What is the best weight for wood yo-yos?

What is the best weight for a wood responsive yo-yo?


I’m in the process of making a few yo-yos and would like some feedback on what you think works best

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Well, if you want to play with a wooden responsive yo-yo, then I would say the best weight would be around 160 pounds. That is if you’re about 5 foot eight. Add 10 pounds for every 2 inches in height. If you’re a midget you should weigh dead even 100 pounds. If you can figure out how to take your brain out and put it on the scale your brain should weigh approximately 1 1/2 pounds. Now if you’re talking about the actual weight of the yo-yo itself it should weigh a little more than nothing but a lot less than too much. I would say between 48 and 58 grams, give or take a metric ton.

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I’ve been playing a bunch lately and personally I prefer Fixies in the 45-55g weight range, with 50g being my favorite. The shape of the yo-yo also really impacts the feel on the string, particularly the diameter.

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Ive never weighed my fixies, im guessing 45-55 or so. Im kind of ild skiil and really like maple, seems like the right density.

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I like closer to 60g. Or at least above 50g.

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I was wondering this too because there are so many different weights and somehow most of them I’m able to shoot the moon with. But some I just can’t get it to work right on. Not sure it’s the weight, but if I have time I’ll do some comparisons.

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Usually, anything from 48-50g for your typical modern responsive tricks.

However, if the design is more rim weighted, or centreweight has been removed, even lighter can work.

An example of this is the Button. This one is about 41g, but because so much weight has been taken out of the centre, it spins as long as something heavier.

If a fixed axle yoyo is too heavy, it will start to offset the response system, causing it to slip.

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A yoyo’s suitability for shooting the moon is about gap width, axle diameter and inner wall height. Those three things need to be the right specifications for it to do this well. Weight doesn’t have much to do with it.

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I like 48-54g

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String length is a critical factor for good moons.

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I got a Retro Gamer and at 36g it’s an interesting challenge but still a lot of fun, so I don’t know if there is a “best” weight for every scenario. Most of my others are in the range of 42-58g

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I have woods ranging from 38g up to 84g, but most of the time I like my Maples, which fall into the 52-55 grams with 53 grams being a personal sweet spot. It depends on what I’m feeling, if I’m throwing heat for 1A type tricks I prefer more weight, when playing pure finesse I like the feather weights. There is no one one perfect weight as its more about feel and each of them for lack of a better word have there own “Personality” and that’s where the fun of collecting them all plays in.

@Malachi said it

Its the challenge for some of them that is the real fun. If they were all the same, there would be no diversity to experience. Being able to adjust my play style to the throw I feel, makes me a better and more adaptable player.

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Definitely agree that the personality and lack of consistency from throw to throw is actually part of the pain/pleasure of playing fixed for me

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I got this SW Button in the mail, and it really does play more like it’s ~48 grams even though it’s actually lighter. That removed center weight makes a difference and makes me think more about how weight distribution impacts the feel of a wood yoyo.

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I’m curious how more weight toward the circumference compares to more weight toward the outer face in wood yo-yos.

Can you explain further?

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For example (extreme example), let’s say you had a balsa wood yoyo with wenge caps, like the freehand caps. Way more weight is on the face of the yoyo. How would that weight distribution affect play compared to a yoyo with O-rings along the outer edge where the weight is pushed toward the circumference?

Another example might be the CLYW Beartrap versus a bimetal with rings on the curved edge.

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This is the most recent wood thread, and I want to share.

This is the purple heart unresponsive @Glenacius_K made me. He said it would oxidize over time to find it’s true color. No filters applied to photo and standard white light used for lighting.

He wasn’t lying. I love this thing.

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That is the most purple purpleheart I’ve ever seen.

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It definitely exceeds my expectations. I really didn’t know anything about wood when you threw out some exotic wood options for me to pick from, I just thought purple heart sounded cool.

The weight is perfect and the looks are a very nice touch.

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