d prolly dig the A4. Rounded lines reminiscent of an organic but just slightly geared towards being more performant.
If you need more specific reccs, I’ve bought probably around 200 yoyos in the span of time that you’ve been gone, and tried quite a bit more than that. Happy to help you find the perfect throw.
Does the klondike happen to be canada or usa made? Ever since they switched to china ive been pretty turned off from them tbh. It sounds like I may have to do it just to see whats trending but honestly by looking at it I think I’d hate it. Last time I got a yoyo just cause the shape was trending I really regretted the buy. (some CLYW with giant rims… forget the name)
I really want USA/Canada made organics… For competition yoyos or V shape I really like the first run chief. Is there anything youd recommend in that department? There have been some SF yoyos I like too. One drop and general yo I used to like a lot… It seems one drop only makes cheaper yoyos now? They make so many yoyos and none of them look appealing to me now… I find it strange. Are they giving the people what they want? General yo seems to be doing good I just got the new hatrick, hope I like it. I also got the KOI. Was cheap like $50… Just hope it doesnt feel cheap. So yea im sorry if this is a bit jumbled but I’m trying to paint a good picture of what im looking for/what I like…
edit: oh yea so whos making good tutorials like jensen used to? What kind of tricks are trending?
The only USA machined company these days is One Drop and older/the occasional A-RT (iirc they switched recently as well). Doc Pop also makes weekenders for 0A if that’s your jam with OD.
I would look into getting a used End II, check out the MoNo series from AT Design Lab and also look into what the folks over at Laid Back Swing are doing. None of these are machined in the US and all of them are fantastic mid school inspired throws.
As for expanding on the whole US vs China, it’s a topic that’s been bashed to death on here but the short form is: They are both top notch, buy with confidence for the most part. There have been rare occurrences where a model got destroyed by QC issues from the factory.
For tutorials there is a pretty solid list of folks:
If you have discord I can link you the server which contains an organized list of tutorials. As for what the go to is, I recommend jamming through some YT videos of the modern scene and seeing what sticks for you. Otherwise I’ll drop a bunch of links to my personal faves in the morning.
Edit* A-RT still makes their stuff at OD I was misinformed.
Regardless if you’re looking to support US and Canadian small business please check out any of our multiple boutique brands regardless of where they machine
Neither lol… not to burst any bubbles, but the only company that still makes yoyos in the US is One Drop (as others have pointed out, sometimes other companies recruit One Drop to manufacture throws for them but that is becoming rarer and rarer). Everyone else has moved manufacturing elsewhere. But tbh, and trust me on this - shops like FPM in China (where a VERY large number of yoyo companies are having their throws manufactured) absolutely blow any American made throw you’ve ever used out of the water quality wise. It’s not how it was back when you were in the game at all. Quality wise, I’ll put any throw made by YoYoFriends against my Chief, OG Peak, OG Torrent or any number of my older CLYW/General Yo and it would mop the floor with it.
You’ll have to either look at old A-RT stuff (as Max said, they recently stopped using OD to manufacture their stuff) or just whatever One Drop has available in terms of organics. Or just scour the BST for that stuff, but it rarely comes up. My best advice is to just see what’s out there regardless of country of origin, you’re missing out on the majority of great offerings by limiting yourself to just USA made stuff.
The new Hatrick is absolutely fantastic and possibly the best midsize organic yoyo I can think of, period - great pickup. It is without a doubt super premium feeling and improves on the original by a lot. It is not made in the US, General Yo doesn’t make them here anymore.
Keep an eye out this year for the release of the Leaf. The Chief is discontinued, but this is its upcoming, ever so slightly updated successor. It’s a slightly wider, slightly heavier version. If you like the Chief, you’ll like that. Take a look at the Otter as well - I have tons and tons of CLYW and I can assure you it’s one of the best feeling by a lot. Does not feel cheap in the slightest, has an enormous amount of power and heft, and is perfectly mid sized feeling.
Based on your love of Jensen’s style, I think you’d really appreciate the CLYW Cabin Tutorials. While they’re not the most “trendy” tricks out there, I think you’d probably like them the most out of what you’ll come across based on what you’ve told us. However, if you’re looking for something a little more in line with the comp scene, look up “meta yoyo tutorials” on YouTube and you’ll find a bunch of trendy stuff that ends up in many competitors routines.
I’m gna second what @SR1 said and go ahead and recommend the new hatrick 2 from general yo!! I would fully 100% agree with it being the BEST MIDSIZE ORGANIC OUT THERE. And I bought a lot of organics this year! It was a great year for organics. It’s also bi metal so you can use it to learn and practice new tricks which usually isn’t the case when u think organic. But that things powerful and spins forever. I also really really love the aluminum koi. It’s one of the funnest yo-yos I’ve ever thrown. Period. I also have the ss version, also awesome but I’d recommend the AL version first then branch out and try the other versions but that’s just me.
OneDrop Reboot is still available here on YYE and meets the criteria and is awesome. Still Rollin also meets your requirements but I haven’t thrown one.
This is heart breaking. It was their whole branding that they were a USA company. Obviously its possible to do this stuff within the US. Everyones cheaping out/selling out.
One thing that has changed since you have been away is that China makes the best quality and variety of yo-yo’s. You will be hard-pressed to find a bad Chinese bi-metal throw these days.
Eh, you get over it. And this is coming from someone who started when MOST yoyos were made in the US. Like I said, the yoyos are just made a lot better now - they’re noticeably higher quality (and cheaper overall) - it really is a win-win. Once you try something made by FPM, all your worries should subside. But yeah…. if you care more about the country origin of a yoyo than enjoying it for how it feels/plays… then tbh you ain’t yoyoing for the right reasons.
I yoyo for fun. I like satisfying tricks. Tricks that feel good. I care about how a yoyo feels in my hand. Its a pretty aesthetic experience for me. We all get different things out of yoyoing. I try to support american companies over chinese whenever possible. I think thats why you see so many people in the US wearing new balance these days. I dont doubt that cheaper and better stuff is coming from the chinese companies. I have played the newer CLYW stuff. I really preferred the chief first run to the rest. My first run chief has more machine errors and the later runs are definitely more perfect but for some reason its painful for me to play the later runs. The earlier is still way better to me even though it has flaws
