Just throw your yoyos carefully!
A yo-yo that is not played with at all is a waste in my opinion. I wouldn’t ever consider just keeping a yo-yo in a box haha.
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I have very specific feelings in this regard. I play every throw I own. I also play in the wild. if you’re afraid of hurting it then find a new hobby. You can not appreciate a throw unless you throw it. Throw it hard and throw it often. Try it 5A, that’s how you really tell the good from the mediocre. Now this is how I roll. I also use highly expensive Damascus knives at work. So it’s all in your perspective. Play with your toys. And do it often. You’ll enjoy it more. At least I do. Your experience may differ and that’s just the breaks.
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I don’t collect for resale, so to me every throw must be played. Granted with the numbers I have these days it does sometimes take some time to get back to a yoyo but all that I own do get played. No case queens here.
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Number one, I love the idea of yo-yo ornaments. My mother will be so done with me but it’s worth it. Number two, I don’t collect many things not to use them. Only coins, autographs and… no, even my vintage electronics get used. Except my Tandy laptop with the stupid failing hard drive. That being said I’m a proponent of using things that are meant to be used. I’ve carried my Ti-Vayder on me for some of my most treasured moments from birthdays, to moving, to the Rise of Skywalker opening weekend (an effort to complete a circle of three generations of my family who watched one of each era of film in theaters. My dad the original trilogy, myself the prequels, my sister the sequels). Though it’s sort of terrifying if anyone wants to see tricks with it when they spot me with it haha. It better be or grass or carpet. I say use it every so often if you’re worried about dinging it. As for my Vayder, it’s too late. It’s become part of my life that I can never let go. Besides, is a titanium yo-yo, designed to be more durable than the average yo-yo, designed to be used and abused, any worse than carrying around your $1,000 phone that’s pretty much designed to break if you drop it?
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I own a good bit of throws that are worth a decent chunk and I can honestly say I’ll throw em anywhere anytime and not worry about knicks. I honestly don’t understand the obsession the community has with throwing over grass and stuff. I think a lot of you are making your strings like super long or something… just my 2 cents
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I get it if it’s a throw you might be holding onto/hoarding for a future trade or something because you dont like playing it. I usually sell them off if I get to that point with a throw but that’s just me.
But if you like playing it, that first ding sets you free. The expensive titanium yoyos are the ones that should get played the most imo because they are so durable. I cant count how many times my evora has hit something in my kitchen while practicing new tricks and it still plays like new
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I think for me it is a psychological block not limited to yoyos. I have the same problem with drones. I bought a DJI and the first time I took it out, when I hit the home button for it to use GPS and return to the start point, it decided to land in the top of a 60 foot tree. I took control just in time but I have not enjoyed flying since then. My neighbor is the opposite. He has lost two drones in the past three years and will still send his drone a mile away without a worry.
Time to push through that block. I’m going to choose three nice yoyos in my collection and start using them. The TI Vader, a nice bi-metal, and, I don’t know, maybe the prettiest yoyo that I have.
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You sound like you are about to have a ton of fun dude! Enjoy yourself
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If I own it I play it. I have a Ti ginesis set up for 5 a with me right now at work. I do have a class of yoyo for camping trips and what but but if it’s not in danger of going over a mountain I bring and okay everything I own.
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Many good reasons for and against here. While I’m very new to paying attention to yo-yos, I have wrestled with this quandary in other gear-intensive areas of interest.
If I’m not sure it’s a keeper, I baby it and keep all packaging accessories, etc. to maximize resale value.
If I’m sure it’s a keeper, I use it however it inspires me. I’ll often still keep the packaging: if the pkg is mundane it’s more out of habit since I’m unlikey to let it go, but if it’s elaborate and/or part of the creative intent I keep it to honor the complete vision of the maker. Kinda like listening to the entire record even when it was a single track that inspired you to put it on.
If the gear is a keeper but vintage, I do consider if continued use may “use up” something of value of the piece and to what extent that element should be preserved.
I was just discussing this topic with my 9 yr old son who recently became aware of more abstract value embedded in objects of affection. My dentist of many years is someone who casts a long shadow in the World of Yo. A few years ago, he gave my son one of his namesake yo’s, a butterfly woody with a pink breast cancer awareness graphic. It’s been well loved by a child who is just now getting his Sleeper down ;). Recently, we discovered that the axle was cracked. He was heartbroken to learn that it’s a special yo-yo and you can’t just go buy one (without dropping a C-Note on eBay LOL). He said he wished he’d never used it since it was so rare. We discussed that Tom gave it to him to use without hesitation and it’s OK that it broke as it was used for its purpose with love. I mentioned this to Tom the other day as an anecdote about childhood perspective only to see an email later in the day that he’d dug around in his basement and found the last 3 of those Woodys, setting one aside for my boy 
In other words, if it’s a keeper but hard to replace, get a spare and use one of them to your heart’s intent!
Though the monetary value involved is different, I met someone that exemplifies the “if you love it, use it” point of view. An old neighbor happened to be a major Ferrari collector focussed on 60’s 12 cyl. models. He threw an annual BBQ for his car-nut friends, and I managed to get invited the last year he did one (no, I’m am not a participant in this area of collecting!) Out of the incredible rolling hardware lined up and down the block at my neighbor’s storage facility was a really old Prancing Horse that was very, very well-used. The blood-red paint on the nose was littered with stone chips, exposing the bare aluminum. The wire wheels were blackened with brake pad dust. The headers as they poked through the bodywork just behind the front wheels, were sapphire blue along the curve. The wood-rimmed steering wheel was darkened where the driver’s hands gripped most often. The engine was still ‘ticking’ as it cooled down from the drive over. The owner came over as I was admiring what I thought was the best ’57 250 TR replica I’d ever seen. “It’s real” he said….(!) Apparently his dad bought it new, racing it at their local track (Laguna Seca) and was never shy about putting mileage on her zipping around the narrow, twisty roads between Monterey and San Francisco. This guy felt it would dishonor the memory of his dad and the spirit of the car if he restored it into ‘Trailer Queen’ condition and stopped driving it vigorously.
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Maiden drone flights can be VERY intense and anxiety inducing!
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If I own it I play it, but there are some real rarities I don’t take out into the world. I worry as much about losing them as I do damaging them. Damaging a yoyo sucks, but losing a loved yoyo is much worse. I have yoyos a decade or more old which have somehow made it to me without noticeable damage, I feel it would be a disservice to the yoyo to cause damage after all this time. I still play them but in an environment where risk of damage is minimal. If its something that I want to take anywhere I’ll track down another which has been pre-distressed. I’ve got enough dinged/scuffed/common yoyos that I have trouble choosing one when I want to change the yoyo I’m carrying.
Here’s the one that really puzzles me, there’s a few yoyos where I have multiples and one of them just feels or plays so much better than its siblings. Of course its the one I always want to play, but then I worry about losing or damaging it badly enough to impact its play. I know that one will be hard to replace.
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If I own it then it gets carried and thrown in the wild.
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This is awesome! I’m glad your going to throw your top tier!
I agree 100% with the if i own it i play it… but if i paid $$$ for it is unlikely I’ll play it over concrete. Nothing wrong with indoor throws only.
Having said that i have a set of MFD throws that cost me a few $$$ and the emotional rewards i get from throwing them is so great that i take care when i play them outside, but i do play them everywhere. A little extra care goes a long way.
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Yoyos are meant to be free, not caged in boxes or stationary on shelves. They create smiles, laughter, at times frustration, learning and excitement when they are spinning! Yoyos are meant to spin, they must spin to be whole!
Do you want your entire existence to be sitting in a chair with people staring at you? lol
Do with your toys as you will but I don’t plan on selling anything I buy. I purchase it because I really want it. Therefore, I most likely will have it until it has been totally worn out. I take care of my things, use not abuse, so I will have my yoyos a very long time.
That’s what’s right for me.
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I collect and I play.
Like pogs; the shinier ones go in the “don’t worry about it” pile.
The ones I “accidentally” ding become beaters.
And the bi-metals get played over wood chips, cause I’m an adult and those things are expensive.
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see this i completely agree with… lol I dont see the point to not throw a throwing object.
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I take my basecamp jackknife everywhere. I like having a decent one to take everywhere and not care about the scratches and dings. I keep all my others at home and use them over carpet or wood floors. I just care about them more then banging em up which I know I’ll do lmao
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I used to be into watches, and there is an axiom in the watch world - something along the lines of “If you’re too afraid to wear it, then it’s too expensive for you.” They’re only material possessions, which are ultimately meaningless. Use them and enjoy them. That said, I am more careful with my expensive (to me) or ‘tough to replace’ throws. I still enjoy them, but in a more controlled environment.
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I will say after the first ding or scratch it gets way easier to take your expensive stuff out into the world.
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