What’s the benefit of a titanium yoyo? Seeing the Alpine makes me think of getting it, but what justifies the price? And in your opinion are they worth it?
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In my admittedly limited experience, the benefits of titanium are mainly that distinctive ringing “ting” as well as added durability (although I never tested the latter). Oh, and you can spark ti.
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Pure performance benefits? Ehh, not much.
You’re better off with a $120 bimetal.
But, if you want a very collectible and shiny yo-yo that makes a cool noise when you flick it, get one.
Some people say titanium just has a neat feel, even if it doesn’t have specific performance benefits.
…I mean, yeah?
But you can get a different feel from aluminum just by reshaping it.
The question is, do you want a $350 yo-yo? Your gut response is the way you should go.
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Yeah I’m going to have to stay out of this one…
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Yea I mean it seems an insane amount to pay without a huge increase in performance.
I can 1000% see a difference from a $30 yo-yo to a $120 yo-yo, so I was curious what the difference would be from another jump. But seems not worth it
Now I wanna know!!
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So basically there is no performance increase it’s literally just a flex on others for owning it
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Haha, that’s one way to put it. People just really like the idea of having a premium product.
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You’re going to get people one here any minute talking about how “straightline performance isn’t everything” etc, etc.
I can see both sides. You’re right, it’s a LOT to pay for not a big increase in performance.
But a lot of collectors find it very appealing. I own a titanium yo-yo myself. It’s pretty cool.
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In theory, titanium allows the walls of the yoyo to be thinner (than aluminum) while maintaining structural integrity. This allows more extreme, or unusual, weight distribution designs without worrying about the yoyo breaking because some areas are really thin.
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They fun? I have to say I’m super interested in what they play like. But man that’s an investment lol
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So you would be interested in the Ti Mantis, Sovereign and Citizen from One Drop?
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I, for one, would love to see a titanium Top Deck. It would definitely benefit from the stronger material.
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I recall a competition in Japan around the time of the Metavity release in which at least 2 of the top 3 used that throw.
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There are some areas of the yoyo that can’t be made thinner (the bearing post, for instance) so titanium ends up adding weight for no benefit around those areas.
When designing, I’ve found that 7068+SS outer rings can achieve a higher MMOI for a lower total mass. Much better price, too. Beyond the minimal wall design, you can also add features (eg. clyw style 2nd rings) in 7068 more easily without blowing up the mass and midweight.
However, the design goals and intent are the reason to do any of these things. As you mentioned, a titanium topdeck would probably be very good. It’s a design that I don’t think would look quite right with steel rings. And looks? They’re like 1/2 of the yoyo.
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I once read someone on here mention Ti yoyo is like a high class watch… you can wear a casio $15 watch and it will tell time just as well. But a Rolex feels diffrent.
I own a few Ti and some are better then others, i own a few Bi metals that i like more then some of my Ti and i own some AL6 yoyos that i like better as well… but i will say a well designed Ti will stand out performance wise for what it was designed for.
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Takeshi Matsuura’s famous 2018 1-throw SemiFinal and 2nd place WYYC finish were done with the Mustang, a titanium yo-yo.
That’s off the top of my head. I wanna same some more regional contests have been won with titanium, but I can’t recall them.
Personally, after having played some magnesium yo-yos, I was a bit underwhelmed. The lighter density isn’t as noticeable as I thought it would be so while the concept is super cool, it didn’t seem quite worth it. Plus you can’t spark them 
I am super interested in trying an MgSS yo-yo though, or an MgTi if that’s possible or even monetarily feasible.
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Here’s what my experience would suggest. If you’re asking about a titanium yoyo now, you will eventually get one. If not now, you’ll ask a couple more questions and… end up with one later. So if you’ll ultimately get a titanium yoyo, why not now?
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Truthfully, in terms of tricks and performance, there’s nothing a $10 budget plastic yoyo can’t do that a titanium yoyo can do. From a practical and purely performance oriented perspective, titanium yoyos offer nothing of value that justifies their increased price. Even though the material is stronger and more durable than aluminium, which means the walls of the yoyo can be made thinner, this is very rarely ever pushed to its limits in titanium yoyos. Mostly because it is much harder to machine a wall that thin, which means higher production costs. A lot of titanium yoyos are organics as well, which means performance is not a key consideration in making the yoyo and thus these yoyos will not be making full use of the unique characteristics of the material. Also, most titanium yoyos come polished or brushed or just unfinished, so you lose out on the grinding ability of most aluminium yoyos, which are blasted for the most part.
So why do people buy titanium yoyos? It’s just a novelty isn’t it? Yeap, it is a novelty and people buy it because they like the novelty. It’s fun. Titanium makes a cool ringing sound when struck which a lot of people enjoy (only purely titanium yoyos, tiss won’t have that sound). Sometimes, it might be a way to get an iteration of a yoyo that will never be released again, like the 888 or the Albatross. I know I went for the titanium version of both of those yoyos for this reason. Sometimes, they’re really cheap, like the Ti-Vayder ($140 at release, same price as the bimetal 7075 Mowl Suveillance, really cheap for a titanium yoyo) so it’s worth it to try out a titanium if you have never had one (even better, it was a remake of the hugely popular and dare I say, legendary, Ti-Walker). Additionally, cheap titanium yoyos make for great EDCs since they are more durable than aluminium yoyos and dings don’t induce as much vibe and aren’t as noticeable (especially if you ding it on a flat, smooth surface like tiles). Your keys won’t be scratching up your yoyo either! Now you can play with a yoyo outside worry free, all while keeping your yoyo looking good. Furthermore, for some reason designers design titanium iterations of aluminium yoyos to play lighter, more agile and floatier than their original aluminium counterpart and for a lot of people like me, we are curious about having a yoyo that plays faster, lighter and floatier than the original yoyo that we already love. I for one love lighter yoyos so the titanium iteration of a yoyo is always more appealing to me, especially if the original aluminium version has a weight of 66g and above (usually the titanium iteration would be lighter and be around 64g-65g, which is not in the weight range where I am very likely to dismiss the yoyo). Titanium yoyos can also be sparked and sparking is fun, so why not? There’s even a whole yoyo made just for sparking called the Sparkomatic 5000.
I’ll say, if you have the funds and are willing to try out a lighter, more agile and floatier version of the Borealis 2, then go get the Alpine. It might not make any practical sense, but as long as you enjoy the yoyo and the titanium experience, it’s worth it in my eyes. After all, yoyos are all about fun, why take the fun out of yoyos by evaluating everything from a purely practical perspective? Fun isn’t practical anyways. Plus, if you find that you don’t like it, you can sell it for what you paid for, so there’s really not much to lose here.
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