Yoyorecreation, Sturm panzer, one drop, and sometimes yoyofactory.
There’s your 2%
Edit: g2 sometimes as well. I BELIEVE they go back and forth on machining in US and China, but do ano, supplies, and everything else here.
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Pretty sure the new AE yoyorecreation is chinese but I may be wrong
Edit: Just checked YYE and it does indeed show the Overdrive Draupnir as chinese
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You can tell because the price is under $240.
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Same for Sturm Panzer
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Word
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Unpopular opinion here, but personally I don’t really care that much where the yo-yo was manufactured. I care about how it plays.
I always thought it was kind of funny how much people think about that.
But that’s just me, and I’m kind of weird 
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I was just going to mention something similar @nightshadow .
I support Made in US products; I worked in a job where we were required to meticulously track all American-made Iron & Steel, and certify it for the Feds, on our projects.
I also understand limitations provided placed on smaller players in different industries - some folks can’t even get a seat at the table. It’s obtuse to state that “products from (insert foreign country of debate here) are inferior to American”.
Quality Control from material source and purchase, handling, customer service (IMPORTANT), attention to detail, answering and asking questions, COMMMUNICATION, timing, milestones - then packing and delivery… these are just some of the factors to think about when comparing “companies” not “countries…
because ultimately, anyone can manufacture your yoyo out of a turd piece of aluminum from
some second rate uncertified factory in Turkmenistan… have you checked the Bill of Laden , or Shipping Tags, etc…
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In most cases I agree with that, however I’ve seen that a lot of companies go under the guise of an American company and it could be misleading for some.
Yeah for sure. I would never support shady or dishonest marketing
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A lot of companies–American and Japanese especially–play the “it’s manufactured in China, but hey it’s designed and tested here at home!” game. I guess I’m just glad companies like One Drop exist and manage to prosper despite all the less expensive competition.
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I know this is probably sacrilegious, but I personally wouldn’t care if OD started producing in China.
Again, what I look at with a yo-yo is how good I think the design is, and how much fun I think it will be. Both of these things are independent of manufacturing location.
Some of my smoothest, best made yoyos are made in China. I really haven’t seen a quality difference on the whole between USA and China.
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In a way, that’s bad news for One Drop. If there is no marketplace benefit to doing their own machining (i.e., prices end up higher and yet customers can’t discern a quality difference) then they need to ask themselves if it is worth it. Sure, it keeps someone employed over there, but how does that benefit the product or the consumer?
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Skilled laborers the world over need to eat.
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I’m
curious why the yoyo is considered one of the benchmarks of whether a product should or should not be made in America - and who, where and when those decisions are made.
I’d suffice it to say that many of us are operating vehicles, personal electronic devices televisions and tools made by these same countries. Any trip to your local Home Depot or Lowes will reveal that the materials provided for your standard ‘Weekend Warrior’ projects are scarcely American made (check
out rebar), hospital
equipment… so we all
have some
level of comfort with some products… and dollars to donuts - there are few amongst us that can get an American model created anyway. Utilize your best resources available to you… just like
folks that won’t by clear yoyos… those are my favorite because those are the ones usually left.
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So is preferring American made yoyos an ethical thing? Like supporting American workers?
Because I can understand that.
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I personally really like One Drop because they are so open with machining/production advice. They also have a cool team. There’s lot to like beyond the yoyos as a product.
The people of yoyo are always more interesting to me than the yoyos of yoyo, honestly.
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well said. i’ve developed some amazing relationships - especially when things have gotten pretty funky in the past year or two - that mean more to me
than the yoyo as a object ever could. but, our paths crossed over something so
simple is very special.
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We sell yo-yos in many many countries.
At this moment, we have yoyo in production in five different machine shops.
The only one we are producing at to get the lowest price is in the USA. They priced lower than all shops anywhere in the world that we currently work with on this specific project at this specific time.
We currently manufacture molded yo-yos in one country. By the end of the year it might be three.
Its interesting the emotion this creates but for us, its rational not emotional decisions that influence origin of a yo-yo.
The market/community largely does not appreciate origin or reward it significantly enough to match the, enthusiasm/vitriol on the forums.
I think retailers would be comfortable listing origin in Specs. Send an email to your fav @YoYoExpertGarrett maybe.
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If one drop switched to China I lose respect. YoYos will not feel the same… and definitely and ethics thing as well China doesn’t need more business…
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