yeah, patience is really good and reminds me a bit of the recog but a bit easier to move
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Not sure if it counts as a monometal, but—for performance—the alt Inertia has been one of my favorite yoyos I’ve gotten throughout this year. Really stable, comfy, has great feeding for ‘zontal, and spins for a solid amount of time. Aside from a performance view, the Featherspin Ptarmigan is really nice for relaxed play as its small diameter, organic profile, and stable-but-solid feel make it hard to put down
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Long post coming:
Short answer: Yoyo design has progressed to the point where if a yoyo is designed for performance, it doesn’t matter if it is bimetal or monometal. The difference between performance monometals and performance bimetals is more about feel than it is about performance.
Monometals that perform at the level of bimetals that I own: Recognition, AL7 Evolution, Sense Code 2, Motion Centripetal, Iyoyo Hydra Ngx, boosted rainier, Yoyofriends Shine, Alter ego, Sense fake two piece, yjyoyos holly 6
All of these yoyos can complete my most difficult tricks without having a noticeable difference to my bimetal yoyos.
One thing to know about me though, is that I have not progressed to the point where I can achieve huge body tricks, horizontal, or crazy whip tricks meaning that there may be aspects of yoyo performance that I do not perceive because my skill level is not high enough to perceive it especially with yoyos that exceed 50mm in width.
In order to determine if a monometal can perform as well as a bimetal, you need to define what makes a yoyo perform well. I would say that the primary characteristics that make a yoyo high performing is spin time, stability, and catchability. Speed used to be a strong consideration, but has become less important in modern competition.
There are a few ways to increase spin time, the number one way is to increase the weight. A typical rule of thumb, though not always true, is: the heavier the yoyo the longer the spin. As a yoyo gets heavier though, it becomes harder to move and is the reason why yoyos don’t weigh more.
The next most important factor in spin time is weight distribution, the higher percentage of weight on the rim of the yoyo, the longer it will spin. This is where bimetals shine because ss weighs more than aluminum and can be used strategically to increase rim weight. Width and diameter are also considerations but much less so than overall weight and rim weight.
One disagreement that I have with others on this thread is that bimetals feel heavier. Though this is typically true for a monometal that weighs 65 and a bimetal that weighs 65, the average weight of a bimetal tends to be lower than monometals because you can achieve a longer spin time due to the weight distribution advantages of a bimetal design. This perceived heaviness could be due to more rimweighted designs typically feeling heavier in play. That being said a 63 gram bimetal will usually feel lighter than a 65 gram monometal. This may be an outdated perspective though as it seems like the gap in weight between monometals and bimetals is shrinking in modern trends with most competition yoyos weighing between 65 and 67 grams regardless of construction. The gap however used to be larger with the average bimetal being one gram to two grams lighter than the average monometal.
You can place weight strategically on a monometal by changing the yoyo’s shape and cup. This allows you to have a monometal that performs as well as a bimetal, it just needs to be heavier than the comparable bimetal or have more metal on the rims through an h shaped design or an increased amount of weight on the inside of the cup close to the edge of the yoyo.
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Wow. I feel like I learned enough to graduate. Thanks for sharing. I got an Outlier 6 for Christmas. Competitive yo-yos have changed so much. This does not feel like 68.5 grams. It must be the distribution you talk about. I feel I have more excuses to not learn horizontal 
.
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Performance wise, there’s only so far you can go with a monometal. You can make an Al mono and a bimetal both feel really nice to use, but at there absolute peaks—for spin time, and stability to a degree—monometals max out a decent bit behind bimetals. There are many monometals that excel at certain aspects and feels, but it terms of potential, no matter how much innovation there is, monos just cannot perform at the same caliber
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I disagree, I feel like there is a point where yoyos get so good that, though there are differences in feel, the tricks themselves do not become easier or harder just different feeling. I believe that there are monometals and bimetals that fit in this category though it is easier to achieve this level of play using bimetal technology.
Feel is a completely different thing than performance. Feel is fairly subjective and can be catered to by most material types as long as the design is made in way to highlight certain elements. Due to material restraints, performance—stuff like spin time—for different material types and combinations is limited. Aluminum monometals are just not capable of maximizing out to a degree that matches or surpasses things like Al+SS bimetals. It doesn’t really matter how far design develops as, for difference in performance, materials’ inherent qualities are set
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They’re alright but they’re not at the same performance level as some of the worlds best mono metals.
I like the Deviant+ most but even that one lacks in power and spintime.
Monometals can absolutely achieve a sufficient level of performance that they can handle anything most people will throw at them and compete at the highest level. But a comparably sized and weighted bimetal that has been designed well will outperform a mono in regards to power and stability as it can achieve a higher MMOI due to the material properties. As an example, the Wilderness is the best performing mono I’ve used, but the Wildify is clearly so much more powerful and stable despite weighing slightly less.
I don’t think this is really arguable. You can say that the extra performance isn’t needed for you as monos already provide a very high standard, or that you prefer the play feel of a less rim weighted mono design. That’s all completely fine. And there are performant monos that are more powerful and stable than less performant bimetals, as those bimetals aren’t designed to maximise performance. But I think we’re being a little bit silly by suggesting that there isn’t a performance difference. The material benefits of placing more weight at the rim via bimetal design is literally the central idea behind why they’re even a thing after all.
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Seems like people here feel the need to justify their bimetal purchases by claiming stainless steel rims are needed for lots of rimweight, stability and power.
That’s not true. You can put the same weight at the rims using aluminum, you just get thicker rims that way.
Examples: TopYo Annihilation, Yoyofactory horizon (old one) and Superstar 24, iYoyo Heisenberg c3yoyodesign laevateinn and Yoyofriends Artifice are all on par with Bimetals in terms of rimweight, stability and power. Sus Yoyo Mechanics seems to be good at designing monos that achieve the same: yoyofactory Essence, yoyofactory Shutter JDS.
It’s just that you often run into problems if you wanna put the same weight at the rims using only aluminum. The rims need to be thicker, this makes the yoyo slower*. If you extend this thickness to the inside of the cup you lose stability, if you make the diameter bigger instead you make the yoyo less comfortable and less agile.
*If the yoyo is slower this also means it spins less long, so you need to compensate that with making it a bit heavier so it has a bit more power, or give it better aerodynamics by making it narrow or more V shaped.
It could all work out with a mono metal, and that’s a bigger challenge for a yoyo designer to tackle. As a consumer I think we should celebrate mono metals that achieve the same greatness as bimetals. Cause a mono metal is (often) more durable and cheaper than a bimetal.
Some mono metals I rate a 10/10 (for performance, not necessarily for power equal to bimetals):
Magicyoyo y04, both 6061 and 7068 version. Duncan Evolve. Yoyofactory spotlight Ultra and Brillo. Japan Technology Jugemu ESD 24, W1ld Wilderness 7075. And although I haven’t tested them good enough I suspect the yoyofriends Artifice and yoyofactory Miracle mono.
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The wilderness 7075 is also among one of the mono metals I rate a 10/10 in terms of performance. But this yoyo does not have a lot of rimweight. There just isn’t much material at the rims. This yoyo gets its stability from its large diameter.
There are mono metals with the same rimweight as bimetals.
Yes it is arguable. See my original comment.
Have you tried any of the yoyo’s I mentioned that have the same rimweight, stability and power as bimetals? Cause either your opinion is based on limited experience or you can do longer combo’s than I can cause I don’t notice any difference between those and the best bimetals in that regard
i think that’s exactly the point they’re trying to make. Just because any given player may not max out the potential of any given yoyo does not mean that every yoyo has the same peak potential. but i do also agree that for 99.9% of players the true peak potential of most yoyos is irrelevant because we aren’t playing at that level
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You increase MMOI not just by pushing weight to the edge of the width but also to the edge of the diameter. A thick rim is therefore less effective than a thinner, concentrated rim. You’re right that my simplified description of it as “more rim weight” is a simplification, but that’s because getting into these nuances is rather unnecessary/tedious and the key point is still pretty clear and inarguable.
I also disagree with your description of thicker rims making yo-yos spin less due to “slowness” and aerodynamics. But I don’t want to get into nitpicking scientific specifics here.
I’ve played many monos over the years which people professed achieved bimetal performance and while, as mentioned previously, they can achieve amazing performance, they still lag behind performance focused bimetals. I’m not sure why there’s an argument on this, as again, this inherent design advantage is quite literally the premise of bimetals/hybrids.
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I just can’t believe that James Heder, Kris Toledo, Justin Dauer and Hunter Feuerstein chose to use a mono metal if it had any disadvantages. I think they choose the yoyo exactly how they think it’ll serve them best without compromise. And the designer happens to achieve that without the need for stainless steel rims
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So you have played some of these?:
TopYo Annihilation, Yoyofactory horizon (old one), yoyofactory Essence, yoyofactory Shutter JDS, Superstar 24, iYoyo Heisenberg, c3yoyodesign laevateinn and Yoyofriends Artifice are all on par with Bimetals in terms of rimweight, stability and power. .
Think I been sleeping on the Wilderness 7075, going to have to pick one of them up. But to topic bimetal doesnt always win both the speedaholic xx 2025 and the speedaholic mn out perform the speedaholic max in every way.
But if speed is what we are talking than pffft give me a g5, starline, superstar or 888 and them hubstack pulls. Speed for daysssss
4/20 yoyos used in 1a at worlds were monos this year. 16/20 (including Hunter) used bimetals/trimaterials/hybrids. 2018 was the last year there were even double digit numbers of monos. I don’t think this is a very sound argument and I’ve consistently said monos are capable of being used at the highest level anyway…
Maximising power and stability is not the only factor in yo-yo design or player selection of what yo-yos they want to compete with. I’m sure if you asked Justin he’d tell you he liked the idea of his sig being more affordable and therefore widely accessible and that the Evolve is performant enough for his needs and desires. If competitors wanted to maximise performance only (not even just power and stability) then they’d all be using tiss and mgss designs (or potentially hybrids with SS rims) as ti gives more design flexibility than aluminium and mgss/hybrids can achieve higher MMOIs than regular bimetals. But hardly anyone uses ti in contests and I don’t think mgss has ever appeared at worlds.
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One thing about that, for the last part, from a pure moment of inertia view, titanium bimetals do not per se achieve significantly higher numbers at the same masses as aluminum ones. In order to really push the material to its limits, you have to machine it quite thin, which most shops will not take on as the thin walls will produce more liability. Also, Mg is pretty much the best possible material you can really use—as of now—for pure MoI values. PC hybrids, when done properly, can be used to outclass Ti and Al bimetals in pure numbers
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I think part of it for signature models it’s easier to sell a cheaper mono than a more expensive bimetal.
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Now we are speculating.
I think the boys really wanna win tournaments. And especially for yoyofactory its highly likely that their players can choose to use a mono metal or bimetal as they want. There is no pattern to how good a sponsored yoyofactory player is vs what they use. Pneuma, Brillo, Miracle 25 and Spotlight+, their is no logic behind this.
If a designer can make an optimal design without the need for stainless steel rims it’s a win win for everyone. But I think an optimal design is what all these players are aiming for. Why go through multiple prototypes if it didn’t matter?
For promotion it happened that a Replay Pro and plastic cheatcode were used at a competition once but that’s a rare exception. You don’t see people using a “bad” yoyo because it’ll sell better.
I have no proof for this. Maybe there are some sale factors into consideration but it just doesn’t seem like it.