Crescendo is also an outstanding, modern Duncan monometal. Both Crescendo and Evolve were used to final worlds 2024.
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I think you can point out some negatives or tell people who is this yoto Not for. For instance: I like to yoyo slow and even if I try, I cannot surpass “medium speed”. So if a reviewer like you say " If you are a speed player, this yoyo is not for you", I get the info that it might be for me. At the same time, a speed player will know that he could find a better option and choose something else.
You aint bashing anything while pointing out a “negative”.
Same for DNA, tech, etc.
My two cents…
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The sad reality is that no review, personal opinion or even the most un-biased evaluation will ever tell you whether a particular yo-yo is ‘right’ for you. Only actual experience with a particular yo-yo will do that. Expecting this kind of information from another person’s review is unrealistic. Therefore, criticizing the lack of any particular analysis is equally unrealistic.
There is a reason why most people buy many different yo-yo’s. It is because only experience can tell you which type of yo-yo is the best for you. Trying to use a review a a substitute for actual experience is likely to lead you astray. Going to yo-yo meetups and contests can give you a chance to try new throws without purchase. This is a great way to learn your preferences without shelling out gobs of cash.
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I only use reviews as a rough estimation of generalized experience. Seems like most every yoyo is good as long as it’s balanced. Buy once cry once doesn’t seem to apply as there really isn’t a best choice after a certain price point. Have fun, sell what you don’t like and good luck on finding the perfect one. You know, the pure platinum one with the solid gold rings and spider silk string that sleeps like a coma patient.
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I’ve noticed some of my bearings (mainly magic yoyo) rust sometimes, and it’s not like I just let any of my yoyos just sit there. I thought the purpose and good properties of stainless steel was so it couldn’t rust? What do you think sir?
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Bearings arent usually stainless steel, they’re typically chrome steel, which rusts easier than stainless
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In budget brands and cheap bulk bearings they aren’t always stainless steel but even when they are often the race will be ss but not the balls nor the cage.
The cage is often nitrile or other cheaper plastics which can melt when doing the lighter trick to clean a bearing which is why I don’t recommend that method usually to new folks. Higher quality bearings are sometimes all ss but it just depends on the brand and where you got it. Gold are absolutely plated and will wear off quickly if not lubricated.
This is the risk of running bearings dry too is cheap bearings will wear off their plating quicker and be exposed to rusting easier.
I often keep desiccant packets in my bearing storage to keep my spares from getting any moisture in them
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Stainless steel can rust under harsh conditions. If scratched it reforms a protective layer. If constantly then it can’t keep up.
There are also different types of stainless steel. Some are more resistant to salts, acids, chemicals, etc..
Do you live in a humid climate? Or near a marine environment? How do you store your yoyos? You can use desiccants in a relatively airtight case. There are reusable ones you revive in an oven (I use this for photo equipment). If it’s really humid you may want a dry cabinet.
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Ohh yes salt water will kill any yoyo. I had a shutter that my kids tossed in a toy bag full of sand that was left in the wash of the beach and by the time I found it the whole yoyo was very corroded. It was left damp in that beach bag for months.
Otherwise as long as the yoyo is left mostly dry it’ll be fine.
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I think yoyo reviews are fine, but they should be reviewed according to whether the yoyo achieves their design intentions.
Is it meant to be a competition yoyo? Review it as such.
Is it mean to be a comfortable, smooth feeling and flowy organic yoyo? Again, review it as such.
Is it ‘fun’ gimmicky yoyo?.. You get the picture.
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Some yoyos claim to be all of that.
Like they say, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
One yoyo might be great for my preferences if I were to compete but unadapted to someone like Gentry Stein.
What I would like to say is, some yoyo reviewers lack the skill and knowledge to be able to judge a yoyo. Not going to mention any youtube channels but I remember some of them were basically beginners and would go around saying: « Oh yeah this is definitely a beast competition yoyo » while doing some trapeze tricks in slowmo 
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Well then review them for all of that.
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I agree. I think the problem, to some extent, is that it is a small community made of normal people who want to support the community and who aren’t necessarily skilled at critical (balanced) reviews. I don’t mean to put him on blast because he seems like a really cool guy and his videos HAVE been very informative to me, but Dylan Kowalski is an example of someone who has reviewed a lot of yoyos, but has mostly only focused on what he liked about them as an example of this.
We can say “there aren’t any bad yoyos”, but what an individual subjectively doesn’t like about a yoyo (like if it isn’t as stable as would be expected, if it plays too heavy compared to it’s peers, etc), are things others people might not like about it and what I would like to hear more of in reviews.
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It’s also hard to be unbiased when it’s a yoyo from a brand your sponsored by. Like Dylan and myy
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What do y’all typically do?
- I check reviews before I buy a yoyo
- I buy a yoyo without checking reviews
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voters
Just curious which approach y’all lean towards.
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Depends honestly. It’s not even removed as much as word of mouth. I get allot out of hearing from peers on this forum and what others think in general. I base those opinions around my own preferences knowing what I like. For example I like a bit heavier more organic blasted monometal as my primary preference and if it has a spike on the hub I’m even more excited. I also get excited for brass, copper and nickel along with undersized throws which adds to the group of silly things I might consider.
At the same time if folks I know are gushing over for example the g2 wraith then even though it’s not a yoyo that hits any of my boxes I’ll look into it more cause others I know are interested. In the end it’s an outlier in my collection of more rounded shapes.
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i voted that i check but i more ask ppl what they thought and then combine that with my own thoughts to come to a conclusion. but i feel like asking what someone thought is basically asking directly for an impromptu review. my decision to buy a yoyo would never hinge on anyone else’s opinion, but i always like making decisions as informed as possible
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Writing yo-yo reviews can be a fun and rewarding. Reading them can be helpful at times. I’ve written a great deal of other types of reviews over the past several years as a freelance writer covering music, books, various physical products and more. Yo-yos are certainly their own unique type of product that require their own types of coverage and particulars as part of their review process, but it certainly isn’t pointless to review them if you enjoy doing so and reading such reviews can be beneficial even you simply want to pick someone’s brain.
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I don’t need a review to decide I’m going to buy a yo-yo, but I’m always going to try and look for reviews and others’ opinions before buying.
That said, if I’m considering a yo-yo which is not from one of my “sure” brands, then the likelihood of me buying without a useful review or lots of words of mouth positivity decreases a lot and it may basically be zero depending on how much experience with the brand I’ve had and how I feel about their throws.
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I have never heard of plastic or nitrile used in anything but seals for precision ball bearings. In my experience, races are made from stainless steel or ceramics.
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