TLDR on the bottom. Interested in hearing you guys’ opinions on the 3 as well.
I’ve seen this question come up multiple times over the past few months/years asking about a comparison between two of these or all 3. Since I just recently got a Wedge thanks to @zslane I thought I’d give my 2 cents, especially considering most of the time the answers people get are short and just about their preference. Keep in mind I gave away my Replay Pro a few months ago and I haven’t had a Protostar for a little longer than that. However, I played with the Replay Pro a good amount when I had it, I’ve had multiple Protostars ever since I started yoyoing, and my style/improvement hasn’t changed too much recently since I’ve been too lazy to practice/learn much so I think I can still give an opinion on all 3. I’ll have brief mentions to the Skyva and First Base for comparison if you’ve tried those before but I just wanted to mainly compare the YYF plastics here.
Replay Pro
This thing has some heft to it. I wouldn’t say it’s a straight brick though because it does feel a gram or two lighter than the actual weight. Plastics always feel lighter in play to me than metals and the Replay Pro is the same. It’s still heavy though, not the fastest thing in the world. When I first tried this, the stability and spin time it had was something I had never experienced in a pure plastic before. I actually had a Skyva before I first got a Replay Pro. I had high hopes for the Skyva but it was kind of a disappointment. Wasn’t quite as stable or long spinning as I was hoping for or even expecting. The difference between metals and plastics have always been night and day to me. The difference between a good bimetal and a good monometal, while it’s definitely there, it’s much more negligible than when you compare even a budget metal to any pure plastic. The Replay Pro was the first pure plastic I’ve tried that’s really started to close that performance gap.
While it’s great, and far and away the best pure plastic I had tried up to that point, it still had its issues. If you’re a slower, more chill player, or you’re more of a beginner/intermediate, this might actually be the best option of the 3 for you because of the stability and slower play. However, although I’m by no means a great speed player or even a great player, I really enjoy a faster playstyle and some basic horizontal. I love me some fingerspins too. The Replay Pro didn’t really do it for me for this. Although it’s naturally pretty stable, I found that it tended to tilt easier when I was doing more of my faster combos. I’m not 100% sure why, but it’s probably due partly because of the weight and shape. It’s also hard to get to that speed, and it makes directional changes not as easy as I would like it to be. These aspects were felt when I played horizontal as well. As for fingerspins, they’re definitely doable but you’re not gonna be getting more than a few seconds out of this.
Wedge
The Wedge… I was really hoping for this yoyo to be everything I wanted the Skyva to be. Although the Replay Pro was great, it wasn’t exactly what I wanted and what I was expecting out of the Skyva because of its heft. First impressions were extremely underwhelming, but hear me out. When I first got it I strung it up and played it and for some reason the spin time and even power was lacking. I could feel that the stability was there but for some reason the spin time was fairly short, it was even more disappointing than the Skyva. After a while I unscrewed it and checked out the bearing and it seemed to be spinning fine. I screwed it back on and all of a sudden it was much better, I’m not sure if there was some dirt on the bearing seat or bearing or whatever but it was definitely performing now.
This was it. This was everything I was originally expecting from the Skyva and more. It was stable, it was long spinning, and it was fast. As I stated earlier with the Replay Pro, plastics tend to feel lighter than they really are to me. While I was expecting the playstyle to be somewhat similar to the Protostar, the overall feel on the string was actually very similar as well. It was light, zippy, and was slightly floaty. It also had the light and fast nature of the First Base as well which gave it a very fun feel that I really enjoy. It was definitely a little more solid than the First Base since it’s a fair bit heavier but it still had a slightly floaty nature to it.
As for performance, I would say the stability and spin time is comparable to the Replay Pro. If I had to say, the Replay Pro is probably a touch better in both aspects, which is why I would probably recommend this over the Wedge for slower players, more casual players, and beginners/intermediates. However, the difference really showed when I started doing my more intense combos. I found that for more intense tricks and a more extreme style, the Wedge handled it much better than the Replay Pro. Horizontal was a little better but I still had some issues with it. I actually think it might be because of the really flat rims because it was still difficult to stay on axis during horizontal play as well. On the plus side though, this yoyo is ridiculously good at rejections for an angular throw and the rims probably play a factor in that as well. As for fingerspins, if you got it locked it was really nice and would spin for a really long time so if you’re just interested in the basic fingerspin than this is the yoyo for you. However, since the cup itself isn’t concaved that much, combined with the fact that the edges of the cup weren’t a matte finish, I found it quite difficult to get it to lock in the center when I was doing hops and more advanced stuff. Still the best of the 3 for fingerspins but if you’re looking for the best plastic fingerspin option, I would say the Skyva is still the winner.
Protostar
It’s a classic, it’s a legend. I’m not going to say as much on this one. Although this isn’t a pure plastic because it has weight rings, I really think this is, overall, objectively, the best of the 3. It has the stability and spin time of the Replay Pro and the maneuverability of the Wedge while also being much better at horizontal play than either of them. As far as feel goes, it’s pretty similar to the Wedge. Light and zippy for its weight. Pretty fun to play with. There is only one flaw. THE DEATH GRIP SPACERS. You really gotta really pry those things out. If YYF came out with an updated model without those spacers and maybe an updated hub like the Wedge, it would be too good. That’s all I gotta say. Oh and I guess fingerspins… yeah you can probably get like a second or two on this, sure.
TLDR/Summary
Replay Pro: Stable, long spinning, solid, more laid back. Not too great for speed play, horizontal play and other extreme tricks. Best for slower players, casual players, beginners/intermediates. Best of the 3 to learn on.
Wedge: Stable, light feeling, zippy, a little floaty, very suitable playstyle for competition. Great for basic fingerspins but not the best for hops and more advanced stuff. Most fun of the 3 imo.
Protostar: Best of both worlds. Stability and spin time of the Replay Pro, fast and maneuverable nature of the Wedge. Good for horizontal. Best of the 3 for competition.