Alright, I used to yo when I was a kid, 10-11, and I picked it up again a week ago, now 21.
At the moment I’m using YYJ’s KickSide and YYF’s ONE.
The KickSide is ok, but the hybrid response system seems inconsistent.
The ONE is great, but it’s too light for me.
I’m looking for an upgrade and I know the NorthStar and Dark Magic II would definitely be one.
Any help?
Thanks,
Carpe
I say flip a coin.
Both are great and if you get hooked; then you’ll probably end up with both of them anyways. I consistently rotate between them. Still throw both even with $100 throws in my collection.
Yea, I’ve not seen anything negative about either yo.
I just want something consistently good with a good bit of weight at a decent price.
The hybrid system on the KS is way too inconsistent for me, could be that I’m a novice, though.
The ONE is too light and too fast, too fast to Sidewind.
I know I’ll find what I’m looking for in both of these yos.
Thanks, mate.
Possible deciding factor.
Where are you on binding? The northstar is straight up unresponsive, and requires accurate binds. The DMII comes with 2 bearings, 1 if you wanna go back on the list and work on tricks that require responsive play, and the other for pure unresponsive play. But the northstar is about as heavy as they come.
i myself would go with whatever looks cool.
haha! i havnt used my 54 in a week and have onyl been using my 2 starlites xD
Thanks for the responses.
I’m purchasing the Dark Magic II, my binds aren’t perfect yet and this yo will help me along the way.
I will purchase the NorthStar soon, though.
Thanks again,
Carpe
They are very simillar in play such as the tricks they do, but not in other specs. The shape is different. DM2 has a nice wing shape feel, as you expected, but the Northstar has a small H-Shape. I don’t like the H-Shape as much because it seperates your fingers quite wider while throwing.
Northstar is a weight ring yoyo, having to be that because it has anodized aluminum rings on the side. DM2 is a Bi-Metal. 2 metal rings on each side of the yoyo. Some say they fall off, or they crack, but this isn’t too important unless you get extremely unlucky or you walk the dog on cement while driving in a Lamborghini at top speed.
Now, this factor just might make you choose one of them, do you like to grind? The Northstar and Protostar just plain fail at finger grinds, palm grinds. They play SUPER good in play, but I have to say, they FAIL in grinds. If you want to IRG grind on a Northstar, it’s possible, but the ridge is around 1mm wide. It’s going to be hard to pop the yoyo in the air and land it on thast 1mm surface. So overall, I do not recommend the Northstar (or Protostar) for grinding.
BUT
I find the DM2 to grind quite well. Not the best, but definitley not the worse. The metal rims make it smooth for Palm Grinds, moderate. Finger Grinds are O.K. but it doesn’t grind as well as metals because the Finger Grind Suface is a non-satined polycarbonate surface.
Now don’t get fooled. The DM2 is one of the best for IRG grinds. Thumb grinds. The IRG ridge is extremeloy large, actually there are many ridges. Your thumb doesn’t fall of so easily, like its really hooked onto the ridge here.
So do you like grinding or not?
To be honest, I’m not at the level to grind.
My binds are kind of meh at the moment as well. (I’m not sure if it’s me or the KickSide. It seems that if I bind on the Starburst side I get a knot, but if it catches on the O-ring side it’s not enough to bring it up.
With the ONE, my binds are fine, the yo is just so darn fast. (When it catches it shoots straight to my hand with force.)
I like the weight/feel of the KS, but I feel I can go heavier and I definitely need some more consistency.
I like that the DMII comes with two bearings, that allows me to get comfortable with it responsively and unresponsively.
I have no doubt that I will eventually own them both, but for now I’m just going to grab the DMII.
The KickSide should bind just fine. With more practice you’ll get it. If you’re binding correctly, it really shouldn’t matter what side you’re binding on. The idea is not that you’re throwing string into the gap on one side or the other, but that you’re feeding the string into the gap so it wraps around the bearing in enough layers to catch on the response. If you’re getting knots, it sounds like you’re binding the opposite direction as you should.
Sorry if I’m getting off topic. The DMII was a great choice!
get the northstar.
if you are picky about the colors choose orange. i think it is the best color. i have a northstar and it is amazing!!!
Northstar better and cheaper so get it!
it is not better than the dm2
the dm2 is not better then the north star. different people have different prefences. i like dm2 better than north star
Nothing’s better. It’s your opinion only.
I own a dark magic 1 and a northstar. I like the northstar better just because if stability. Plus the spin time is lower on the dm because the gap starts out really tight. Mine binds to tightly but I think you will love both. Note to self don’t buy and center trac, konkave, or gruved bearing it doesn’t help at all.