How to Choose the Perfect Yo-Yo for Your Skill Level?

General Yo-Yo
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Hey everyone!

I am new here and just getting into yo–yoing, so I wanted to ask for some advice on picking the right yo–yo: There are so many different types and styles out there and it’s a bit overwhelming!!

From what I have learned so far; I know there are different kinds of yo–yos like responsive and unresponsive. As a beginner, I am thinking responsive might be the best choice to start with. But as I improve, I also want to be sure I can move on to something more advanced without having to buy too many different yo–yos:

So my quesions are:

  • What’s a good beginner yo-yo that’s easy to learn the basics on but will still challenge me as I progress: ??
  • Are there any particular brands or models that you guys recommend: ??
  • Do I need any extra accessories or maintenance gear when I’m just starting out: ??

I would love to hear any advice from you more experienced players. Thanks in advance !!

Looking forward to improving my skills and being part of the yo–yo community!

TonyFlutter

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You’re gna hear tons of different things, opinion and recommendations. And they’re all gna be good and valid and from what I’ve seen being a part of this community. You cant go wrong with anything anyone here recommends.

My personal opinion to ur main question is I believe it’s best to start out on plastics. There’s beginner plastics and there’s amazing professional level plastics. Then you get into hybrid which are still plastics but they might have metal rims to give more power and performance. After that you get into monometals which would be aluminum yo-yos but technically could also be stainless steel and titanium as long as it’s made of just one material. Then u have ur bi metals which are the same as the hybrids I mention accept with two different metals.

If ur a beginner my recommendation is to follow this order. I’m biased because this is the progression I followed and I feel it’s the natural progression. Now there’s gna be people who might tell u to skip all that and just get a nice bi metal if u want one cuz they do give superior performance and technically that will be helpful when learning tricks. However as a beginner I don’t really subscribe to that but I also am not knocking it.

My main reason for suggesting u follow the natural progression has nothing to do with getting the best Yoyo u can just cuz u can. It’s more simple. I feel like it’s a much superior overall experience if u think ur gna stay in the hobby cuz this way learn to appreciate what all those other option have to offer. And see what makes them great. And honestly there’s nothing a good plastic can’t do that a bi metal can. I think it’s important to play on everything and the better u get just keep leveling up ur yo-yos as u progress. When I first started out I got a bunch of plastics, then I got my first hybrid and it was all hybrids after that. And I thought that’s it that’s all I need I thoughts hybrids were my favorite. Until I got my first monometal. And then I completely forgot about hybrids. And u see where this is going. But I feel like if u just jump straight into the deep end you’ll miss out on a big part of the journey and I think that’s part of what makes yo-yoing awesome is going thru that progression. Then u get a true love and appreciation for the hobby and the more yo-yos u try the more experienced u are and the more well equipped to give good advice if ur ever in the other side of this question.

Sorry for the rant. That’s probably way more than u asked for so to give a recommendation I say get urself a speedaholic xx or a shooting star and call it a day.

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Also I actually have a beginner bundle for sale right now on my bst page. If u want just dm me ur adress and I’ll send u all three for free.

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Yoyofriends aoe area of effect is my recommendation for a good beginner Yoyo that can take you pretty far.

In general, almost all yoyos now a days are very good. I can do my tricks with whatever Yoyo and yoyos are kind of just preference. I highly recommend seeing if you have a Yoyo club nearby because that can be a great way to try a bunch of yo-yos to see what you prefer and meet some other players to talk shop with and help show you good technique in person.

As far as gear to get when starting out—a tool to remove bearings is nice to have. Extra strings are good, just stick with normal thickness for now.

I think that’s it for my day one recs but welcome and have fun! Ask any questions that come up along the way!

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Yes I agree with Henry for ur first Yoyo the aoe probably the best option

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Just pick one in your budget that looks cool. The rest will follow

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I’m going to go in a different direction from a good bit of the advice youll get. not that the advice is bad or steers you wrong, no one here would. but rather my personal recent experience.

i started 4 months ago and i was told the same responsive>plastic unresponsive>metal unresponsive>bimetal(?). i honestly believe it’s a recommended path because most ppl followed that progression naturally. i don’t think it’s at all necessary. i feel like i spent money on several yoyos that i played for a week or two before feeling like i needed more from it and bought a different one.

the fact is, when you’re learning, stability and spin time are EVERYTHING! gives you the time and sloppyness to learn with fewer restarts and without worrying you have to go super fast because your spin will die. as such, i personally think you should get something in the midlevel monometal range ~$50-$100. ppl say you run a greater risk of hiting it on something or throwing it into the floor when you’re new. 100% true for about 2 weeks (subjective obviously). learn not to. if you’re playing regularly, you’ll learn pretty quickly not to throw it into everything in sight, and the benefits i mentioned above, imo, far outweigh any risk of yoyo damage. also, just play with plenty of space 360 degrees around you and play over carpet or grass. I’ve thrown all my throws into the floor more than once and never damaged them due to carpet.

as far as skills, responsive and unresponsive are similar in that they have crossover elements and such, but make no mistake they are totally different skill sets. you will learn unresponsive, outside of the very basics, by playing unresponsive. ive met several ppl only able to play one style or the other but not both. you will have to learn the specific skill set on whichever yoyo fits that style.

having said all that, my ultimate tldr would be this: spend as much as you will allow yourself on either a responsive or unresponsive, and something you like the look of so much that it feels odd to NOT have it tied to your finger. once you get into the hobby you will have many opportunities to try different yoyos as you refine your style and taste, but i am so on board with the sentiment i see so often given to new players,

The best yoyo for you is the one you have fun picking up and playing with. Practice is more valuable than any throw you’ll ever own.

good luck, welcome to the forums and hobby and i hope you have a blast!

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If you ever make it to Diagon Alley, there’s a yoyo shop called Ollivanders. Just see the shop owner, Garrick, pictured below. He’ll help you find the yoyo you’re truly meant to play.

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I recommend a YYF Replay Pro, Yoyojam thin lube, and a String Labs variety pack. That’ll keep you busy till you decide on an aluminum or delrin throw.

You could also go straight to a Yoyofriends Shortcut.

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There are two things we don’t know about you: how much money you’re willing to throw into this, and how “serious” you are about it (i.e., how likely are you to stick with it long enough to feel the money was well spent). Because of this, a common and very sensible recommendation would be this:

  • Get a Recess First Base and learn the basics with it in responsive mode.
  • When you feel ready to learn how to bind and get into unresponsive play, put a full-spec bearing into the First Base and keep learning tricks.
  • If you find yourself really loving it and have no qualms about spending more money on more yoyos, then get a monometal. Until you’ve reached this stage, it might not make sense to spend money on an expensive yoyo that you’ll never use or will damage as part of the early learning process.
  • If you find yourself really hooked, then start building up your monometal collection, learn which body shapes are your favorite, and then dive into bi-metals.

This roadmap assumes you don’t want to rush through the steps and don’t want to invest more money than you really need to at first. However, if you have more money than sense (like a lot of us here do), then get a First Base and a Duncan Grasshopper GTX and proceed through the YYE trick ladder with confidence.

As for extra gear, you’ll want some more strings (Kitty First Class is a good place to start), bottles of both thin and thick lube (the brand really doesn’t matter IMO), and a bearing removal tool. Oh, and a yoyo case to hold all the yoyos you will inevitably collect is a good idea too.

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To start you might want to go with something super cheap, virtually indestructible, and responsive (like a YYF Whip). With very little investment, you can work on getting a good throw and comfort with the mechanics, progressing through the beginner tricks which will give you satisfaction/motivation, amd learning the. basic mounts like trapeze.

Responsive might be less frustrating in the beginning because of less manual winding.

Once you get comfortable with some basics, you could go straight to a really nice plastic unresponsive like the speedaholic xx or shooting star.

I personally didn’t want to switch from responsove to unresponsive cold turkey when I started, and found it nicer to have both handy. There are plenty of cheap plastics to make having both affordable.

The Whip that I recommended is great for beginner tricks, but harder than some of the other recommendations when you start doing mounts. But learning the basics on that one might make it feel easier when you swap to something better for internediate tricks.

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Here’s my recommendation starting from total beginner to expert.

Duncan Butterfly or Imperial for learning the absolute basics like throwing a sleeper, forward pass, loops, regens, etc.

Duncan Butterfly XT or Yoyofactory Whip for beginning to learn basic string tricks like trapeze, double or nothing, barrel rolls, picture tricks, etc.

Recess First Base, Yoyofriends AoE, or something else that comes with both a responsive slim and unresponsive wide bearing when you feel like you’re ready for more complex string tricks and want to transition into unresponsive and learn to bind.

Once you learn to bind and get comfortable with an unresponsive setup, things will really start to open up. At this point, you can get whatever you want. Monometal, bimetal, trimetal, hybrid, whatever looks like fun. It’s time to figure out your preferences. This is the stage where you buy as many yo-yos as possible and your bank account and loved ones will hate you.

Welcome and remember that this is a toy and you’re supposed to be having fun with it!

Edit: Forgot to mention supplies… if you’re in it for the long haul, I recommend stocking up on strings (that’s a whole other can of worms), spare bearings, a bearing removal tool, and a bottle of thin and thick lube.

Eventually, you may want to clean your bearings. For that, you’ll need a solvent like lighter fluid, acetone, or 99% alcohol and a can of compressed air (computer duster) can really come in handy.

Edit 2: For recommended brands, my favorite is One Drop. There’s a certain quality to them that is hard to quantify. I just love their stuff. There are a lot of great companies out there and most (if not all) of them make high quality products though. Definitely good to try as many as you can to find out what speaks to you.

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I would highly recommend starting with something that ships responsive, but can become unresponsive. This will allow you to grow with your yoyo, and they are often inexpensive.

Recess First Base is a great option if they’re around, I personally recommend the Magic Yoyo V3 and have given it to lots of people to get them started. It comes out of the box responsive, and includes an unresponsive bearing, bearing removal tool, long axle for unresponsive play, and some extra strings.

I dont really buy into the “start with plastic” thing, when you’re learning you ding up yoyos quick and aluminum can take more abuse than plastic yoyos can. I do 100% buy into starting off responsive. You’ll spend more time yoyoing with a responsive yoyo, and once you get the basics down learning to bind is much easier. If you start unresponsive, you’ll be spending a lot of time restarting the yoyo.

Happy throwing, and good luck friend!

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lol try that with injection molded :boom:

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My advice would be to not fall into the trap of thinking that having a better/more expensive yoyo will make you better. Are there yoyos that are objectively better than another? Sure. But these days, that differences is relatively slim. Don’t feel like you have to spend too much money.

I’d recommend the iYoYo Shooting Star - it’s a great yoyo that comes with all you need for responsive and unresponsive play. It performs great, and as a bonus will help make finger spins easier. It’s also only $30 and comes in loads of colors.

If you want the absolutely best bang for your buck, MagicYoYo has some unbelievable kits that come with 2 yoyos, responsive & unresponsive bearings and axles, a bearing tool, and extra string all in a little case.

Besides that, I’d say get some thin lube (or you can make your own, but the bottle you buy will last you forever) and some YYE bulk poly strings.

Having some pliers and a solvent (lighter fluid, odorless mineral spirits, pure acetone or isopropanol) on hand will help when it comes time for cleaning the bearing. You can buy a bearing tool, but as long as you’re gentle with pliers, it’s fine (Brandon Vu uses that method).

This will have you covered for responsive & unresponsive 1A and 5A (and potentially 3A with the MYY bundles). If you want something for 2A, 4A or fixed-axel play later, that’s another relatively cheap purchase you can try if you’re still interested at that point.

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