Is wood still good in 2018?

Glenacius_K · January 21, 2018, 1:14pm

I think so!

GrindDude · January 21, 2018, 4:18pm

Yup

JMM · January 21, 2018, 8:13pm

Wood is still good. In fact I throw wood the majority of the time. Perhaps, because that was what i had as a kid.

Glenacius_K · January 21, 2018, 10:11pm

Me too. I pretty much exclusively throw wood. I didn’t as a kid, but I used to throw old Russell Coke yoyos. Those things could chew through a string in seconds, haha.

jrodriguez · January 22, 2018, 2:12am

Indeed! Still throwing wood about 50% of the time.

jhb8426 · January 22, 2018, 4:13am

Yes, wood is good.

codinghorror · January 22, 2018, 7:25am

I will be the minority opinion and say… ehhh no it’s not

Can you guys share what wood yoyos you consider good?

I have like 5-8 wood yoyos (mostly Tom Kuhn, one BC) and I have not had a good experience with any of them… from the fixed axle old timey (so little spin) to the ball bearing Roller Woody types (very cantankerous and temperamental) … I just haven’t had a good time.

Give me a decent $15 plastic over the wood any day of the week. So much more consistent & reliable.

Glenacius_K · January 22, 2018, 7:55am

Sounds like it’s possible that wood just isnt for you.

And that’s fine!

TMBR and OUT wood yoyos are great. Also the YYF legend wing is a good option.

codinghorror · January 22, 2018, 8:25am

I would say they’re objectively worse, mostly due to the bearing and response systems. Can you name even one wood yoyo that you would honestly say is as good as a $16 Replay Pro, for example?

Because I can’t

Glenacius_K · January 22, 2018, 8:51am

It seems like you don’t quite understand fixed axle play. It offers a different play experience to ball bearing yoyos.

They are not to be thought about in terms of better of worse. They are different.

Wooden fixed axles offer a play experience, sensation and aesthetic quality that any other material can’t replicate.

codinghorror · January 22, 2018, 10:55am

Well I’m gonna respectfully disagree with you there. Fixed axle is like playing with one, no, two hands tied behind your back. It’s a horse and buggy compared to a car. Now if we’re shooting for an Amish Paradise sort of thing, OK, fine… I guess? But for modern yoyo play they are uniformly terrible, every one I have tried.

I was hoping someone would recommend a good metal bearing wood yoyo I can try, I have two Roller Woodys and they just play so bizarre and cantankerous compared to any reasonable $15-$20 plastic yoyo. Is there ANYTHING other than the roller woody out there that offers metal bearing plus wood?

Because I do think wood, the actual material to make stuff out of, is cool! Convince me!

Cannon · January 22, 2018, 11:23am

Look up ed haponik on Youtube/ Instagram. You will understand.

Art makes some wooden/ ball bearing yoyos. Not sure how easy they are to get though.

Glenacius_K · January 22, 2018, 12:14pm

Did you read my last post?

And what do you mean ‘for modern yoyo play they are uniformly terrible’? They certainly aren’t terrible for modern fixed axle tricks.

Don’t assume that all modern yoyo tricks are for unresponsive, ball bearing yoyos.

Take your unresponsive yoyo and perform a skin the moon into backhand stall into zippper stalls finished by a punch regeneration to modified behind the back shoot the moon.

Can’t do it? That’s because unresponsive yoyos are uniformly terrible for modern fixed axle tricks.

Tvelto · January 22, 2018, 2:48pm

You’re doing it wrong. You shouldn’t be looking to do modern string tricks on a fixed axle. You can, but its very challenging. That challenge is part of the fun, though.

Check out modern fixed axle stall tricks. That’s where the real fun lies. Not only that, but it’ll make you a better 1A unresponsive player as well.

hobbyman101 · January 22, 2018, 3:16pm

Wood is not better. Wood is an enjoyable change from all the push and hype over a new style bearing or a new alloy or just new. Wood has been here since the beginning and will be here tomorrow right next to all the new fangled yoyo changes we look forward to.
Go Wood!

AaronW · January 22, 2018, 4:08pm

No offense, it could just be that you haven’t put in the time and don’t have the experience to do “modern” tricks on a fixed axle

It’s not the norm, but there are several players that pull off “modern” stuff on fixed axles really really well. Most of us aren’t really that interested in doing modern stuff on a fixed axle though.

Jensen makes a number of wooden yoyos that have bearings. The one he is using above is a fixed axle with a very narrow gap.

jrodriguez · January 23, 2018, 4:04am

codinghorror - I’ve got $50 with your name on it if you can do all of these tricks with a modern, unresponsive bearing yoyo:

Vid or it didn’t happen.

codinghorror · January 23, 2018, 8:36am

Seriously? So now it’s a chest thumping, “I’m better than you and that’s why” discussion?

Very disappointing, gentlemen.

yoyodoc · January 23, 2018, 9:26am

I just checked with my termites.

They said wood is still good in 2018.

Medium well; with no onions and a little ranch dressing on the side.

…I don’t think Glenacias was fishing for, ‘I don’t like wood’ responses.

I think he was simply wanting to know if people enjoy the fixed axle experience.

For example; If you like bearing play better; you don’t have to say you don’t like wood. You can just say that you like bearing play better.

As a Forum; we should divide into groups and throw shade on what we don’t like?

One isn’t better than the other. They present two distinctly different types challenges.

I know people that still like hunting better with single shot/no scope rifles. Guys that go deer hunting with standard old school longbows; no compound bows; ever.

I know guys that won’t touch an aluminum bat. They won’t shoot pool with a custom cue stick. Guys that say riding anything but a single speed bike is cheating.

Guys that say if your car doesn’t have a clutch; you are missing the true driving experience.

If somebody asks you, ‘What do you like better; vanilla or chocolate ice cream’? If you like vanilla better; just say I like vanilla better. But that’s too positive for some folks. Some people would rather say, ‘I don’t like chocolate’.

What’s the point? Glad you asked.

You don’t need to throw mud at what you don’t personally like.

Respond along the lines of why you like bearing more that fixed. Or why you prefer fixed over bearing.

…On a side note> I don’t care for wood axle players saying that wood is way more challenging than bearings.

That is as true as it is untrue. Complexity of selected tricks can challenge any level of player in either fixed or bearing.

Neither is better.

Ed Haponik on fixed… Charles Haycock on bearing? They can both burn the house down; using a completely different source of ignition.

I like wood. Wood is good. In 2018 and beyond.

But I personally like throwing bearing yo-yos better.

.