Hey!! I haven’t had a yoyo since probably 2014, I used to be pretty good though. I’m looking to buy a yoyo because I miss it. I had a lot of good memories of it but stopped before high school because I was afraid of getting made fun of. One time Tyler Severance brought me to the YYF office and gave me a prototype TooHot. He encouraged me to compete in the AZ contest too (I made the finals but got last place).
I was hoping you guys could lead me in the right direction, I got lost looking through the shop.
I think I want something smaller and floatier, preferably under $100. I haven’t heard of a lot of these brands but would love to support a smaller company!!
I’ll plug One Drop. I haven’t been disappointed by them, yet, and they’re all so different. The Kamuraiju with ultra light side effects is fantastic. I also have a hard time putting the Thorn down. If you’re looking for organic, the Panorama has that classic “Imperial-like” feel with a more modern, versatile design. Arguably, the Free Solo is the best performer currently available, but of course it’s a matter of preference. Regardless, as they say, you just can’t go wrong with One Drop.
I know you said smaller company, but I’ve been impressed by Duncan, too. The Haymaker OG is small, light and spins a ton due to the bimetal design.
I personally have a pretty similar story, I stopped yo-yo in 2014 and got back into it I’d say 2 years ago. You’re probably safe getting a budget from a brand you use to really like, then you’ll form your own opinion again once it comes back to you.
+1 for One Drop and Recess. Easily my top two favorite brands. If you want to support Tyler, and enjoy the finer things in life, have a look at some of Recess’ latest releases:
fulvia is a new process for making plastic yoyo. They used injection molding as well as CNC machining. I haven’t tried it but the community agrees its insane.
For the money, since you said something smaller in Diameter. Might I suggest the unprld recognition. I also stopped yoyoing around 2011 and came back 2019. Recognition is probably the best value throw i’ve bought since getting back. It’s $45 and is a higher grade aluminum. It has a bit of weight on the string but also has a fluid play style and the stability is insane for a monometal.
My suggestion with a budget of around $100 is to get a few different throws to get a bit of variety and see what you like rather than place all your eggs in one basket. You might well be surprised how well some of them in the $30-40 range perform.
Outwith other good suggestetions above, I am loving the Topyo Colossus 6 at the moment which is slightly smaller and oh so comfortable.
