I’m planning on reviewing the new yo-yos I just got after a nearly 10 year break from throwing. I am very curious to hear what tricks others use to test out their new yo-yos so that I can get an idea of what the community may be looking for in a review. I was relatively skilled when I stopped and can still do all the old tricks and I think I have enough tricks to allow me to fully asses a yo-yo but I may be wrong!
Please tell me: how do you test your yo-yos and are there any moderns tricks that you go to when doing so?
If it’s a modern responsive, I’ve heard Shoot the Mood is a good way to test it.
For unresponsive, I imagine it depends on what you’re going for. Tournament play? Grinds? Finger spins?… Different yo-yos can be good and not so good for different types of play.
Boingy-boing :tells me much about a yo-yo’s ability to change direction as well as its relative acceleration and speed. Also, if the yo-yo is snaggy you will find out really quick.
i do reviews sometimes too. i test the yoyos i review with an example of every trick archetype i know how to perform. you should be testing a yoyo under most circumstances possible after all.
I like Plastic Whip into an immediate bind.
How high I have to toss it up to bind gives me some insight into how binds will be in general.
If I just have to drop the thumb string to bind it, it’s pretty stiff binds.
If I have to throw it out almost horizontal, it’s pretty slippy binds.
Probably tech tricks, horizontal, speed combos, finger spins, finger grinds, talon grinds, palm grinds, thumb grinds and some hop tricks like Eli Hops or some variation on it.
I agree with what a lot of others have said already! There are a lot of tricks that can test a Yo-Yo’s ability, and I think everyone will do a slightly different set of tricks to test how the yoyo preformes in accordance with their play style. We all have slightly different play styles and therefore have different desires in yoyo attributes that we want to test.
For me, I will always do some Eli hops and Boingy Boings. Also usually some horizontal tricks and maybe a finger spin/dna to see how well the shape works for that.
All in all, I think you should embrace your unique playstyle when you do a review and highlight the things that come to mind for you as you use the YoYo. This may inspire people to change the way that they test yoyo’s, or inspire them to try something new in another area of yoyoing. Seeking out some general appeal is good for sure to catch a wider audience, but don’t be afraid to keep your review unique as well!
