there’s tons of versions of “whats your favorite” out there. im interested in a slightly different question. im curious why you pick up what you do everyday. is it performance, durability, hate bearing maintenance, like em round? what makes you tick?
for me i generally split the difference between performance and durability. im out and about for much of the day most days, so i dont wanna destroy what i bring, but i like performance too cuz when i yoyo in front of ppl i want the smallest chance of biffing it and looking silly
Most of my daily throws are slimlines, mini, or loopers these days. They fit into slacks much better and don’t show as much. Less awkward questions during meetings or poking in my leg while working.
I keep a full size or two at my desk when I do want to play a bit more.
My favorites are determined similarly to yours, I feel. The more performance a yoyo offers while also being durable, the more likely I am to play it. It also doesn’t hurt if the yoyo feels notably different than others in my collection or has an unusually smooth bearing.
Bias favorite: Pop! Yoyos Salamander. While I made this yoyo and therefore am kinda intrinsically going to like it more, the Salamander is really really good. Inner-ring bimetal that feels like an outer ring in terms of stability and power while inheriting the benefits of the shape/profile that it and the Weasel (another yoyo i made) share in being super comfortable and excelling at rejections. The relatively aggressive width helps me feel confident in hitting tricks I wouldn’t typically hit on narrower yoyos as frequently.
Less-bias favorites: C3 Hydrogen Crash and Galaxy Diver 7075v2, for different reasons.
Hcrash: Extremely powerful yoyo for how light it is. Fast, stable, and a simple shape that fits my hand very well. Also my first fancy bimetal so it has nostalgia factor too.
Gdiver7075v2: Like Hcrash, very powerful for its weight (although it’s 65.6g as opposed to the 63.2 that Hcrash weighs) and diameter, primarily due to its massive rims. Doesn’t sacrifice speed and is easy to control. Plays wider than it seems when you want to do zoning, plays narrower than it seems when you want to do tech. Maybe made of some weird space magic. Durable enough that I feel comfortable giving it standard 5a abuse and it takes it like a champion.
P.S.: I like the yoyos I like because they tend to be powerful above all else. Rimweight my beloved
My favorite YoYo’s make me smile and feel like a kid again. It’s somewhat a nostalgia thing like it triggers a how I felt when I was young kind of thing,
Seeing something whimsical or interesting or “new” is always exciting.
Idk how else to describe it. It’s why my collection is weird and eclectic. I mean like I had a blast at club last weekend showing kids the classic rainbow sparkler which is an absurd yoyo. Showing the adults the rip and pocket watch @AudreySickburn made. The fun of playing with toys cause in the end that’s a large part of it to me is playing and having fun.
That’s what I’m aiming for when designing stuff too haha. I don’t want to aim for performance so much as will this spark joy? Will this be a little silly and make me smile? Will it be unique or not seen before?
Yes spark joy! I shy away from
That phrase ever sense Marie kondo used it for purging stuff cause I’m a pack rat and it hurts my soul to throw out useful things. However that’s what it is. The tmnt yoyo TRT did is one of those sparks joy throws for me.
This thread made me think of my Legend Wing which I have not touched in months. It makes me really happy to throw even though I can’t do much with it except gravity, breakaway, forward pass, and hop the fence. The feel of it and the way the white cotton strings look on it just makes me FEEL something a metal yoyo never has. I wish I had it at work today to snap a pic (has a few nicks and a patina from a lot of use).
2026 favorites so far are shaping up to be my Deepest States and my Boise Woodworks Buffalo. The Deepest State has actually been a daily driver since November 2025 when they first dropped.
As for the Deepest States - they’re very comfortable in the hand and I’m able to set them up with spikes. I like doing responsive pull starts either as a fidget or putting them in with tricks. The shape itself just feels classic, it’s the “comfort food” of yoyoing.
Boise Buffalo - For starters, I just love the visuals, the spectra ply with the band up the center. The spectra ply reminds me of skateboard plies, esp when they use different colored plies. The yoyo itself also just feels right and much like the Deepest State, it has pull start capabilities with a very smooth dimple.
Lately I’ve been keeping a responsive on me as opposed to a 1a throw as a zone out kind of thing…mindless 1-hand throw and catch kind of thing. I still do throw 1a as well and recently picked up a mini bimetal (Peregrine X Mini). But with responsive and fixed axle - it’s almost meditative and zen-like throwing a responsive. I’m also very nostalgic when it comes to responsive stuff. I first got into yoyo in the dead of winter, February…but Fixed Axle February didn’t exist yet as this was 1996 or 1997. All we had back then were responsive yoyos.
When I’m going out and I only bring one, it’s usually within the categories of what has the freshest string, the smoothest bearing, what feels most novel, and/or fits in my pocket best.
As far as common themes, comfortable to catch(if I bind too early) powerful, and faster playing.
As far as the deeper why, I like variety, for the sake of mixing things up. It’s a way to make a old trick feel different/new. That’s probably why I like side effects, being able to change subtle differences is fun to me. I also change thicknesses of string, normal to fat to see what that does for feel of a trick. I change things all the time, because different throws have me respond differently and are more forgiving or difficult in different realms. For example something I’ve been doing in the last month (sporadically) is doing magic drop with the yoyo spinning the opposite direction, using all different types of shapes. It’s a trip, and definitely a humorous venture.
Just this last 3 day weekend, I’ve played my free solo, diorama, swapped side effects and bearing on the diorama, leaf, fh1, unresponsive fh1, snapback, butterfly xt, butterfly, brainier, kamuraiju, swapped side effects on the kamuraiju, and first base. The ones I’m most excited by are the Free Solo, Freehand, kamuraiju with spikes, and leaf. Those have been the throws that I have been using lately when I’ve felt more creative. I usually change yoyos during a trick I’m experimenting with/learning too.
I like what I like because it speaks in some way to a weird metric developed by my inner child. It’s subtle and subconcious. I like curvey and large. Heavy and small. Organic and ergonomic. The feel and emotional invocation are the watermark
My taste revolves, but my favorite is based solely on the fact that my grandfather gave it to me with a huge smile on his face knowing I was into yo-yos. I’ll melt all my other yo-yos into scrap before I get rid of that Dells.
My top 3 favorites are Top Deck, Dang 2, and Legendary Terrarian. I think what makes me enjoy them so much is their feel and reliability. Reliability in the sense that they do what I want them to do in terms of how they move, change directions, bind, etc. and how well they hold up to stress. They just work for me and I know what to expect.
What makes me pick one over the other is my intention in how I want to play. Top Deck is my main driver and is for general use, learning, working on tricks, etc.
Dang 2 is what I pick up when I’m feeling creative and exploratory. It makes me want to experiment and try new things.
Legendary Terrarian is the lightweight. I tend to run it with Ultralights and a flat bearing, so it’s what I pick up when I want something that requires a lighter touch and I may be feeling a little more expressive in my play.
