np, it was fun and super enlightening 
72 respondents so far. We are almost there to reach 100. The categories resulting from the poll will be:
Most voted Yo-yo overall.
Most voted brand overall.
Most voted yo-yo as Top 3
Most voted yo-yo as Top 2
most voted yo-yo as Top 1
Most voted brand as Top 3
Most voted brand as Top 2
Most voted brand as Top 1
Top 1 brand weighted*
Top 1 yo-yo weighted*
- weighting: Top 1: 9 points; Top 2: 3 points; Top 3: 1 point.
And some fun facts too as a filling.
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I think the inherent flaw with something like this is I can pretty much guarantee a survey of high level comp players (if they are being honest and don’t just pick their own brand) would yield completely different results than a forum based survey.
Not that I’m not curious what the results will be- it’s still worthwhile to see what the community thinks. I just know that there are certain yoyos that the forum will rate much higher than current competitive players. The forums have a mix of older players who still value some older design elements like organic shape and undersized yo-yos and less experienced players who haven’t been around long enough or developed enough to fully evaluate yo-yos.
When you’re still working on intermediate level tricks it doesn’t matter if you have an entry level metal or a Draupnir.
Agreed–great comment. But it is nice to see what the community says and thinks about their yoyos. I will post the results and fun facts in my next post…
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Your average yoyoer is a far better representation of the community than only players who compete and conform to the kind of competition standards that only a select few of us yoyo for. Not everyone will be qualified to evaluate at a high level, but this doesn’t exactly negate their opinion. Who has tried every yoyo and can objectively pick the best? It doesn’t even matter honestly. Pros would be even more biased even if polled randomly because they most likely rarely play yoyos not from their sponsors.
RESULTS!
–based on 75 responses—
Some facts:
Age Groups
60% are between 21-40
20% are under 20
20% are 40 and up
Years of yoyoing
55% have been yoyoing for no more than 5 years
30% are experienced yoyoers (10+ years)
How many yoyos?
50% have more than 30 yoyos!
Between all participants, the total number of yoyos would be approximately 2,000 yoyos!
ok…the results…
By Brand:
Most voted brands overall:
One Drop (39 votes)
YoyoFactory (33 votes)
Yoyorecreation (17 votes)
Most voted brand as Top 3:
YoyoFactory (11 votes)
One Drop (10 votes)
CLYW (6 votes)
Most voted brand as Top 2:
One Drop (19 votes)
YoyoFactory (11 votes)
Yoyorecreation (8 votes)
Most Voted brand as Top 1:
YoyoFactory (11 votes)
One Drop (10 votes)
Vs. Newton Yoyo Concepts (7 votes)
Top 3 Brand - weighted:
Yoyorecreation
Top 2 Brand - weighted:
YoyoFactory
Top 1 Brand - weighted:
One Drop
The yoyos…
Most voted yoyos in all categories
Draupnir (11 votes)
Grail (8 votes)
Markmont Classic (7 votes)
Top 3 yoyo - weighted:
Draupnir
Top 2 yoyo - weighted:
Markmont Classic
And the winner is….
Grail
Poll is closed. The charts are in the link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/stories/SM-WYN9SN2V/
Thanks for your time! it was really fun!
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very surprised to see vsnyyc voted 7 times as #1.
They were a fantastic brand in their hay day for sure, but surprising so many still hold them in that kind of regard.
Also surprised in how much YYF, and the lack of SF stuff.
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I’m more specifically referring to the “top yo-yo” section, where it’s definitely fair to say more skilled yoyoers are more capable of evaluating a yoyo. And i also specified that they would have to pick honestly, not based on their sponsor. Which is easily done in an anonymous format.
I’m still interested in seeing what the community favors and I’m not saying their opinions aren’t valid but i wanted to point out why this won’t guarantee the objectively better yo-yos are picked, just the ones the average yoyoer likes the most. Especially given how many people have a preference for organic shapes, which i personally have no nostalgia for. Get those high walls outta here.
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SF received 5 votes overall:
3 votes as Top 1 – Cadence (2) and Bliss (1)
1 vote as Top 2 - Cadence
1 vote as Top 3 - Bliss
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High level competition players will most likely vote for their signature yoyo. Might even more biased than this as a result.
If we have a rule where they can’t choose their signature yoyo they will most likely choose a different yoyo from their sponsor company.
Can’t pick a yoyo from their company? A lot of sponsored players only throw yoyos from their company so that might be flawed too. Though I think that last method would be the most accurate way to survey this. In which case I think either the Draupnir or maybe an SF wouldwin because that company seems to have connections with a lot of top level American players through Scales(also SF sponsored players have good connections with top level American players in general too) This is assuming we only survey American players. If we survey all countries including Japan I think the Draupnir would win comfortably.
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I honestly don’t understand the level of love for One Drop. They don’t (generally) seem to make yo-yos that are aimed at performance, I’ve only seen a few yo-yos from them with appealing specs and shape, and side effects don’t do it for me at all. Why would anyone want extra weight in that spot?
Maybe I just need to try one. I never owned one even last time I was around.
ODs are that perfect medium between old school casual and modern performance. This is why they are so appealing to the casual player and long standing player. Even older competitive players enjoy them because they have that area of nostalgia while still having the performance. Though I agree they aren’t as competitive as top level yoyos and competition driven companies like UNPRLD. But they are good enough.
Another thing about them is for whatever reason they have incredible stationary stability for how they look and seem to be designed. They aren’t the best for speed or horizontal or extreme styles but for someone with a more laid back style they are much more stable than they look. I think the secret to this is they use just enough rim weight but not right at the outer edge. You can see this type of design in a lot of their models such as the Top Deck. I also believe this is why they are so good at bringing that medium of old school and modern together.
I think in terms of “best yoyo” though if competitive players were to vote honestly I think OD would definitely get much fewer votes than we see here
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Try a VTWO, man. I personally haven’t used one, but from I’ve heard they are competition minded beasts.
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VTWO is like the least OD-like OD tho… if you want the essence of the company you want a Markmont Classic.
But if you want the best the company has to offer then yeah VTWO
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Not surprised about YYF. They are the biggest brand, the most popular brand. They got more votes because they’re more popular and more people have them than other companies.
This poll was kind of like an all-star vote, the most popular have an advantage, not necessarily the best
I am surprised SF didnt get many votes though
I was going to say that a lot of people haven’t tried that many yoyos out there to get a solid sample of many companies, but then I remembered that over 50% of the people surveyed had quite a substantial collection
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The ones that didn’t have a substantial collection though probably had a very high chance of picking a YYF
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I think it is impossible for a community consensus not to center over the biggest brands.
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That’s why Duncan faired so we’ll.
(This is a smart aleck comment. Your point is a good one.)
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I’d say YYF would have the same level of obsession as SF if not for people who don’t like them just because they are “big.” People want to root against the big company and for the little guy, but YYF is a little guy too. Just because they have 6 employees and everyone else is like two dudes in a garage doesn’t mean they are big. Hans and Ben have a much better idea of what makes a good yo-yo design than a player who leaves his team to start a company.
Great sports players don’t always turn out to be great coaches.
Also unlike a lot of these boutique brands YYF actually makes enough yo-yos for everyone that wants one to get one.
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