This year getting back into yoyoing I’ve noticed something spectacular, Duncan metals are some well made, well playing machines. Right out of the box, put on a string, and it’s magic in your hands. I now own 6 of these bad boys, and they don’t disappoint.
So, when did this happen? Besides hearing about the MG no one was really singing the praises of their line of metal yo-yos. What changed? How did they find their place in this unresponsive era?
Yeah I’ve just jumped back into yoing this year too and have gotten a handful of Duncan metals.
One of my first yos getting back in was the 2018 Barracuda and I couldn’t believe how dead smooth it was.
Not just Duncan…but yos as a whole have improved tremendously since last I played.
Yeah but when I was playing more in ‘15-‘16 everything was great, but like ‘08-‘10 it felt like the big companies didn’t have the secret sauce that everyone else was using to make some real bangers.
Duncan yoyos are extremely consistent and always 10/10 smoothness but I find their designs boring.
The current lineup of Duncan metals are all fantastic. I have a Duncan area of my collection that gets a lot of action, (I throw like 5 different yos a day for the helluvit) and all the new stuff makes the super expensive Mg look/feel stupid.
I agree, in a crowded market it’s hard for me to find a reason to pick them over the already-long-list of other great throws I want.
I picked a bunch of Duncans up because of the 25% off sale they’ve been having, along with the 3 free metal throws they were giving away with purchases last month.
On the contrary what surprised me more is how long it took for Duncan to catch up to the smaller guys. It is about time they get serious. Having One Drop machine the newest Mayhem was a really good decision for them imo.
I just took it as the old timers not getting with the times. Brands like Yomega and YYJ thrived in their eras, but couldn’t seem to keep up with trends. So when I picked up a Windrunner at a Duncan kiosk this year, I was stunned at how good it played.
Yeah it took a while for them to catch up. YYJ and Duncan tried to hop on the metal train but the stuff they made always felt cheap and lower quality in comparison to YYF and the boutique companies of the time. Like the Meteor, Axiom and Trinity just weren’t quality feeling, and the Phenom was a little better but still felt a little off. Duncan’s stuff was similar, but the original Mayhem was almost there and was the best of their initial attempts.
I always thought it was weird because those companies were the biggest around and you would have thought they’d have the resources to make quality metals. I think they were hung up on trying to keep the price point reasonable instead of making the best product possible.
YYJ is gone unfortunately but apparently Duncan has caught up.
The grasshopper GTX is crazy in terms of price to value. That is when Duncan turned the corner imo. $75 for a really great playing bimetal, is kinda unheard of.
I’ve going to hopefully get this at nats
Yeah I have the GTX. Only Duncan I own. However, it’s one of my favorites. I’ve owned about a 100 or so different modern yoyos and the GTX slays. Really happy I picked it up
Them being able to have bigger batches helps with their pricing. But to your point not only are the prices appealing, their products are not just good, they are excellent.
For me it was about a model or two before the grasshopper GTX -
Imo it started with the Haymakers!
I’d say they caught up and are on par, not necessarily “so good”.
The MayheM though, super gewd, thank you @The_Machinist.
I agree! The Haymaker X is soooo good.
All the Duncan I have are fantastic. The GTX is my #1 throw right now, and has been since I got it.
repeat after me: god bless owen and bryan
god bless owen and bryan
