Hello, My son is 9 and has just started yoyoing. He has been at it about a month now and is really enjoying it. He has ADHD and this is the first thing I have seen him be so interested in that he did not give up after five minutes. So i really want to do what I can to nurture that. We are super fortunate to live close to northampton so he gets to go to classes at A2Z and learn from awesome teachers like Daniel Dietz and Nick Gumlaw. But he is also really shy and tends to try to learn from his peers there instead of sticking near the teachers.
My question is about what yoyo to get him. If he had his way he would get a dietz tomorrow but I know he is not ready for that yet. He kept saying he wanted a PSG so I went and got him one the other day (he does not know i got it) then saw him try his friends out and he said he was not sure if he liked it now ugh.
He currently has
a projam - he likes it but says it does not sleep long enough
a yoyo factory fast 201 this seems to be the one he uses the most and likes a lot but it tends to get tangled easy
and i just got him an unleashed because i am pretty sure he is about to start learning some looping…
But now I am wondering if the PSG is the right next step I know he needs to learn binding but I am afraid he will get frustrated with a totally unresponsive yoyo. that was what seemed to happen when he used his friends.
I was looking at a stackless grind machine…not sure how different that would be from his projam
and thinkng about a dark magic II because i read it comes with a smaller bearring that may be a bit responsive.
Or just go with the psg???
Any advise would be great! Thanks! ??? ???
Well, I would highly recomend a Dark Magic II, as he can go from responsive to unresponsive with a switch of a bearing. But, if you feel he can step it up to unresponsive with ease, then a PSG is a fantastic yoyo that is great at that kind of thing. And if he hates it, oh well it was $16 right? 
I wouldn’t get him a 40$ yoyo yet, sure the Dark Magic is a great yoyo, but I just wouldn’t recommend it to a beginner. I would highly recommend the YYJ Journey YoYoJam – YoYoExpert. It’s a great yoyo and is very durable. When he gets ready to learn how to bind, take out the O-Rings with a needle and squeeze some silicone into the grooves as in this guide. Flowable Silicone: FAQ - Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance - YoYoExpert
your username is hilarious ;D
I personally started out with a legacy, and I liked it lots, and it was pretty good, but it may have been easier for me to understand how yoyos worked because I was a bit older than your son
I would get him a speed dial or velocity because they can be adjusted from responsive to unresponsive on the fly. Either can take him from the most basic of tricks to Expert level tricks.
Thanks to everyone so far!
your username is hilarious ;D
ha ha thanks…
We actually have a velocity also I bought it because i found it for like
13.50 on amazon and had intended for my younger 7 year old son to try but he pretty much gave up after the first class …
my older son has tried it out a few times but keeps going back to that fast 201…but that response seems to get the string tangled so easy. :-\
I do sort of wish i got the journey or something to begin with instead of the projam but I don’t know if i am ready to take on silicone and stuff lol
it is all so overwhelming at first i guess so many options…i seriously almost bought a smile train dietz on ebay the other day to save for him for christmas or something because when he saw it he wanted it so much…but it was sold…probably a good thing for me ha ha
keep the suggestions coming 
I think the PSG is a great choice. It’s a bit of a shame that he thought he’d like it better, but I’ve personally found that as I improve, my taste in throws changes dramatically. I never make a snap judgement on a new acquisition because half the time I come back to the ones I was sure I’d never play. If nothing else, he plays it for a while, decides he doesn’t love it, and you’re only out 15 bucks.
…BUT, the Dietz is awesome too. My favorite undersize throw, and I’ve tried most of the alternatives. If you can swing it for a special occassion, I wouldn’t hesitate. That throw could take him as far as he ever wants to go.
You are a good mother. I like how you would go through all of this to help your son.
The YoyoJam SpeedMaker is also a great choice for learning binding. YYJ donated 50 to me when I went to a children’s home in Mexico. It’s a great plastic yoyo for beginners.
However, the Dark Magic II is the king of beginner yoyos. Even though it seem a little high in price, the quality is unmatched.
With wealth of knowledge at A2Z and the yoyo club that meets the first Friday of every month. In Northampton you should not have much trouble choosing a yoyo. If his friends let him try out theirs he will discover what works for him. My 10 year old has been going for 7 months and now a throw over 50 dollars doesn’t seem like a big deal. Getting him the one he wants is such a joy. The BST is really nice also and yoyo expert ships from Amherst so if you order it will deliver quickly. Good luck and enjoy throwing.
It is awesome that you are so involved with what he is doing. I’ve heard the PSG is a great throw and may recommend sticking with that to see how he likes it once he has one of his own. I had bought a duncan freehand zero basically because it was 9.00 and came with a counterweight, and it actually felt pretty nice. It is small bearing and is responsive but will give him good sleep time, and as the response pads wear it will become progressively more unresponsive. I started on a Yomega Maverick which is also responsive but will become unresponsive with about a months worth of play.
My 2 cents:
If he’s learning to bind, then the Legacy II is a good way to go. You’re worried about prices, and I get that whole “loss control” mentality. I practice it myself. I feel the DM2 is too far of a jump in price yet. The Legacy II, being all plastic, cuts price down dramatically. With the two bearings, it can quickly change from responsive to unresponsive through a simple bearing swap. Easy for you, easy for him. As they come in many colors, pick what he likes.
The PSG is an unresponsive yoyo, meaning he has to know how to do a bind return, or be willing to learn a bind return in order to use it. I do have to say for the price, this is an awesome yoyo as it plays well above what its price indicates it should perform. But, as you’re learning, yoyo has a lot to do with preferences… It’s a reality.
I know you can get tremendous deals via BST. Avoid it for now. Buy new only for now. This isn’t to line a store’s pockets with money, it’s to ensure a support system is in place in case of problems. Mind you, I do buy a lot from here NEW, but I have also scored some serious sweet deals via BST. However for the time being, you shouldn’t need to worry about deals on inexpensive yet quality throws. Once he starts breaking into metals, I’m going to flip flop on that and advise on putting some serious interest into scouring BST.
Whatever you do, keep encouraging it. This may have other benefits, such as helping him focus on school work and other tasks.
If you have any questions, DO ask. Keep up the A2Z stuff, as they should point him in the right direction. Don’t worry that he learns from peers. Whats important is he reaches out for knowledge. In time, he’ll direct that to the teachers. He already has the right mindset.
Thanks! I guess what i am thinking is I would rather save money in the long run if i get him a 40 dollar throw now rather than like 4 15-20 dollar ones then a 40-50 ya know. We have been trying to go to the class 3 times a week …have not been to one of the friday night dogbite club things yet but do plan on going to the one coming up next week but i guess that is the last one before a summer break.
It is true he has learned a lot from his friends…just has to get down pop the clutch before he can move on to level 2
I am going to look into the legacy and dm some more. Maybe one of his buds has one he can try out. And maybe i will just keep the psg for him to use once he really gets the binding down.
OH and yes I am trying to stick with buying new for now. I don’t know enough to do BST …and I don’t mind helping out our local stores. Even though we are pretty much on a limited budget I am happy to buy from A2Z. Everything they do for these kids is amazing…the free classes …wow you can’t get anything for free these days…it is wonderful…and helping my son with something that he seems to have a drive for makes me super happy!
What’s your budget?
I mean I don’t have a particular #…like I said the classes are free so i am happy to get him the equipment he needs. But I don’t thing he is ready for the hgher priced metal ones. He was looking at a dv888 red/blue splash…but again he needs to learn to bind…we are still at pop the clutch…certainly if I feel he is ready for it I would get him that dietz he wants…(well a dietz anyhow since i am sure i can’t find the smile train edition) for christmas or his birthday…(right before christmas) For now i just want something nice that he can learn to bind on and not get too frustrated with.
Some may hate me for saying this (or not ;D) but Duncan just came out with a yoyo at toys r us called the pro-z. You can use it to go from looping to string trick really easy. The stock friction stickers are right in between responsive and unresponsive in string trick mode and would be the best in my mind for learning to bind because if you get frustrated you can still pull up on it to get it to come back and once he has learned to bind you can exchange the friction stickers for dif e o pads and a koncave bearing and it will become totally unresponsive. I can do all my advance tricks on it. The best part is they are only $10 bucks. And I would get him the Dietz for Christmas cuz that is a ways away and he will probably have binding down by then but he can jam on the Dietz and still practice new stuff on the proZ so he doesn’t scuff or damage the Dietz. I’m happy he likes yoyos. My daughter has ADD and she can’t stand to play her drifter for more then 2 min because she only likes the yoyo to go up and down then gets bored. I try to get her to do something like rock the baby and she loses focus before I get done showing her and does not have the patience to continue. she doesn’t have the patience to even see me do advanced tricks…lol. Oh well. But yeah. I would do the proZ for learning and Dietz for jammin fun. And I know of 2 splashes still available for Dietz. Smile train is one of them but im not sure how long that will last.
While the ProZ is nice and all(I have 4), I would not recommend it in this case. He’s already showing some progress and the concept of parts is a complication we don’t need to add to the situation. If he was starting from nothing, it would be a good starter set for all around exploration.
This is one in this case to come back to.
Correct me if Im wrong, but I believe most large bearing(C-Sized) bearing yoyos can be outfitted with a slim bearing to make them responsive. I do not have one on me at the moment, only my trusty 54 and a pair of loopers, but I will dig around and see if I can find one to test my theory. If so, then you could buy him say a PSG, or an Asteroid(newer yoyo from Adegle that cost the smae but different shape) or similar sub $20 yoyo and make it responsive. The YoYoJam Prelude is also a great yoyo for the money and comes with a slim bearing. I could supply you with a standard C-Sized bearing to make it unresponsive when he learns how to bind, free of charge, so he can move on. ;D
Well i have no opinion and i actually have a question what state do you live in? Also i would like to let you know that you are a great parent!
Keep up the good work!
Chris