A bunch of people here have some really expensive yoyos…to me, that means $75 and up. Have any of you that have expensive throws ever tried a metal yoyo that was considered “budget” and been seriously blown away and found it comparable to a pricey model? I have never played a really expensive model so I can not really say something like “my budget that cost $17.99 is just as good as your $89.00 yoyo, you’re just paying for the name and small run.” I’m not trying to get anyone to promote mass-produced yoyos that maybe have unsavory…whatever…or to take attention / sales away from companies that produce small runs. I’ve read reviews of budgets where the experienced person likes the budget metal throw more than their yoyo that costs 3 times as much. Maybe this topic will bring controversy but that is not my intent so maybe a yes or no reply is better and in a few hours I will ask a moderator to delete this topic.
Whether you want to debate if $130+ yoyos are better than $50-$100 yoyos is one thing but comparing high end metals vs $15 plastics isn’t even a competition.
Yoyos under $20 are basically all plastics, I would say the Replay Pro is the best sub $20 yoyo. There is a huge limitation to weight distribution capabilities of plastics vs metals. Any half-decently made metal, no matter how expensive or cheap, will perform better than basically any plastic.
Personally, I think the point of diminishing returns is around $100-$120 but I feel like everyone should at least get a yoyo in the $30-$45 range. It’ll easily trump any plastic and I feel the difference between a budget metal and high end bi metal is smaller than the difference between a budget metal and a plastic like the Replay Pro.
If the question is if you NEED a high end yoyo or even budget metal, then obviously not cuz Gentry won Nats with a $15 plastic. But there is an undeniable boost in performance when you go from a plastic like the Replay to even a budget metal.
I love the point made above about how the step from a plastic into $30-$45 metal will be WAY more significant than the step from that $30-$45 metal to the $100-$120 metal. Great point there.
You can find yoyos in the $30-$45 range that slay. The Hot Diggidy is my current favorite example - second run with bead blasting all over is just a beast to play with - it can run through pretty much anything you will throw at it. VERY nice quality. Going from a plastic to the HD would be a crazy big improvement. You don’t get the same quantum leap going from HD to a high end metal. The differences there start to be finer details: finish, artful design, quality control, packaging and presentation. For a collector, those details are absolutely worth the price increase. The throws I have from from G2, OD, CLYW, SF and other high end or boutique manufacturers are worth it. They feel and look that much more luxurious. They also do play better, but those differences are more subtle than going from plastic to lower end metal.
I’ve never played a $35-$45 yoyo that felt priced out of it’s range. Even the HD which I personally feel is the best example right now has differences between it and the current high-end metals that are noticeable and do justify the cost differential.
Honestly, I think it’s really hard to limit this discussion to just a price point.
What I mean is that yo-yos can vary so much in design and material and size and shape that even expensive yo-yos can feel extremely different from one another; and by extension, some $75+ yoyos play arguably better than others.
There are a good handful of exelent budget metals, like the 15 to $20 range that are absolutely shredworthy. Like the n12 for example. Rock Solid performance for like 15 bucks. The only gripe I’ve heard about it is that the threads strip easily, which doesn’t really have anything to do with performance.
But you couldn’t compare something like the n12 to a draupner, because they are not designed equally at all. Not in my book anyway.
The yoyos I have bought that were “expensive” were because of the companies. They’re either manufactured in the USA, or they are small shops which usually brings the price up. I don’t mind, it’s supporting people that are making things that I enjoy and allows them to continue.
Are they “better” than a $40 metal? To me they are, because I like the shape, and no one is making them in that price range, but I’d still support the companies that I do so that they can continue to do what they do.
I made no mention of plastic. I rarely throw plastic. It does little for me except the YYR Triad which is plastic with metal rings. All good points you made. Thank you.
I do love the N12 and a few people like it better than the Shutter but that is something I would have to feel for myself. I listen to opinions but never take them as the be-all-end-all. My Hyundai may look similar to a $40,000 car but…I’m not naive, even though I never drove a $40,000 car. They will both get me to the supermarket but the experience will differ once I try them both in warp drive.
“Play as well” is pretty subjective. What plays well for one person may not play well for someone else. A good example is the organic obsession around here. Organics don’t play as well for me as H or W shaped throws. So I’d probably find an N12 easier to get on with than, say, an A-RT Grail. Having said that, I haven’t tried a low-priced metal yet. But given what I look for in a throw that “plays well”, I am highly skeptical that there is a sub-$20 yoyo that would play as well as any of my One Drops (of any shape).
Snag yourself an N12, I think you’d be surprised. About the performance that is, the quality doesn’t hold a candle stick to one drop, but it performs really really well for that price point. I still throw mine around from time to time.
It’s always good to have some cheap good quality throws on hand just in case you find someone who shows an interest too. You can kick it down to them without cringing at the fact that they’ll most likely beat the tar out of it.
Is it advisable to hand an unresponsive metal yoyo to someone who has never really played a yoyo, but “shows an interest”? Sounds like a recipe for anything from frustration to self-inflicted wounds…
I was tempted to get an N12 recently, but I hated the idea of getting another yoyo that “played well” but would merely collect dust because I have so many better throws I’d much rather be playing/practicing with, y’know?
Right. I have watched Dollar Tree videos and some of those people threw around a $1 Metal Tech with a proficiency I will never achieve because they have enough skills to do so. They made it look like an excellent yoyo!
Must we all be exhaustive in our communications? Is it too much to ask to give the benefit of the doubt?
Obviously that is a terrible idea, but if someone were to show an interest in unresponsive, who already knew some basics of responsive, this would make a good gift. Its performance would not hinder them in any way, no more so than their own experience would limit them.
Oh, agreed! I just don’t have any experience with such folks, so I wasn’t sure how optimistic we were shooting for when addressing newbies. 
I was just trying to say that if you were curious about it, go ahead and snag one. Chances are you would enjoy throwing it, and if it did end up sitting on your shelf, it wouldn’t be something that you would fret giving away. Compared to a nice one drop or something.
Bought a boa for 40$ on black Friday and it plays fantastic. Probably best budget friendly yoyo right now IMO
I think you could phrase it differently. “Yo-yo A” will play the same from one player to another, it just might suit one player’s taste more than another’s. The deal with organics, for me at least, is just about feel like it is with any other shape. The real OG organic shape might not be the most forgiving but that’s why a lot of people like them. For me, they are really engaging.
Also, from other posts, I think the “small run” idea could use a little clearing up. While most of the boutique brands do have smaller drops, that size isn’t the only factor when it comes to price. It’s more to do with the higher level of QC that leads to more rejects. @G2_Jake is very transparent about it. The cost of the rejects has to be factored into the sale price of the A grades, to some extent, in order for the business to continue operating. That’s just business. Even YYF, far from small releases, discussed the topic when the Edge Beyond was released and people were upset with the price.
Okay. But I wonder if just we’re splitting semantic hairs here. All you have to do is read the wide variance in opinions on how good “Yoyo A” is, or how good it plays, or how good it feels, or whatever, to realize that a given yoyo model will most definitely not feel or play the same, or be perceived as equally “good” to everyone.
The yoyo isn’t going to add or shed weight if it moves from one player’s hands to another’s. People either like them or they don’t. That being said, people do have a habit of using descriptions for yo-yos that make it sound like they are good or bad when the reality is it just suits them or doesn’t. I don’t care much for bimetals. Doesn’t make them bad yo-yos. In fact, if you prioritize spin time and stability, they are objectively better. Now, if I said they don’t play well for me, that would be misleading. They play the same for me as anyone else, it’s just not what I want
For me, price has an affect but does not determine personal desirability of a yoyo. My favorite yoyo is the spin dynamics Alter Ego that was $120, but the C3 krown at $45 is very close in play and overall fun level. The krown also beats out several of my other throws that cost 75 and up.
This also goes along with personal preference. If you find a less expensive yoyo that fits your preferences, it will play better to you than something twice as expensive that does not fit your preferences.
If you know what you like, you should be able to find an inexpensive amazing playing yoyo that to you would beat out many more expensive offerings.
Yoyos don’t change physically from person to person, but how they feel to each player is potentially different. The experience one has of a particular yoyo can be different from someone else’s. That’s what it means to talk about “how it plays” since, after all, we are only really ever describing our own subjective experiences of these things.