Hey,
I’ve only been in the community ‘lightly’ for 4 years, so am not wised up on the best yoyo brands etc… I tend to order throws based on recommendations or looks.
So, help me get up to speed, who are your top three go to brands? Who should I be keeping my eye on for new throws?
Thanks,
For me, I’m what is considered old school and tend to not throw competition style throws. I enjoy a more organic approach.
Onedrop - They know their stuff and make quality product for an affordable price.
Duncan - They got their act together and are throwing out some nice product, also at an affordable price. I’d also argue throwing yoyofactory in this spot because they keep cranking out affordable monsters.
Spinworthy - I just jumped on the bandwagon. Excellent hand made wooden yoyos.
Bonus points - General yo and CLYW
One Drop is one of the best manufacturers out there for a bevy of reasons.
ILYY has always held themselves to a very high standard and has some all-time great aesthetics.
As far as newer manufacturers, I’m a bit torn having to decide between GWAY and DD. GWAY appears to enjoy trying out new things, and I think the Saboteur is a prime example of asking the right questions during the design process. DD has been involved in more high-quality projects and collaborations than I can count, and the Assassin is one of my favorite undersized yoyos.
CLYW and One Drop are my favorites. After that, C3, MFD, A-RT, and Duncan
OD is my favorite overall, I have more of their throws than any other brand (even though a majority of those are Panoramas/Dioramas LMAO).
CLYW is probably next on the list, I think they’ve entered a bit of a renaissance of sorts lately and have been picking up quite a few of their newest releases (for example, WISH is my favorite bi-metal).
A-RT is probably third. In my eyes, they’re the spiritual successor to CLYW, or at least give me the same vibes CLYW did around 10-12 years ago. I think they have a huge grasp on the culture of yoyoing and their yoyos are obviously very popular. The Grail is now a legendary classic in the eyes of many and an all time favorite of mine as well.
Honorable mention goes to DresselDesigns (that 5050 is next level) and Mowl (I gotta get way more into their throws, they’re super underrated IMO).
EDIT: Thought I’d throw in a pie graph breakdown of the brand makeup of my collection for anyone who gives a damn lol
I try not to really rank yoyo brands or show too much bias any more, but if I had to just say a top three it would be: Unknown, Japan Technology, and CLYW.
C3 and Duncan make some of my most played yoyos though, so favorite in this instance is I guess just brands that have a cool image I enjoy, and I know I’m going to like basically whatever they put out.
Unknown’s artistic engravings are always great, every yoyo you get from Japan Tech you know is going to be a performance beast, and everything from CLYW is going to have a super fun nostalgic feeling. C3 and Duncan just have variety though so they’ve put out enough yoyos that there’s basically going to be something for everybody to love in their lineups.
Also Mowl, kind of in the same category as Unknown. A brand that basically treats their yoyos as works of art, while still being amazing yoyos to play.
I like yotricks for their tutorials and yoyofactory for their popular yoyos.
out of my 60+ throws, I don’t have a big variety of brands so I can only speak for myself and my limited experience but I would rank my top 3 as such:
YoyoFactory - Makes up 90 percent of my collection. They make every type and shape imagineable. @yyfben2.deactivated is really cool and they have the best customer service. I think they’re reasonably priced and always solid.
One Drop - They’re incredible at what they do, but they don’t do everything. I wish they would branch away from flat bearings and dip their toe into the bi-metal game
G2 - After such fanfare, I finally bit the bullet a got a few of these throws, and I gotta say, they live up to the hype. The biggest downside is that they are rarely available and you have to put in some serious time to find them.
Many will disagree, which is why this hobby is so much fun but this is my 2 cents.
No one’s mentioned MK1 yet, so I will. Great company run by someone very active in the community and they make great innovative yoyos to boot!
Thanks to the guys that mentioned DD as well! 
I prefer organic shape and slower play.
One Drop. Quality is always top notch, consistent, fun, and value/cost ratio is always way higher than most companies. You know what you’re getting when you buy One Drop. (Sugar Glider, Panorama, Diorama, Fat Tire, so many more…)
CLYW has some enjoyable throws and demand is high enough you can pass back to community fairly easily if it’s not your jam, but odds are you’ll find something amazing in the process. (Creep, Boy, Alpine for my current favorites)
Honorable mention for budget play:
Topyo. Silenus / POM Mojo / Cloud… They’re pretty awesome for cost/value for performance (personally) is quite high for those mentioned at least.
One Drop, TMBR, Duncan
I’m getting old so keep that in mind. My collection has some names that just don’t exist anymore.
My first has to be yoyojam. They make up almost half if not more of everything I have. Sad their gone, but thankful i have what I do.
Second is definitely YoyoFactory. The old California is my favorite throw, and you will pry it from my dead hands.
Last I almost want to go One Drop, but if I’m honest i would probably do a CLYW as my next purchase. So yeah I’ll go CLYW for third.
YoYoFactory- makes some of the most widely known yo-yos today, they have a wide variety of yo-yos and each one is uniquely different while having great performance, I would definitely keep an eye out for what YoYoFactory has in store in the future !!!
Yoyofriends- has amazing quality and performance !!! They are a performance based company which really translates into all of their throws. Each one of their yo-yos are really really good and you can never go wrong with them !!! If you want a throw that has as much performance as possible with a premium quality feeling, yoyofriends are the way to go !!!
Unprld- has some pretty good throws at the moment !!! They strike a nice balance between competition and causal throws. I actually have an elevation and it is definitely one of my favorite mono metal throws in my entire collection !!! It has amazing performance while having a casual playing feel to it as well. I highly recommended looking at some unparalleled throws !!!
I know you only said three companies but I also really enjoy these brands as well: Duncan, Dressel designs, MK1 yo-yos.
Top 3 yoyo brands….? Ok… no boutique brands then…….1) one drop 2) clyw 3) yoyo factory
oh but the list of boutiques are too numerous….
I don’t have a particular order but these are my top 3: one drop, yo-yo factory, CLYW.
I’ve been enjoying lately Zero Gravity and Atmos. Super rad throws these guys make 
I’ve got hundreds of yoyos…My favorites MFD, FTY and ZeroGravity and new in the scene Motion_YoYo!
You can’t go wrong with C3Yo YoYoFactory Duncan and OD.
One Drop is my favorite because clearly they make an excellent product and are beloved by the community.
Runners up for me would be Recess and Yoyofriends for similar reasons. Good people making good yoyos.
G2 - Best throws consistently imo plus jake is cool
MFD - Hard to get but amazing colorways and super fun mono metals
One Drop - American made, unique, and great colorways as well
Honorable Mention : TSAF (Throwing Sideways and Friends) and YYF (yoyofriends)
Have onwed 200+… These are the most consistent brands… .All are great though… I miss old Yoyojam so much it would be top three if still around…
I like going by looks first and then by recommendation. Sometimes I’ll even stick with a throw that isn’t that great just because I like the shape, color or engraving. Fun to watch brands are…pretty much all of them, but the ones I really get excited to read posts from are MK1, Dressel Designs and all the other brands run by forum people.
A lot of great brands out there
One drop makes an excellent product and has made some of the best yo-yos in the game.
C3yoyodesign- really great yo-yos every time, they don’t get talked about as much as some of the other brands
Duncan - makes some of my favorite yo-yos 100% their bi-metals are affordable and on par with any of the high end stuff.
Dressel designs, MK1, Unspoken, good life, just to name a few boutique brands that are smaller scale but make fantastic designs and really push design forward.
