I always question which is better. Every time I throw lol. I love how both feel and it’s very different. If I had to say which is better id say metal. The only thing that really makes metal better is the weight to size ratio. Longer spin times with smaller yoyos. What do you think and why?
the passion never dies
It really depends on the design. A well made plastic will easily outperform a poorly designed metal.
Maybe it’s because I’m pretty broke most of the time, but I really enjoy trying plastic. My Onestar, rough though it may be at times, kills advanced tricks. I love the classic feel of my rally. My skyva plays fast and light and is very pleasant to touch. That being said, none quite compare to the precision and speed of good metals like the proton or dogma, or the versatility of the shutter and many of the low price metals. Proportions, finishes, and versatility make metal potentially superior, but I can complete all the advanced tricks and most of the next level in the tutorials with the Onestar. I can even complete moderately long combos. That’s the extent of my skill at this time, but from a function standpoint, until you’re competing at the top, plastic can be both very enjoyable and get the job done. For average play, it’s all about personal preferences.
Assuming all things being equal and both are properly designed and made the metal should have advantages due to durability and spin time. Jhb is correct though that a poorly made or designed yoyo is going to be a poor yoyo either metal or plastic.
Before it broke☹, I had a rally which i really, really liked. Plastics have a personality to them which many find enjoyable. I also liked the Skyva a lot but i don’t own one. I have a Yoyojam Vexed coming
soon, and I choose that over a metal.
All that being said, I don’t think plastics will be used in competition until they can grind as well as metals at the same or less money as your basic 50 dollar yoyo, and spin about as long too. The Replay pro is close, but it’s performance is limited to some extent by the finish, and maybe the size.(though gentry showed otherwise, I noticed his combos were shorter then usual and he wore two gloves to, I assume, make sure the finish didn’t mess up a trick because I say metals win, but for me, that is pretty much because of the finish rather then raw performance. Plastics should be in anyone’s collection, because the blend of personality and durability they bring cannot be replicated.
Ed your a legend and this reply made my year start off awesome lol we are not worthy
the passion never dies
I saw the picture, caption and poster in that order and literally "lol"ed
So did I. Made my day lol
the passion never dies
for me, lifetime metal!
How ironic lol jk all jokes aside, you’ve inspir3d me to pick up a wooden fixed axel. Any suggestions?
the passion never dies
Metal all the way bro
Metal (aluminium, titanium or hi-metal) by a country mile. Yes, the are some amazing plastics out there that can be used to compete on the biggest stages, but that doesn’t mean that they are equivalent to a metal yoyo.
Aluminium yoyos out-perform plastics in almost every sense (except price, but the price difference is much smaller than it used to be). Metal yoyos allow for more extreme and better performing designs due to their material properties, allow for a bevy of different finishes (which allows for better grinds). The only style of yoyoing that I’d say plastic yoyos are perhaps better than metals would be offstring due to the increased bounce making recoveries easier and ability to have very large designs without them being extremely heavy.
There’s a reason great plastic yoyos are compared to aluminium throws and not the other way around.
For me I would say metal all the way. Plastics do bring a certain interesting feel to them, but I really enjoy metal yoyos.
Aluminum and titanium particularly. I’m not a big bimetal person. I used to but then I was just kinda eh, they don’t perform much better but cost a lot more.
I endorse all that you have written but this in particular.
think exactly like you, indeed, some mono-metal have performance totally comparable to those of the bi-metal, in the latter are composed of assembled parts and by their nature are more susceptible to damage, and over that have a cost too high compared to that which is the difficulty, very relative, of construction
I do agree the difference in performance between plastics and aluminum is greater than that of aluminum and bimetal.
I also think well made aluminum yoyos are just more enjoyable to throw than anything else, but I still enjoy my fair share of bimetals 
I have yet to see a metal poorly designed, play worse than one plastic yoyo!
That’s interesting hearing it from you. You seem to love criticizing various yoyo designs :
This is why I started this thread lol I love the debates
the passion never dies
I have yet to see a metal poorly designed!.. play worse than one plastic yoyo
You did not give me time to finish writing my thoughts. ;D
Yours is a very fair question.
There are a lot metal yoyos in my collection that I think have very questionable weight distributions, related performance and with whom do not play hardly ever … but I would not change them ever even with the best of plastic yoyo.
this for manufacturing accuracy, given by the different methods of implementation, turning from solid with CNC machines that have accuracies of 1-2 microns for metal yoyos Vs in injection molds for plastic yoyos.
a metal yoyo, even if poorly designed, it has a consistency of greater and more constant rotation with respect to a plastic yoyo who times smaller rotation and It tends after a certain time to suddenly lose its rotary motion.
A metal yoyo poorly designed is still one playable yoyo, one plastic yoyo poorly designed not (see Asteriod of Adegle, the worst yoyo I’ve ever played)
Then, that I prefer metal yoyo I think is clear … in my collection of 98 yoyo only 10 are plastic and my first ever yoyo was a Auldey L3 …
p.s.
I criticize only those that could be designed better … it’s very different.
