A little while back I posted a topic asking why people bought new yo-yos, and one of the choices (and my answer) was along the lines of “to determine my preferred shape and specs.”
Since then I seem to have found my preferred specs barring some revelation from a couple more design elements I want to try. What I’ve settled on is:
~54-56 mm diameter
~44~46 mm width
~62-65 grams
A slightly organic v shape with flared rims (definitely some wiggle room here, it can be less organic or more bell shaped, just needs the flared rims and not a straight v)
And most importantly, weight concentrated not completely on the rims but slightly back from them, preferably from SS rings as in the Raiser, Statement and the Breeze. Can also be in monometal as in the Kayak
Has anyone else managed to nail down their preferences so specifically?
Also can anyone help clue me into what shape monometal is most likely to replicate that type of weight distribution without an inner ring like the Kayak? It seems like a bell shape without an overly dense rim might work based on @Mazdarx7FD ‘s description of the Magpie, but I was also wondering if the same would be true of organic Vs without too much rim weight or W shapes in general.
It’s pretty much exactly what I’m wanting in a throw right now.
–edit–
But to answer your question, no…I don’t have it down like you do on what I most prefer spec by spec. I think it’s neat that you do though!
I’m still relatively new and figuring stuff out yet.
I think the hardest part about nailing down a preference is that certain specs trade off with each other. For example, I like at least a specific amount of power, so rim weight and larger diameter all provide more power. Instead of liking yoyo with a specific diameter, it is relative to rim weight! So basically for small diameter yoyos, I probably want a bimetal because I need more rim weight to get me the power, but I can go monometal with bigger yoyos. My preference then becomes a bunch of formulas instead of just numbers… Instead of having a preference for spec, it make a lot more sense for me to have preference for attributes that affects play, like power, stability, profile shape, catchability, float etc. and each kinda represent a formula for specs… like power is a function of weight, rim weight ratio, diameter, stability is rim weight and width, catchability is profile shape and width etc.
This emphasizes the need to be able to sort through the yo-yos be spec.
Lately when I get the itch to buy something new I look up the specs on something I really like, then I painstakingly go through each item of a particular brand one-by-one to find something of similar specs, finally I get bored and buy nothing.
I wish I could say I had found my perfect specs, but there are actually a lot of “perfect combinations” of specs. For any given weight, there’s a diameter & weight distribution that work well with it. For any particular width, there’s a shape and gap that I like. On top of that, there isn’t one single playfeel that I prefer, either.
You ever pick up a yoyo and it almost guides you into certain tricks? Maybe you want to do your feel-good stuff, maybe fully freestyle, maybe speed or slacks or silly weird stuff, maybe fingerspins or grinds or walking the dog. Maybe you just need something super wide to land your latest attempt at learning a difficult hop. Maybe you need something super round so you can get springy rejection slacks. Maybe you need something wooden and responsive and quiet and wonderful.
I guess there’s only a couple things that really make or break a yoyo for me. Sometimes they feel uninspiring, or the color looks bad, or they respond poorly to the binds I’m working on. Sometimes they feel uncomfortable. I’ll forgive them that, even, if they’re unique enough, like the Trashcan.
I think this is why I end up with so many yoyos that I like & use.
Good point! I like yoyos very similar in numbers to what @Durfee wrote but I’ve been thinking of going smaller, and in that case bimetal could be the way to go.
53-55 dia
41-43 width
60-67 grams (weight and distribution make the most profound difference in a yo, so this offers a nice range of feels within the dimensional specs)
I have exceptions to the limitations of these specs, but this is generally where my preferences are.
64Grams is my weight, Prefer smaller than 54mm diameter, Width I can negotiate. Anything above 64grams I can only toss for a short period of time before my frail wrist hurt. lol. I’m an old man. lol
or I would have more cuz I love those 2 colorways
