Here’s my thought on buying expensive: You don’t have to be a master or even ready for competing yet to buy a high end throw. I’d say when you know you’re pretty serious about your hobby be it for fun or competition, you’ll jump into buying “luxury” if you want to say that. I (finally) own a few expensive throws, I often cringe at the fact I just threw down triple digits for something that could get beat up but at the same time I know its something that’s going to get a lot of milage out of it, even moreso than buying a couple video games that may sit idle a month from now.
About my skill level: I know most (about 85% through) of the YYE trick, though I see the “YYE ladder” as a starting point even when you hit the master tricks. These are all fundamentals for the long road ahead of us, some good mechanics in these tricks. I’m currently venturing other sites but spoiled by Andre’s teaching techniques that trying to grasp other advanced trick on other sites are a bit tricky…thus while I’m trying to follow their tutorials, I’m more or less looking at specific elements as starting points to play around with.
In the end, if you have the money and are pretty serious about it (or just flat out really enjoy this hobby like I do), have a decent amount of tricks under your belt, I’d say to go for it. But remember, a “high end” throw isn’t going to instantly bring you to a new level of play, there are mid-range throws ($40-50) that play just as well as my more pricey ones. Oftentimes, I’ll seek alternatives or something with similar specs that is a fraction of the cost. Other times I know I could just save money and buy the $40-50 version but admire the anodizing job to spend a little more to have something that I know I’m really going to love.
