I like the modern ones, but gravitate more towards the classics… Plenty of Duncans from different generations, of course. Russell, Cheerio, really like the Canada Games/Festival yos from Sweden. I picked up 2 Bob Allen Sidewinders recently, and really enjoying that one! Super slim and light. Kinda like a Duncan Professional with a wood axle. Totally unforgiving, requiring a gentle touch. Saw some other ones stamped Japan that look like they came out of the same mold, may have to snag a few of those… Just want to see if I’m missing out on any other classics. What oldsters do you all like?
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I love old yoyos, my favourite Tom Khun (nojive, silver bullet, pocket rocket)
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Haven’t bit the bullet yet… But I do have a No Jive Woody, an RD-1, a Roller Woody and its sister the Sleep Machine. Still want to try a 3-in-1 and SB, but they can be tough to find in the right condition/price. I think my next one will be that tangerine one they have on their website now to see how it compares to the Hummingbird Trickster and BC’s Lightning and Rainbow Yos…
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If we’re considering 90’s boom stuff like Yomega and Playmaxx vintage, the Turbo Bumblebee may be my favorite of all time! Versatile, but difficult to master. Love the feel and quiet of the cork brake pads.
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Playmaxx pog masterace
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Plus it fits comfortably in the pocket, and it’s black and yellow!
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Speaking of 90s yo yos… Got another pile on the way! Haven’t had a Team Losi before. Excited to try that one out. Black and yellow!
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Da bomb is one of my favorites of that pile you got
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Da Bomb is an awesome old og throw! It’s up there with the other 90’s spinners….Tornado, omega wing, star burst, & the standards in plastics I have many of my old throws from the 80’s & 90’s before 2000 & unresponsive rise!!
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I’ve been going down a “vintage” yoyo rabbit hole, will have to get a “family photo” of them come Monday as I’ve (finally) got a SuperYo Renegade coming. I know the ‘Gade paved the way to unresponsive play when the starbursts would wear. I never owned one, my brother did get one from school…kicked myself for not getting him the money to nab me one. By the time I did think of it, the yoyos were gone/yoyo vendor was gone. I do want to actually try this at 0a as many 90s era yoyos do wonderfully with it.
Right now, I have to say my favorite “vintage” yoyo (from the 90s) has to be my BC Apollo, TK Sleep Machine, and TK Tomcat (Technically the TK metals vintage-ish? Nothing’s changed on them since the 90s, mfd in 2025). The Duncan Dragonfly’s also pretty solid. I never got the Bumble Bee GT so this is my alternative with literally just being a different color and different pogs.
I almost went for a Cold Fusion GT I was watching but ended up passing as I have both my Renegade coming monday and Handquake 2 coming (eventually, international shipping…). Need to get me another case for all of my responsives/90s-inspired throws (or not devote an entire half of a case to Duncan Butterflies)
I was looking at old videos of mine and apparently, my very first “stall” was actually done on a Duncan Professional. Yea, I made it hard on myself.
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Haven’t tried a Renegade yet either. Definitely on the list. Looks like I’ll get my first SuperYo along with my Team Losi, though… I had a green Dragonfly at one point. Got it from Toys R Us when they existed. I gave it to a buddy, and miss it today. Can’t afford a GT these days… The Apollo is on my list too. Been close to jumping on a couple, but got distracted. Not many BC models I don’t have. I’ll try to get a decent pic of my favorites from the 60s-90s. I guess when you collect yo yos, you automatically end up with tons of Butterflies… Somehow I get more of those than imperials.
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Got together all my favorites I could find. First time I had actually looked at the Duncan Professional next to my Sidewinder. They are pretty much identical in shape, but I think the Professional came out 15ish years later! The Sidewinder is lighter, with a wooden axle, and the starburst is very faint. There’s something about landing string tricks on a slimmer yo yo. I feel like it makes me be more accurate and smoother when I switch back to a butterfly…
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They came yesterday! 4 of them are auto-return, but the Black Mamba (next to the SuperYo) has an interesting bearing with a groove for the string. The Fireball and Saberwing are playable, but noisy. The old made in USA Imperial is coming apart, the Neo is fun, but already had a Glow Imperial that plays the same. The SuperYo really surprised me! Wasn’t expecting it to be this heavy. The plastic bearing is effective, and not as noisy after soaking it in lube. It’s super stable, prolly gonna have to get a Renegade sooner than later now… The Da Bomb came missing a spacer… That was a bummer. I’m using the fancy bearing out of the Black Mamba as a spacer now, which made it playable. But I feel like it should have a longer spin time than 2 around the worlds. Gonna break down and get a rebuild kit for it. And maybe purple Grim Sleeper halves to make it purple and gold. Then I believe I would have enough parts to make a 2nd one. Just have to figure out something for the pogs…
Hmm. Bottom picture, upper left next to the playmaxx. Did you make a YoYo outa a dip tin? If so, that’s pretty cool! -2 points for not using Copenhagen though. 
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Nah, it’s just always sitting on the nightstand with the yo yos, so I thought I’d include it in the pic… The one I carry in my pocket typically sits on the dip can. I like Cope over Grizzly when I can afford it, and if I did come up with a way to make a dip can into a yo yo, def go with Copenhagen natural or snuff. Come to think of it, I just got an Imperial that is falling apart… May have to cut a a can in half and glue stuff together sometime soon!
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Silver Bullet is better than 99% of all modern responsives and is the measuring stick I try to strive for when designing yo-yos. It just slaps.
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Sb2 and Tomcat are just 
, very ahead of their time. As a responsive player, having the ability to adjust the gap for the right feel is a huge plus.
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Not to mention the diameter on the bearing is about the same as an mr85 which is why those also are superior.
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If you want something similar in play to a renegade, grab a SnapBack. It’s similar, and if you unscrew the gap just a smidge, you can play it unresponsive/semi responsive. Been running them in my club for a while, and I bought a renegade off of ebay, and was shocked at how similar they are. They come with a bearing centertracks, so it’s also the easiest/cheapest way to get that bearing if you’re after it.
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Keep coming back to the Saberwing… I like how light it is, and the shape feels comfortable.
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