I am thinking about starting counter-weight yoyoing (I mainly do 1a). What is a good yoyo to start with? I was looking at the yoyojam pinnacle…anybody have any suggestions of a good starter?
The Freehand zero is an inexpensive, easily modded yoyo. It can be sent to a modder and recessed for very unresponsive play remove 1 pad for unresponsive or play for a while and it will be unresponsive. Or it can be responsive out of the box which is great for a beginner. But if you think you are very good at 1a and are sticking with 5a the genesis and or supernova are the very best in the divisions of you ask me.
If you plan on dropping some serious cash into a great set up you could buy a Code2: Nautilus. It’s designed for 5A and horizontal. But for a good affordable 5A yoyo the Die Nasty seems pretty good. I currently have a Northstar with a spin top button for 5A. Both I really like. There are plenty to choose from. Do you want metal or plastic?
If your just starting, I would get plastic, because your going to drop it a bunch. I would reccomend a Protostar, I have one and it works good for 5A. My preferences would be a little lighter, quick playing yoyo
I second the protostar, metal performance with the plastic price tag making it easily replacable… but you may want to get two because when I was going down this road I bought a single protostar for the purpose of 5a, but I liked it so much I dont use it for 5a…
Protostar is a great yoyo. I might need to get one to use when my Northstar feels sluggish
I agree with both the Free Hand Zero and Protostar… Mainly the FHZ. Its cheap, comes with counter weights, and can take a beating… If you break in the bearing, remove one sticker, and wear in the other its nice and unresponsive. I’ve played alot of higher end yoyos, and I consider myself at least decent, and I still opt to use my FHZ as my go-to pocket throw.
The protostar is good, its rather cheap, and is very solid. Unresponsive right out of the box, and it is also pretty durable… (I did how ever trash mine playing 5A, but it took about a year and ALOT of dropped aerials.)
Another option is the PSG, its cheap, and pretty good for 5A, but requires a little bit of work. The stock response stinks, but if you put in some silicone it plays pretty good.
I’m surprised no one mentioned the YYJ Destiny, it’s perfectly balanced for 5A, makes beestings and whatnot that much easier. it’s very robust (mine fell off the 2nd floor, still playing it almost daily)
it’s fairly cheap too, and comes with a CW
both the yoyo and CW are GITD under black light
I really recommend the Lyn Fury though you would need to buy a counterweight separately or make one on your own. The FHZ, though it comes with a counterweight, would require some extensive modifications to bring the best out of it. It doesn’t play well stock (to me at least).
Seconded, but I’d recommend the Kickside, check out Elephark’s videos to see what it can do.
I believe you are all forgetting the psg. Great throw for $16
I don’t think everyone is aware of the YYJ Destiny. It is designed for 5A play and includes a bearingized counterweight. At over $57US, I’m not sure how well that finds into the “affordable” market, but I would not put it in the “fairly cheap” market. Now, the Pinnacle is also designed for 5A and includes a “regular type” counter weight, at under $20, is definitely in the cheap and affordable range.
This brings up a good point. With 5A, the same kind of concept applies. One might want to start at the very inexpensive side with a durable and rugged plastic(of which a FHZ does apply). 5A carries with it the extra warning in rergards to being dropped and otherwise being launched and losing control of, especially at first. As skills improve, it makes sense to buy a higher cost yoyo and gain the benefits that come with it.
Then again, world championships have bene won with “cheap yoyos”. The Lyn Fury was used to win Worlds in 5A one year, or so I’ve read.
I’d say fora packaged 5A solution, the Pinnacle, the FH2 or the FHZ make ideal options for those getting into 5A. I will say that out of the package, the FH2 and FHZ need some help. However, I kind of like the semi-responsiveness of them. If you have a decent throw, you should have no issue with these even stock. Outside of cleaning the bearing, I think they are otherwise pretty good. I have a stock FHZ, a modified FHZ and the FHZ Pulse with a Terrapin X A+ Beefcake kit. My 2 FH2’s are stock for the time being. I have cleaned the bearings(except the Terrapin X) and the improvements were noticeable.
I also set my glowing DieNasty for 5A. I like it. I would like to get a blue Dienasty though. At $24, its reasonably affordable, just add counter weight. But there’s some great stuff in the sub-$20 category too. Once some 5A skills and confidence is built, the next step could be an upgrade or onto a full metal.
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Every yoyo works for 5a, just like they work for 1a. But some are better than others. Just like in 1a, you don’t need the best just to start out.
In my opinion the SFX is a good choice to use for 5a. Or a protostar.
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