Thoughts on my next yoyo purchase, most likely a bi-metal (#BlackFridaySale@YYE)

(Edit: the post is quite long, but I felt like this is going to be a popular and recurring topic by a lot of beginner/intermediate yoyo enthusiasts in a similar situation to me leading up to Black Friday. So I thought why not make it a detailed one so that we can consolidate everyone’s similar questions in one thread pre-emptively)

So I’m actually not quite ready for another yoyo purchase yet as I have just purchased 4 yoyos in quick succession recently and I am still only just learning.

However, I want to make the most of the Black Friday sale (assuming it happens on YYE as it isn’t announced yet). I figure that I will be making this purchase sooner or later anyway, and given the high price of most bi-metals, it might as well be now, instead of regretting it in a few week/months time.

I currently own :

  • ThrowRevolution Neo; that I will use as my training aid due to it’s narrower width (40mm) and being a responsive yoyo.
  • YoyoFriends Dove; that I use mainly to practice and as an EDC outside as it is Delrin and cheap in comparison.
  • OneDrop VTWO; this is currently my favourite yoyo and I will use this for the upcoming Trick Ladder at the SRC Contest and it just makes me happy to use
  • Ti-Vayder; a bit of an impulse purchase, wanting a piece of the yoyo history, and to try a well-regarded titanium yoyo at a budget. I think this is a yoyo I will grow to love more and more as I get more experienced. Also although it’s not a pure organic shape, it’s close enough for me to have as my organic yoyo to fill the gap. :slight_smile:

Last time I ask this forum to help me find good first yoyos that fit my needs and my situation I have received a lot of great advice and help and those advices basically shaped what I ended up buying which deviated a bit from what I originally planned.
Naturally, a lot of bi-metal yoyos were also recommended such as the Hummingbird, Grasshopper GTX, Haymaker X etc, and I politely asked to stay on monometals for my first purchase as I didn’t feel I would be good enough, or had enough varied yoyo experience to really appreciate it, and also I wanted to save something new to look forward to.

I don’t think I am quite ready to jump on a bi-metal quite yet, nor do I think I will appreciate it quite yet, but hey! Black Friday! what better time to jump in right?

So I am now seeking out my next purchase and as I have no experience, and I feel the forum has grown to know me a little since then I thought I would ask the aficionados on this lovely site.

Below are what I am looking at currently in the way of a shortlist with a comparison to what I already own.
(I know that the MK1 Diffraction v2 is not a bi-metal but that is currently the only other mono-metal along with Kuntosh that’s on my wish list)

Right now I’m leaning towards this aqua/rose Draupnir Overdrive
But more has been added following excellent advice by @zslane

and also I added all the spec for the yoyos I am looking at following another excellent advice by @Durfee

Also I expect @twitch77’s advice will be all of them are good just get any you like “as long as it is green” :rofl:

By the way, this is in no particular order, but If I were to place a ranking on what I am currently most leaning towards it would be something like

  1. Overdrive Draupnir
  2. Butter (But not super keen on the black or the silver, would have preferred a more popping colour like Aqua)
  3. Grasshopper GTX
  4. Hummingbird
  5. Akita maybe, but from here on out it’s all more or less equal

Thank you everyone in advance :slight_smile:

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Also, I have a very noob question.

What is the difference in having the bi-metal ring:

  1. on the top of the yoyo at the edge? e.g. Overdrive Draupnir, Butter etc
  2. on the side of the yoyo at the edge? e.g. BiND, Akita, etc
  3. on the inside cup of the yoyo? e.g. Duncan Tourney?

I can guess that the Tourney will add more center weight as oppose to rim weight, but can’t quite understand what difference 1) & 2) makes

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Easy.
Get the green one.

Let’s break this down.

Does YoYoExpert have this yo in green stocked?
YYR OVERDRIVE DRAUPNIR = NO
MKI DIFFRACTION 2 = YES
YYF BI-METAL SHUTTER = NO
YYF MEERKAT = NO
DUNCAN TOURNEY = YES
2SICK ENDGAME = YES
2SICK GRANDMASTER = NO
YYF BIND = NO
DUNCAN GRASSHOPPER GTX = NO
YYFRIENDS RAYTRACER = NO
CLYW AKITA = NO
YYFRIENDS HUMMINGBIRD = NO

So, as you can clearly see…there’s really only a couple of correct answers to your question.

These are the only good ones on your list:
MKI DIFFRACTION 2
DUNCAN TOURNEY
2SICK ENDGAME

I own all 3 of these yos and they’re each great.

The Tourney is one of my favorite throws of all time. It’s hard to explain but it holds some magic for me. It’s high performing and simply a joy to play with.

But of the 3…I’d suggest the Endgame. It’s just a pure performance beast. It’s not the funnest yo I own, but it is one of the greatest performing without a doubt. For you, I’d recommend it over the Tourney as I think you’re looking for a super high performing yo right now.


Honestly though…if I had the money for it without it causing stress…and if they still had it in a colorway I liked (:green_heart:) I think I’d go with the Overdrive Draupnir. I’d love to own such a high end throw.

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I find it kinda hard to pin down how to describe the feel of inner rim SS rings. Outer, edge rims are the traditional bimetal feel in that you’ll feel the rim weight more. This might be more or less pronounced depending on other design & weight distribution choices but on the whole you can count on a much more competition-oriented, heavily rim weighted feel.

Inner rim SS rings vary a fair bit IMO depending on design choices. They can feel similarly rim weighted or IMO they can kinda feel like a monometal on steroids (Tourney, Turntable 2.0, Grandmaster).

If it’s your first bimetal, I’d personally go with a more traditional outer rim design (at least one) just so you get the traditional bimetal experience.

Also a tip (and sorry if I missed this): the Grandmaster is probably the least competition-oriented bimetal on your list. It’s a wonderful throw but if you’re really looking for a competition-designed throw I’d personally bump it down to the bottom of my list. Excellent throw, though. One if my favorites.

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Personally, I would swap the 2Sick Grandmaster with the 2Sick Blockade on your list. The Grandmaster is a rather atypical bimetal. It’s organic and rather large in diameter. The Blockade is more typical, very comparable to the Grasshopper GTX, and is a great performer. Personally, it’s one of my favorite bimetals ATM.

I second @twitch77 and @zslane recommendation to go with something less expensive than the Overdrive Draupnir. At this point, you probably won’t be able to appreciate something so premium, especially with options like the 2Sick Endgame available. Personally, that’s what I’d go with right now.

In any case, other than the Grandmaster, I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of them. Have fun with whatever you end up getting!

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Thank you @twitch77, @nonja121, @ryanmcg for the early feedbacks.

@twitch77 lol green isn’t actually my colour but thank you for the detailed stock check. :slight_smile:

@nonja121 & @ryanmcg actually your recommendations makes a lot of sense and you are totally right. This makes the process a little easier for me.
I think I am at that stage in yoyo’ing where I value the comp style feel more so I can remove some like the grandmaster from my list.
Also as it’s my first bi-metal, going as extreme end of #bimetalexperience as possible seems like the most logical step and it will probably add the most enjoyment to me to try something very different.

I have removed from my shortlist, Grandmaster, Tourney, Akita, BiND (because for the same price and both from YYF I prefer to try the butter), Hummingbird (purely because only red with gold rim is available and I am not totally digging the colour)

And updated the list sorted by width in descending order. (But to be fair, anything at or more than VTWO I think I will be happy with width wise)

Also, I know it doesn’t make sense but there is some weird pull that Japanese precision seems to have… urgh but it’s like double the price!
But I’m with @twitch77 kind of tempted to try what is suppose to be endgame material (which ironically I’m not talking about the endgame lol)
Also out of the choices here I feel the OD in blue with rose gold rims looks the most visually appealing.

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Okay, well…I’m gonna just pretend you didn’t say that so we can remain friends.

lol :stuck_out_tongue:

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If I get the MK1 yoyo, I will get it in the green :slight_smile:
As my initial choice of pink/purple is sold out.

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The hummingbird is definitely NICE. Maybe I’ll pick up a Grashopper GTX on Black Friday :ok_hand:

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But it depends. Any option you mentioned is probably nice. Keep in mind if you buy a cheaper one like the GTX you can grab a second throw too

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I think you should pull the trigger on a Draupnir hehe. I just feel like your heart is kinda set on it and if you don’t get one, it’ll linger in the back of your mind on how you wished you would’ve gotten it when you could at (hopefully) a decent discount.

There isn’t a whole lot of reviews on the yo…it’s so expensive, it’s not something a ton of people have.
But I’ve heard almost nothing but good things about it. As far as I’m aware, it’d among the best performers out there.

If you can afford it…I say jump on it! Spoil yourself and splurge! You deserve it! :smiley:

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I think my wife would have something to say about lots of new yoyos popping up around the house.
Ironically, buying 1 $190 yoyo will be an easier sell, than 2 $75 ones :sweat_smile:

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Well, that’s up to personal opinions haha. But I’ve heard that grasshopper gtx offers serious perfonmance:) And the hummingbird is just amazing. I’ve not tried other bimetals from your list so I can’t really talk about them

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Can’t go wrong with any tbh. @twitch77 what’s with you and green lol. Hey but Xmas color is green if you know what I mean :thinking::thinking::thinking:

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Haha @twitch77 you know me too well.
I was secretly hoping someone would tell me that it is utter rubbish and I should save the money. :slight_smile:

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Given that one expensive throw is an easier sell for you than multiple less expensive throws, then maybe you should just pull the trigger on the Overdrive Draupnir. It is gorgeous as well as an amazing yo-yo.

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Hey @Mazdarx7FD I am loving my Dove by the way!
It is by far my most used yoyo at the moment as I feel more relaxed using it then my more expensive VTWO or the Ti-Vayder, although the VTWO is getting a lot of love recently as I am going into training mode for the SRC contest and I plan on using that one for it.
(not sure if that came off as a compliment or an insult saying, I like the Dove because it can be my beater yoyo lol but it definitely is a compliment as I wouldn’t be using it so much if I didn’t love it!)

Off the back of my good experience with the Dove, Hummingbird and Raytracer was my first thoughts, but the Hummingbird colourway that is left isn’t really my look (personally I mean, I think it looks great but just not for me) and I kind of want to try other brands outside of One Drop, ThrowRev, and YoyoFriends as my collection is limited as it is already.

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lol it’s just me being annoying :stuck_out_tongue:

I mean it all in a lighthearted sort of way…but I am also aware that I come across as annoying as hell cause I joke about it so freaking much. lol like a joke is funny the first couple of times…but then gets old.

But at the same time…I do love green yo-yos and it’s the only colorway I collect. Not exactly sure why TBH lol. It’s just my favorite colorway and I’m having a hell of a lot of fun collecting nothing but.

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It’s funny because it’s true.
And because it has now become a running joke it actually is quite funny. :slight_smile:

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No, it’s good to have a favorite color, especially when it’s almost Xmas and as the person who decides colorways on yoyofriends, I was feeling the holiday spirit a couple weeks ago.

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