So I’ll need a couple a recommendations for buying purposes and also idea purchases. Budget doesn’t really matter (but if you can suggest multiple things with different prices, that would be great) and brands don’t really matter. But, I’m looking for recommendations in these separate topics:
Most stable (mono-metal and bi-metal)
A very relaxed, “smooth” yoyo
A great fingerspin design (tried the Elysian, works beautifully too)
A good grind coating or design (I think One Drop’s “projection” design is clever)
And lastly, a bi-metal that would be ideal in those areas (don’t care about kickback since I would probably still throw with a broken hand)
Stable… I think the Draupnir is still pretty tops in this regard. For less money, the YYO Rave and 2sickyoyos Knight are bimetals that are nice and stable. For mono-metal, I dig the C3 Krown and OD Valor.
Relaxed and “smooth” is too general to really recommend. I like the Valor. The Chief. The Nomad from the now-defunct Square Wheels. C3’s Imagine Breaker is pretty relaxed. OD has yoyos that fit the bill.
Fingerspin – there’s nothing better than the Elysian for those “perfectly centered, perfectly horizontal” fingerspins. I hear the C3 MOVE is not as foolproof but still gets the job done. Horizon of course, if you get the knack for it (also a smooth and relaxed yoyo, by the way). But all kinds of yoyos do the “slightly off-axis” fingerspins brilliantly. Axis Pulsefire and 2sickyoyos Knight or Queen come to mind. YYF TooHOT if you get one with minimal or no engravings.
Grindable… YYF TooHOT is amazing for grinds. Spin Dynamics have great finishes for grinds. 2sickyoyos Queen and Knight grind for days. G-Squared have nicely-grinding blasts. Axis Pulsefire.
Bi-metal for all of that? For me, the 2sickyoyos Knight. The only one of those categories that’s borderline is that “relaxed” one. It’s a lightweight yoyo, which some people don’t find as chilled. Me, I find it’s more about the player than the yoyo. The yoyo can’t make you play fast, although some light and aggressively-shaped yoyos just make you go, “OK. Let’s take this for a rip!” If you can resist that urge with the Knight, I don’t see why you couldn’t relax with it.
I find that the CLYW Orca is extremely stable. For the budget metal range, I would suggest a YYF Horizon.
The most “relaxed” yoyo I’ve ever played was the One Drop Downbeat. It’s heavy but smooth and is great for your slow, smooth, relaxing play.
The Elysian is, by far, the easiest yoyo to fingerspin on. However, that is the only thing I like about the Elysian. Other than that, the Horizon is second-up for me and I love that yoyo in every way. So, Horizon is my recommendation.
I find the Yoyofactory TooHot to be very good for grinds other than fingerspins and it’s at a great price.
I don’t own enough bi-metals or thrown enough (I don’t like them as much as straight-up aluminum) to give you a really good answer for this question.