So I’ve been looking to get me and my daughter into yoying. I used to play a lot when I was younger. My daughter is only five but she brought home some little pink plastic yoyo with a picture of a unicorn on it and she had a blast for the three days it lasted before it broke. I’m looking to get us both responsive yoyos that are good/cheap. I’ve been looking at the YoYo Magic v6 Locus, as I’ve seen some youtube reviews that seem impartial and make this yoyo look great for the 15$ it costs.
She doesn’t need anything amazing, I just dont want her struggling to get some garbage “check out aisle” yoyo to sleep and get frustrated with yoyoing in general. As for me I’d like something with a bit of performance at a cheap price so I can really get back into it (and justify it to the wife) before I get an unresponsive yoyo. But I’d like to get us both the same yoyo and the Locus seems like it would be good for both of us. But then again I really have no idea.
I would consider the Whip. I have gotten my kids a few, and just the other day bought a pink marble colored Whip for my daughter. She is 4 and can’t really throw well but loves it all the same. Oh it also is only $6.
Another option is the YoyoTricks Sage. It is a very durable, high quality plastic (POM) responsive yoyo, but it can be upgraded to unresponsive play with just a bearing change. The YYF Arrow is similar in this regard in that it can be easily upgraded to unresponsive play. I have both and I prefer the Sage, but you really can’t go wrong with either; it depends on which shape and color range you prefer. The Arrow is a bit comfier in the hand, but the Sage has slightly better performance in my experience.
Yeah, the Sage began life as the Onestar, which YYF no longer makes. According to Adam over at yoyotricks, the Sage enjoys a number of improvements over the original Onestar. I can testify that it is a very good plastic responsive yoyo (I never bothered to upgrade it to unresponsive play, so I can’t speak to that).
The Whip definitely looks like a good choice for a young child. Having never used one, however, I can’t say whether or not it has “a bit of performance” like Joseph is looking for. TBH, I’m not sure how much “performance” $6 can really buy you, even with today’s quality manufacturing processes.
I actually liked the whip quite a bit more than the sage. It takes a wide bearing to upgrade it if you want to, also. The smaller size is great for children’s hands.
If you want a really flashy yoyo for kids, though… I gotta recommend the Pulse.
I have a Whip modified for unresponsive and it’s a very nice simple yoyo. I still pull it out if I want a light floaty yoyo. It can take most of the tricks I can throw at it and is pretty stable for its weight. You definitely want something that won’t hurt her if/when it snaps back and the Whip is a nice light yoyo that doesn’t have sharp edges. I haven’t tried the Sage/One Star, but that would probably do just fine too.
Given its shape, I’d venture the Whip is going to yield less painful impacts than the Sage. On that basis alone I guess I’d recommend the Whip over the Sage. Especially if you’re going to be practicing forward passes and breakaway throws with it (wherein the yoyo returns to the hand at full speed, rather than shedding some of its velocity by landing in a mount of some sort).
This is one of the reasons why I prefer it. The other is that it’s great for learning/practicing snap-starts, which is wonderful for the intermediate yo-yoer to work on to make their play/practice less frustrating and more efficient.
I’ll go with the Whip for a 5 year old. Locus is metal and great and I play it unresponsive and LOVE it but the Whips feels nicer and is better for a small person. Sage may be too big and wide for her.
Thanks for the advice guys. The whip was perfect for her. It’s a hell of a yoyo for 6 bucks too. I even have fun throwing it around with her tiny little string on it. Got myself the locus and i love the feel.