At the advice of Luke Renner I purchased a Magic Yoyo N12 Shark. What a fantastic yoyo. It’s not just a great yoyo for the price, it’s a great yoyo, period.
It’s smaller than my Shutter but bigger than my DV888. However, it doesn’t feel as dense as the DV888. It’s really stable and although I cringe when I hear people describe a yoyo as “floaty” I think I now understand what they’re talking about. It feels fantastic and is really fun to play with.
It has a low wall and wide catch zone which I really like. It feels great in the hand and when it comes back from a fast bind there are no edges which slam your hand. It’s just very comfortable. And it even comes with what looks like a center track bearing and it’s own storage bag.
As I played with the N12 some more last night I realized 2 things: First, I need to learn more tricks. I’m feeling really limited in what I can do. Second: I love this yoyo. At first I thought it was a bit on the small side but now I’m really loving it. It feels a lot more natural in the hand than the much larger Shutter or Replay Pro (both of which are fantastic yoyos).
The spin time is really good (and I haven’t even lubed the bearing yet). I also noticed that I’m having an easier time getting a smooth, non-vibrating spin. Usually, you’d expect a heavier yoyo to be more stable but somehow this one is light and “floaty” while still being very stable.
I’m really surprised at how good this feels for an inexpensive yoyo. Unfortunately, they’re not available here and I won’t violate the rules by linking to another store because I respect the work Andre and YYE do. But the quality and price point are so good that it may be a brand YYE could look into.