Iconic yo-yos. Classics. Game changers. Legends. Beloved.
What are, in your opinion, the top 10 most iconic yo-yos of all time?
Bonus topics: Are there any yo-yos that have been released recently that you think could find their way into this prestigious hall of fame in the future?
Do you think as time goes by that some of the yo-yos we list today will fall off of newer generation’s lists?
In my 14 years throwing, the following throws have consistently come up in these discussions, and have stood the test of time/stick out as iconic and legendary:
Then there’s like… MOST Anti Yo stuff, G2 swirls, as well as some older YYF, ILYY, & General Yo stuff that’s considered pretty legendary as well. You also have some modern classics like the Markmont Classic, A-RT Grail, RSO and Luftverk stuff that are easily on the way to becoming legendary if they aren’t already.
Peak
E1NS
Ywet
888
Project
Markmont Classic
Draupnir
Chief
Dark Magic 2
Freehand
I haven’t been here long, but I think the Panorama will be one, if not already.
Didn’t want to dwell on this list too hard since there are arguments to be made about a lot of models. This is just what popped into my head as someone who threw primarily in the ‘03-‘10 era. Sorry it’s a top 5 and not top 10 lol.
Duncan FH1 - the literal game changer. Modern yo-yoing developed because of this yo-yo’s existence.
YoYoJam Hitman - it was standard operating procedure to throw these shimmed out with a concave bearing. The beginning of truly dead unresponsive play which opened up a new world of tricks
Duncan Freehand MG - we can precision-machine a yo-yo out of unique materials, throw a $400 price tag on it, and it’ll play pretty dang awesome as well.
Anti-Yo Bapezilla - for better or worse, Anti-Yo really brought hype and scarcity into the scene. Runs of 250 would sell out in minutes. The shape is iconic and mimicked to this day.
One Drop Project - the beginning of the modern era. First aluminum I ever used that was completely dead smooth and set the standard for production quality on aluminum yo-yos.
There are obviously some other greats that occurred in that era, but (for me) those were the most iconic
Agree with this list
Feel like the renegade and yomega raider would fall in the list maybe as well
I… well… I have to say the most iconic yoyo. The one you ask a Random person on the street to describe a yo-yo. It’s going to be without a doubt a Duncan imperial.
Older generations might even say the old Russel Coca Cola yo-yos as most iconic.
For me a good old Yomega raider and the no jive are pretty high on my list of iconic yo-yos.
I can imagine many kids today will think of the Myy k1 or k2 as iconic 20 years time.
M1 kneecapped the market.
So these threads pop up every once in a while, and as far back as I can remember there’s a few recurring throws that tend to pop up, so I think they’re good candidates, only ones that haven’t been mentioned yet
Yoyorecreation Sleipnir
Hspin Pyro
YYJ Phenom
SPYY Addiction
YYJ Aquarius (for 4a)
Turbo Bumble Bee
difeyo bare bones ( & bearings )
YYF shutter
Special shoutout to a red YYJ dark magic 
Flores
Butterfly
No Jive 3-in-1
Brain
SB-2
ProYo 2 (hon mention: TBB, Cold Fusion)
Renegade
Freehand 1
Hitman
Peak
888
i feel like any list like this is going to inevitably trigger responses which are mainly current/modern yo-yos with a few head-nod callbacks to significant early models. to me, the significant early models make up the vast majority of the list. each of these were hugely popular in their era. AND they each represent a major step forward in terms of technological or conceptual foundation which both influenced and were informed by play at the time. to me these are iconic because you could pretty much JUST have these yo-yos and trace the development of yo-yo tricks/play/popularity right up to what we see today.
I would also say the OG shutter was very influential. Maybe not as much in trick innovation or yoyo design innovation, but the sheer fame and number of people who learned on it is crazy
A current list for our current times
I’m glad someone included the Brain. Having originally started as an elementary school kid in the very early 00’s, the Yomega Brain was absolutely crucial. Unless they had someone older who could teach them, a kid who got a Duncan Butterfly or Imperial usually gave up trying after about 10 minutes (and often just resorted to wildly swinging around the dead yoyo as a weapon)…My brother was one of these. The kids that got a Brain or X-Brain (like myself) are the ones that kept at it and at least managed to learn some basic tricks (Sleeper, Forward Pass, Walk the Dog, Around the World, etc.), especially since at one point there was also a Yomega VHS tape that showed you all the basics.
I guess this could also go in the yo-yos in pop culture thread, but what could be more iconic than James Dean and Wolverine throwing yo-yos?
this one too
Can’t believe the shutter wasn’t mentioned until the 6th response to this thread.
Even if you’re not into it because it isn’t collectible or premium, you’ve GOT to acknowledge its influence.
Not only in bringing about the budget mono-metal, but also in bringing new kids into the sport.
Gentry’s well choreographed and appealing performances (sometimes topping 1,000,000 YouTube views) combined with the advertised fact that “you can get the exact same yo-yo that he used for less than $50” is a one-two marketing punch that successfully pulled in previously unheard of amounts of new throwers.
And if you think about it, this “shutter success” is really only could have happened with the chance intersection of a player like Gentry and a (comparatively) larger company like Yoyofactory.
Of pretty much all the yoyoers out there, Gentry is the one who makes it look the best to skeptical non throwers. Let’s be real, when most people hear the words “yo-yo competition” they picture a bunch of pasty and skinny dudes who don’t touch grass enough. And to a large extent, they’re right.
Gentry breaks that mold. He looks like a cool dude with good hair, that probably plays basketball, and definitely has a girlfriend. And that, combined with the best stage presence and music use in the game, leads to views. It leads to young kids in wanting to get into yoyoing, more than any Takeshi Matsuura performance ever will. I don’t care how good his tech is. Yoyoers that look like popular high school kids don’t come around often. Honestly, I can’t think of many others.
So this performer, combined with a larger company that can churn out and sell (quite literally) hundreds of thousands of units meant that the Shutter was a perfect storm, and is almost certainly the competition yoyo that has brought the most people into the hobby.
So yeah, I get where people are coming from when posting about different ILYY models and the One Drop M1, etc…. on this thread.
While I do understand that this thread can mean different things to different people, and not everyone interprets the prompt as “biggest impact across the globe” and I did, the fact that the One Drop Panorama was mentioned before the Shutter is CRAZY in my book. C’mon forum dudes…. 
And to be fair, I’m not saying the Shutter the greatest yo-yo (although I think it’s way better than it gets credit for on the forums), or that Gentry is the best player, BUT, if you’re talking about worldwide influence, the Shutter is in a tier of its own.
Is that Hunter S. Thompson in the last pic?
Dean
Probably it was not mentioned because it was so eclipsed by the Horizon.
Haha just kidding, the Shutter is a swell throw 
