Im curious to know how many people actually recommending a velocity have ever used one for more than five minutes.
I used to recommend them until I actually used one for more than two minutes, until I actually bought one, then I learned the truth.
They suck, Period.
Its a gimmick, thats all. Doesnt even rely work very well.
They go from either fully psychotically responsive to fully unresponsive, there no in between, well there is but you cant actually yoyo like that. And the response isnt like a good fixed axle(or even a decent FA), or a raider or similar, its just this shitty setting that grabs and bites at all the wrong times.
And yes I know Jensen won a contest , truth be told,he could have thrown a rock at that contest and he would’ve won.
I will use any yoyo that is fun to throw, the velocity has maybe, all added up, a couple of hours on it, because it just sucks,Ive given it many many chances to change my opinion but it doesnt, it just plain sucks. It is the only yoyo Ive bought that I regret buying because it is just basically useless.
The Duncan Raptor is a great staring yoyo if your looking for good yoyo, Freehands are fine as well, there are many choices now for a decent low priced throw. Magic yoyos are great as well.
Good luck and have fun.
They do not “suck, period.” I own one and it is a very fun yoyo that actually performs pretty well. Also, I have found the dials to be actually pretty useful for teaching beginners.
I just got back into yoyo recently, not having used anything but a fireball and a few mediocre yomegas since close to 15 years ago. I picked up a Velocity based on the reviews I’ve read around here and find to great for learning binding. The first thing I did was play with it somewhat responsive, adjusting it a bit at a time until it felt like the fireball at its best. At this point, it was consistent and easily allowed me to more reliably do the same intermediate tricks I’d learned in the past. Then I ticked it a couple of times on each side toward unresponsive and started learning basic binds. This allowed me to learn the movements and almost guarantee that it resulted in the yoyo returning. It’s also allowed me to practice binding after those same familiar tricks in order to get used to binding at the end of tricks. As I’ve ticked it looser over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had to slowly refine my technique at basic binds, notably with reverse trapeze, and I can tell when I do it correctly because it will consistently respond, good or bad, to how I try to bind. I definitely recommend a little thin lube with it and I personally found that I needed new response pads pretty quickly, but these two minor adjustments made it play exactly how I would expect based on descriptions in the tutorials and forums. I can tell it’s not exactly super high quality, but it does seem to succeed at what it’s designed to do and has helped with a transition into unresponsive play.
I love the Classic. Cheap, comfy, nice and responsive.
What about getting a Classic and a YYF Onestar? Good starter kit for like 25 bucks.
Count me in. I bought one at Toys R Us. Mine worked fine. The adjustments were tricky to learn to make, but once I got it, I had no problem with it. It ain’t a high end throw, but I got good, unresponsive play with it.
hi everyone
thanks for all the helpful responses 
i think i might spend a little more as i can afford it, i just like being economical
but i think i’m going to get the following:
YYJ Classic + Bearings kit
MYY N12
and maybe the Velocity or Freehand 2
if i get the classic + the n12, will i need either of the other two?
With the classic, you’ll just be switching the bearing, and replacing the o-rings in the grooves with silicon stickers.
With the YYJ Classic and the MYY N12 you will have 2 great, unresponsive throws - one plastic and one metal, so you’ll get an idea of whether you like one material over the other. They are REALLY different in shape, too, so it will be good in helping you decide what shapes you like throwing.
With the classic and/or N12, you won’t really need a Velocity, unless you want to use the Velocity for responsive, but personally, I would get the Freehand 2 over the Velocity. The FH2 will give you a responsive throw, which is good to have for certain tricks.
At some point, consider a looping yoyo, if you like.
My $.02
I used to play back in the “all responsive” era, and can still appreciate that. Now, though, my 8 year old son is getting interested in yoyos after finding one of my old Playmaxx TBGTs laying around. After a few bucks in parts to refresh that I found the chat room and asked the question in there, of what can I get that’s decent at Toys R Us (I had a 10$ gift card that was expiring). I was told out of their stock, to get the Velocity. I guess the packaging worked, because that’s the one he went for anyways.
We got that, and both have used it and messed with the adjustment settings. I disagree about it being fully psychotically responsive to fully unresponsive. The design of it lets you set each side individually, and there are probably even too many adjustments, but it’s nice to be able to switch between styles without having to do a bearing swap, a la DMII, especially when learning. I think the size is decent, but the feel of it didn’t win me over. I feel it falls squarely in the “decent” category, and pretty good for something in a large chain toy store that you can get inexpensively.
On the other hand, I was also recommended to look at the light-up FreeHand Zero. Supposedly its construction is a little different from the FHZ, and an improvement, so that’s what my son got as one of his birthday gifts this week.
I asked him which he liked best, and he went with the LUFHZ. I’ve used that one a bit less, but it seems decent as well.
I prefer my 14$ MagicYoYo T5 to either of them, and probably would have picked up a 25.50$ MYY N12 for him if he was up to bind returns and whatnot. Maybe in a few months if he keeps playing.
Cliffs notes:
Tinkerer? Velocity
Beginner: LUFHZ (it’s still a little responsive, which can help at the start, IMO)
Intermediate on a budget: MagicYoYo seems to be a solid buy, at least in the Colonies.
BRENT
You found a LUFHZ at TRS? I haven’t seen one at mine before.
I didn’t particularly care much for the lite up fhz. I haven’t played a regular one, but think my issues with it likely revolve around how the lite up guts affect play. Have to play a regular one to find out, though!
The classic is a perfect responsive yoyo and the n12 is a perfect unresponsive yoyo. The velocity is just ok in both areas and the fh2 doesn’t really excel anywhere in my opinion so that’s all you need.
I’d say to pick up a 100 pack of 100% polly string of your choice (you will burn through strings much faster than you’d expect and it’s not that expensive), Classic, N12 and bearing kit to upgrade the classic later on if you want to make it unresponsive as well.
Though I personally disagree with the assertion that the FH2 doesn’t excel anywhere - for me it is the perfect “hybrid” throw, combining some of the best of both worlds - it is definitely a matter of personal tastes and preferences. But definite agreement with Sparhawk in that if you keep a Classic unresponsive and add an N12, you’ve got 2 great yoyos that have 2 different fachs, and that will get you off to a great start.
Good luck, and enjoy your journey.
edit -
the volocity is good
Sorry to be a grammar nazi but *velocity
It’s in the thread the whole time and there’s a spell checker! D:
Anyway, the pads on the FH2 (and therefor the FHZ) are pants, just saying.
I never really liked the classic when I threw it, feels like a really hard plastic with harsh angles (may just be me :-\ )
If you want to go full responsive get a Magicyoyo and a OneStar, if you want to have one responsive one unresponsive get a Classic and a Magicyoyo.
Whatever combination you get you will have 2 great yoyos at a great price 
thanks for the advice, the reason i’m responding so late is because i got the classic and the magic n12 yesterday
the classic is okay i guess but i’m doing tricks so much more easily with the n12 and it’s very fun. i probably wont use the classic that much unless i’m experimenting with tricks that could urr end up breaking the yoyo lol
thanks man im having fun!