Well while I’ll be in the process of teaching a friend the basics, I figured I’d give 5A play a try.
Basically I’m wondering what yoyos would be decent for 5A, and precisely what makes a yoyo good for 5A (weight, size, etc.).
I’ve done research and found that the Freehand series, DIE-NASTY, Pinnacle, and Grind Machine are great. But I’m curious whether or not the Protostar/Northstar, XCon Proffesional, ONE, and Genesis would be able to perform well.
Any all-metals? Possibly a Genesis? (As bad of an idea it is…lol.)
And finally, is there anything I should be informed of before starting 5A? All I’ve gathered is that You need a counterweight and that drops WILL happen.
.I think metals are the way too go, metal is more durable then plastic is.
My number one thing I look for in a 5A throw is stability.
The genesis is a 5A throw just can’t be billed that way. Any yoyo works, you can use anything I throw 5A with a 3 in 1 no jive, sometimes.
Fhz’s are a good start, because they come with a counterweight. It will give you a good feel for what works, and what to look for with weight of yoyo/weight of counter weight
I think for starting out in 5A, plastic is the way to go. FHZ’s are fine for that, although I generally recommend something that isn’t going to be so responsive out of the package. The YYJ Pinnacle is a decent choice and was made with 5A in mind obviously and comes with a counter weight. I’ve hear siliconing a Lyn Fury is a decent option and a good price, but you still need to get a counterweight.
Why do I recommend a plastic? Well, you’re going to drop it a lot. That’s just how 5A goes. Beat up something you can afford to beat up and replace.
I agree with the stability being a prime issue. You’ve got two objects to worry about, which if you can get some of the “worries about the yoyo” out of the way, it helps.
Once you get comfortable with 5A, it’s time to move up to whatever you want, probably a decent metal. That’s my general plan anyways.
The protostar is great for beginning 5a due to having a wide shape, being stable, and cheap. The Lyn fury was used to win 5a worlds one year, so you know that it has to be great. The pinnacle looks good, judging from the video.
Plastic is definitely the way to go for the sole reason of cost.
Clean the bearing really good and remove a friction sticker.
Or, have XminusmikeX mod one for you with a silicone recess and/or schmoove rings on both sides. I’m going to buy a FHZ just for this purpose.
I already have an XminusmikeX painted and modded(with the above mentioned mods) and it is nothing short of amazing. It’s also splash painted and looks amazing.
I have a FHZ Pulse with a Terrapin X A+ Beefcake for FHZ and silicone stickers and it’s amazingly dead unresponsive.
I have a stock FHZ and even with silicone stickers, it’s too responsive. I’m going to probably going to keep this one stock though. I’ll go get another FHZ for getting some mods done.
Mostly. The common thing to do is to clean the bearing out really good, then remove one friction sticker. That seems to be the preferred low-cost/no-cost method of tweaking a FHZ. You really need to clean the bearing too, it’s really important.
This is going to be a stupid question… How do you de-shield a bearing? I’ve fumbled around with mine and have yet to find out. And no, I have not even considered looking it up, lol. I’m assuming cleaning the bearing also involves dropping some thin lube be into it.
Take a needle and put it up against the c-iOS on the shield and push. It is hard to describe, searching for a video will help.
For a yoyo, the PSG is now available at yye, and looks amazing for 5a. Although I have not tried one judging from the specs it looks promising. It is definitely durable as well as the guys from adepge even made a vid of them running it over with a car, and it being perfectly fine.
Well right now my expectations of the FHZ have dropped to zero due to it being responsive. I’d love to use a Protostar but I don’t want to drop it lol. The Grind Machine could add some fun with 5A hubstack play…
Unless your using z-stacks (not compatible with the PGM from what I’ve heard) will hav a lot of trouble catching them in 5a and there isn’t a whol lot you can do with them if you can.
That’s a possibility. Just made my own counterweight out of an aluminum foil ball and am currently using my DMII with it, can’t say I’m being successful haha. Perhaps it’s too light compared to a Duncan counterweight.
That would definitely be too light. The weight of the yoyo/weight of the counterweight definitely does matter, although everyone has different preferences. For about $25 shipped, you can buy a new PSG and a set of Duncan counterweights off of the YYE shop. I’m thinking about ordering a PSG myself as a 5a beater.
