Hello all! Before I made a post about getting a yoyo for my little cousins (5 and 7) and I ended up giving them like 22 I think of my old plastics. And I am going to teach them real tricks soon if they move in with me. If they do, I would like to get them a metal once they can do something like the matrix. I know that is early for a metal, but they really deserve it! So before somebody said that small bearing is better since it can spin better with shorter string. So for a little kid, is small bearing better? If so I was thinking I would get a small bearing Yuuksta for them.
woah woah woah there… a $65 yoyo for a 5-7 year old?? are you kidding@!!! I AM A EXPERT TO MASTER LEVEL YOYO PLAYER BUT I DONT EVEN HAVE A METAL YOYO!!. YOU kiddin…
the string must be cut very short and you wont be happy with the short string. Also short string gives less spintime. thats just wrong… they’re going to ding like 5000 times. not worth it. give them a high end plastic like protostar or northstar.
Age is irrelevant to being allowed to get a metal. I believe that Spencer Nelson was 7 years old when he became sponsored by Chico Yoyo Company, which makes exclusively metal yoyos, thus he was throwing metal yoyos.
I actually just looked over what I said, and have decided to reword. Skill is more relevant to getting a metal than age is, thats is if you care about dinging the yoyo. If you don’t, then get a metal whenever.
As for the OP, yes, I suppose a small bearing might help, but I don’t think it would make that big of a difference, so just get whatever you feel is right. 
hmmm… i agree a little bit with skeleton, i wouldnt just hand a 5 year old a expensive metal and leave for a couple hours i would tell them to be careful and i would make them use it over carpet and watch them… but also age doesnt meen alot when u think if a person will ding your yoyo.
It would probably just be for the 7 year old. And dings don’t matter, yoyos= toys… But I think the 7 year old would take care of it
I prefer SB over LB in the first place. I would get SB because the binds are at lower RPM’s resulting in less of the ouchies (haha). But, seriously just get em like a FH2 because them are legitiment. Ya
WAIT, i think there is a viral saying going around that:
“metal yoyo’s are not toys.” reccomended for ages 12 and up. i’m not saying that you have to, but it’s just weird but fun to see a 7 year old play with a expensive metal yoyo. I also know that skill matters more than age or yoyo.
Yoyos are toys. That’s all they are, and all they ever will be.
To OP: My personal feelings say that I would not get them a metal. But it is your money. I’d just throw down the money for a Velocity to start teaching them real tricks on, but that’s just me. To answer your original question, bearing size doesn’t affect how much string it takes to work. Gap size, however, does. Something with a slimmer gap will grab string more efficiently, taking less string to produce an effective bind. Just another reason to get a Velocity. 
But like I said, go for what you think is best, I plan on starting my nephew really soon. Age 3. 
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okok i know they are toys but metal ones are far more serious. and Q, please stop always blocking and refusing to my advice to forums.
No part of yoyoing should be that serious.
At the drop of a hat, I have no problem letting a six year old play with my favorite metal. You wanna know why? Because yoyos aren’t important. I can do stuff with a yoyo that average people couldn’t fathom until they met me, and to give a six year old that chance to want to try matters more to me than any yoyo. Why? Because given the right resources, I can buy another yoyo rather quickly. To give a six year old an opportunity to play with one and have me teaching them basic maneuvers doesn’t happen often at all. So in the end, I sacrifice in hopes that the six year old will indeed want to keep yoyoing after I walk away. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. But hey, I know of a couple HUGE names in our community who got into it this way.
And I’m not “blocking” any information, I’m correcting missinformation.
Small bearings are easier to bind, although they generally have a lower spin time than large. And small bearings are smoother… and just feel better to me.
wow Q, Never woulda thought you woulda let a 6 year old play with a metal… as they could get hurt and break it. actually, grant johnson from YYJ got me started. kinda. when I was nine I saw the episode on TSLOD on disney and I wanted to learn “around the world string theory” AKA trapeze. 1st throw, 1 year later, broke in a day. a year later, broke in a week 
I decided, (before i broke it) that I was intermediate and found andre. well I was a biginer… Got bored, bought my self a DMII, here we are a month later, in the masters section with a Dv888. I have been yoyoing for less than 2 months. and im learning ladder escape. Where am I going with this? I dont know. either way, I wouldnt let a six year old play with my metal. I would let them play with a DMII tho. or a plastic, if i had 1. sorry bout the book, and writing it for no apparent reason. lol
I say get them metal drifters I love mine it plays great
UHH… THAT’S NOT MISSINFORMATION CAUSE IT’S TRUE. yeah, seriously
Get them a Duncan Raptor. They are a Cheap All Aluminum, Size C, Slightly responsive YoYo. And it can be played by with Beginners all the way up to Advanced.
But really guys. I dont get the problem of letting little girls play with metal yoyos. They Are Replacable. And if they know what to do with it, Why Not?
It’s not the truth if I can dispute any single part of it. the truth implies stone cold fact, which your post was not.
Haha, Duncan Raptor and Drifter have made it on my list too. I have been thinking about the Raptor a lot lately! I want to get my dad one too ;D
A yoyo is a yoyo. Metals cost more and to many have greater aesthetic value. If the kid wants to take care of it and respect it, I see no problem getting a metal yoyo. But waiting only until they learn the matrix seems a bit shallow. The matrix is a trick learned in the adolescent stage of yoyoing. (There are now stages of yoyoing) I would wait until they show drive to learn and create. For the time being, I have to agree with Q and say the Velocity is your best bet. It can take anything you throw at it and then ask for seconds.
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replacable!! i dont know, but me, I only allowed a $45-$50 yoyo for a few years!! or probably even 5 years.
Wow, this thread turned ugly and negative fast. Hopefully this will change soon.
Personally, I’d be a little leery of letting someone that young play with a metal. Depending on your means, a metal can be an expensive purchase. Also, a metal can potentially have sharp edges that can cause a nasty injury even in relatively experienced hands. I own a couple of throws that I treat a little nicer than others for just that reason.
This brings me to another point. I strongly disagree with the whole yoyos = toys sentiment. Yeah, I know it’s a skill toy. I get that. I also get that injuries can occur, even with supervision, when a throw is in the hands of someone inexperienced. I’ve seen enough of this firsthand for it to be an issue for me. To dismiss if offhand as “just a toy, nothing more” seems a bit cavalier to me. In reality, it’s a lump of plastic and/or metal, spinning at a high rate of speed, and can do you a real number if not treated with at least a modicum of respect.
I know that the difference between materials and severity of injury can often be negligible – but if I had to eat a yo-yo to the face I’d much rather it was my plastic Lyn Fury and not my Noctu.
Just my $0.02 on the subject.
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