# Yoyo Reviews are kind of useless **URL:** \ **Category:** Yo-Yo Reviews\ **Created:** [June 10, 2013, 12:53pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879 "2013-06-10T12:53:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GregP](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/gregp/32/1192_2.png) [@GregP](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/GregP)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/21 "2013-06-10T19:07:08Z")
@Steve Brown – this I agree with, which is partially why I never even care about a rubric being present or not. I may have been critical of this particular rubric, but what wasn’t apparent is that I’m fine with just the reviewer stating his or her opinion without a scale of ratings even being present. If you’re going to use one, though, an understanding of the values sure is helpful; glad to hear you’re working on one. @beezy – definitely agree that as a single reviewer develops a history of reviews, the rubric will explain itself. However, the reader may not be aware of that history (if they’ve just Googled for “One Drop Chik Review”). Moreover, a site will gradually grow a stable of reviewers, and if they don’t grade based on the same rubric (ie. not just the same scale, but the same explanation of values and baseline example yoyos) then it’s still just arbitrary evaluation masked with a thin veneer of objective measurement. ---
**Author:** ![xmotoby](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/xmotoby/32/1246_2.png) [@xmotoby](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/xmotoby)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/22 "2013-06-10T19:15:54Z")
It’s all the weight distribution over the yoyo. ---
**Author:** ![anonyo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@anonyo](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/anonyo)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/23 "2013-06-10T19:33:12Z")
To avoid problems, I am going to title all my reviews as being “useless”, just to do more diligent CYA business practices. ---
**Author:** ![unklesteve](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/unklesteve/32/106934_2.png) [@unklesteve](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/unklesteve)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/24 "2013-06-10T20:45:10Z")
> [@beezy](#): > > The “name” sites’ yoyo reviews are typically uncritical. With a rubric there is the hope that more actual criticism would come into play. Honestly, the bigger issue is the general homogenization of metal yoyos. The play differences between plastic yoyos are considerable…there are fewer of them, and a lot more thought and effort goes in to each due to the huge increase in start-up cost to get one made. People don’t make a plastic yoyo on a whim…once you make a tool, you’re making that yoyo for a while. Metal yoyos come and go fast. ---
**Author:** ![beezy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/beezy/32/161690_2.png) [@beezy](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/beezy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/25 "2013-06-10T21:51:52Z")
Good points! > [@Steve Brown](#): > > The play differences between plastic yoyos are considerable…there are fewer of them, and a lot more thought and effort goes in to each due to the huge increase in start-up cost to get one made. I hadn’t thought of that aspect of plastic yoyos. Of course there’s the machined delrins and such, but we’re talking injection molded, right? I do love a good plastic, and the shapes are so important to those. (As an aside, I picked up my Northstar after not touching it for months and I forgot how killer it was!) I guess the time spent tweaking the design really shows in the final product as compared to how quickly a new metal can be brought to market. I suppose the upside of a glut of yoyo choices from so many makers is some cool plastics coming out too. ---
**Author:** ![unklesteve](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/unklesteve/32/106934_2.png) [@unklesteve](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/unklesteve)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/26 "2013-06-10T22:06:30Z")
Making metal yoyos is a great way to do cheap R&D and test ideas and designs while raising money for molds. Unfortunately, most boutique metal yoyo companies aren’t doing that, they’re just making metal yoyos. Which is fine and all, but it doesn’t force them to refine their designs. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Soviet\_Locust](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/a_soviet_locust/32/113687_2.png) [@A\_Soviet\_Locust](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/A_Soviet_Locust)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/27 "2013-06-10T23:14:48Z")
> [@Philip](#): > > The rotational physics has nothing to do with how fast or slow a yoyo is. It only affects spin time. I’m pretty sure that’s not true. There are tons of yoyos with similar weights/masses, but different shapes, that have very different speeds to them. If a yoyo has a lot of rim weight, yes, it will have more spin time, but it will also be harder to push around, and therefore be slower. ---
**Author:** ![MYNAMEISZen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@MYNAMEISZen](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/MYNAMEISZen)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/28 "2013-06-11T01:59:45Z")
> [@Philip](#): > > I agree completely. You should look at a review to find how smooth a yoyo is, and how long it spins, but when reviews tell how floaty or solid a yoyo is, they are just telling you something you could find in the specs of the yoyo. Are you telling me looking at the specs of the 59mm 68g Cliff I’m going to be able to tell that it plays like its 66g? ---
**Author:** ![GregP](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/gregp/32/1192_2.png) [@GregP](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/GregP)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/29 "2013-06-11T02:05:04Z")
> [@MYNAMEISZen](#): > > > [@Philip](#): > > > > I agree completely. You should look at a review to find how smooth a yoyo is, and how long it spins, but when reviews tell how floaty or solid a yoyo is, they are just telling you something you could find in the specs of the yoyo. > > Are you telling me looking at the specs of the 59mm 68g Cliff I’m going to be able to tell that it plays like its 66g? Not always. But it’s not impossible to guess. Large-diameter yoyos of 68g do tend to play lighter than they are, while small-diameter yoyos of 66g+ are more likely to be “ker-thunky” (like the Supra or Token). But no, you cannot tell for sure how a yoyo will feel until you play it. :wink: ---
**Author:** ![JetEyeNight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ab097/32.png) [@JetEyeNight](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/JetEyeNight)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 4:43am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/30 "2013-06-11T04:43:37Z")
> [@GregP](#): > > > [@MYNAMEISZen](#): > > > > > [@Philip](#): > > > > > > I agree completely. You should look at a review to find how smooth a yoyo is, and how long it spins, but when reviews tell how floaty or solid a yoyo is, they are just telling you something you could find in the specs of the yoyo. > > > > Are you telling me looking at the specs of the 59mm 68g Cliff I’m going to be able to tell that it plays like its 66g? > > Not always. But it’s not impossible to guess. > > Large-diameter yoyos of 68g do tend to play lighter than they are, while small-diameter yoyos of 66g+ are more likely to be “ker-thunky” (like the Supra or Token). But no, you cannot tell for sure how a yoyo will feel until you play it. :wink: Definitely agree with GregP here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ArchersAxe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@ArchersAxe](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/ArchersAxe)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 7:29am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/31 "2013-06-11T07:29:00Z")
> [@Philip](#): > > The title needs a bit of explanation. I do not mean that all parts of a review are going to be useless. I do mean that some of the terms used in many reviews do not tell anything about the yoyo. Let me give you an example: the term ‘Floaty’. I myself am not sure of the meaning of this word, but I think (correct me if I am wrong) it means that the yoyo is fast and light. I am taking physics, so I have some issues with this definition. According to physics, when a rigid body moves (forgetting about collisions for a moment), it moves as if all its mass were at its center of mass, regardless of how its weight is distributed. Thus, when a yoyo is said to be fast, all that says is that it is light. Thus, ‘Floaty’ is redundant. > Let us look at the big yo. It seems really light, but if you look at the weight of 75 grams, you might be surprised. The reason for this is that the big yo is so large. Perhaps ‘floaty’ means light compared to its size. > > Revised Definition of how ‘Floaty’ a yoyo is: How light a yoyo is compared to how large it is. The only issue I have with the revised definition would be that larger yoyos have a higher tendency to be “Floaty” due to the design. By building a large diameter yoyo, you are already allowing more weight in the center which in turn shortens the amount of weight available for the rims. This also would explain why it is astonishing to some that larger diameter 68g+ yoyos are typically floaty. The extra weight at the rims is placed there for stability due to the large amount of material already being placed on the inside. The rubric on YYN may be helpful, but personally I’d throw “Heft” and “Float” out the window for the term “Feel.” You could then base it as Light, Heavy, Half/Half. That’d be my take on it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![snowmanjoshu](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/snowmanjoshu/32/53715_2.png) [@snowmanjoshu](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/snowmanjoshu)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 12:17pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/32 "2013-06-11T12:17:44Z")
> [@beezy](#): > > GregP: Agreed on rubric being arbitrary. However, if one persons uses one over the course of a few different reviews a baseline will establish itself. Especially if the reviewed yoyos are familiar. > > The “name” sites’ yoyo reviews are typically uncritical. With a rubric there is the hope that more actual criticism would come into play. This. I can’t really trust most site reviews because they’re so gushingly positive all the time. When they have a negative thing to say, it’s minimized and covered in disclaimers. I feel like they’re trying not to hurt the manufacturer’s feelings. Every yoyo is either the best ever, or very very good but not their favorite. There’s been times where I’ve owned a yoyo theyre reviewing, and it’s like they’re living on a different planet. Where I see tons of faults, they see perfection. ---
**Author:** ![PlasticWhip](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/plasticwhip/32/896_2.png) [@PlasticWhip](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/PlasticWhip)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/33 "2013-06-11T12:49:51Z")
I have yet to find a review that does anything but praise a yoyo. ---
**Author:** ![unklesteve](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/unklesteve/32/106934_2.png) [@unklesteve](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/unklesteve)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/34 "2013-06-11T13:45:31Z")
> [@WildCat23](#): > > I have yet to find a review that does anything but praise a yoyo. Be patient. Ha. But again, remember a couple of things…most reviewers ask for manufacturers to send them yoyos to review for free. That’s a gravy train they don’t want to mess up. General human nature says that if you ask someone for a favor, you’re going to be hesitant to repay that favor by throwing them under a bus. Also, as previously discussed, consider the homogenization of metal yoyos. When everything plays more or less fine and the differences are mostly just packaging, finish, and branding…when it comes down to “Which of these twenty-seven 66gm yoyos do I feel like spending $100 on today?” it’s pretty hard to say much other than “Well, I kind of prefer this one to that one, and like this other one just slightly more than that, I think, ask again next week.” I’m hoping we can make our reviews at least a bit more useful with a fuller explanation of our rubric, but there will NEVER be a substitute for playing with a yoyo. Best you can do is read a bunch of reviews and narrow down what you want to try. ---
**Author:** ![PlasticWhip](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/plasticwhip/32/896_2.png) [@PlasticWhip](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/PlasticWhip)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/35 "2013-06-11T14:55:41Z")
> [@Steve Brown](#): > > > [@WildCat23](#): > > > > I have yet to find a review that does anything but praise a yoyo. > > Be patient. Ha. > > But again, remember a couple of things…most reviewers ask for manufacturers to send them yoyos to review for free. That’s a gravy train they don’t want to mess up. General human nature says that if you ask someone for a favor, you’re going to be hesitant to repay that favor by throwing them under a bus. > > Also, as previously discussed, consider the homogenization of metal yoyos. When everything plays more or less fine and the differences are mostly just packaging, finish, and branding…when it comes down to “Which of these twenty-seven 66gm yoyos do I feel like spending $100 on today?” it’s pretty hard to say much other than “Well, I kind of prefer this one to that one, and like this other one just slightly more than that, I think, ask again next week.” > > I’m hoping we can make our reviews at least a bit more useful with a fuller explanation of our rubric, but there will NEVER be a substitute for playing with a yoyo. Best you can do is read a bunch of reviews and narrow down what you want to try. I think the reviews are really for publicity. ---
**Author:** ![unklesteve](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/unklesteve/32/106934_2.png) [@unklesteve](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/unklesteve)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/36 "2013-06-11T15:04:05Z")
> [@WildCat23](#): > > I think the reviews are really for publicity. Then why aren’t the companies writing them? ---
**Author:** ![PlasticWhip](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/plasticwhip/32/896_2.png) [@PlasticWhip](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/PlasticWhip)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 7:44pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/37 "2013-06-11T19:44:46Z")
> [@Steve Brown](#): > > > [@WildCat23](#): > > > > I think the reviews are really for publicity. > > Then why aren’t the companies writing them? Because that just makes the company look bad. ---
**Author:** ![saintrobyn](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/saintrobyn/32/54_2.png) [@saintrobyn](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/saintrobyn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/38 "2013-06-11T20:05:25Z")
> [@WildCat23](#): > > I have yet to find a review that does anything but praise a yoyo. Here you go. This was less than flattering for the company. [String Theory Bandit](http://www.highspeedyoyo.com/reviews/n-z/string-theory-yoyos/string-theory-bandit) I do my best to be objective in my reviews but at the end of the day every review boils down to being just one player’s opinion. I write my reviews from a stand point of “this is what I thought was cool, this is what wasn’t so hot”. That is why I don’t use a rubric, it feels silly putting a score on my own personal opinion. ---
**Author:** ![JetEyeNight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ab097/32.png) [@JetEyeNight](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/JetEyeNight)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 6:03am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/39 "2013-06-12T06:03:35Z")
> [@WildCat23](#): > > > [@Steve Brown](#): > > > > > [@WildCat23](#): > > > > > > I think the reviews are really for publicity. > > > > Then why aren’t the companies writing them? > > Because that just makes the company look bad. So are you saying yoyoers are writing reviews for their own publicity or for the yoyo company’s publicity. I don’t quite understand what you’re trying to say. ---
**Author:** ![PlasticWhip](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/forums.yoyoexpert.com/plasticwhip/32/896_2.png) [@PlasticWhip](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/PlasticWhip)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879/40 "2013-06-12T15:15:43Z")
> [@saintrobyn](#): > > > [@WildCat23](#): > > > > I have yet to find a review that does anything but praise a yoyo. > > Here you go. This was less than flattering for the company. > > [String Theory Bandit](http://www.highspeedyoyo.com/reviews/n-z/string-theory-yoyos/string-theory-bandit) > > I do my best to be objective in my reviews but at the end of the day every review boils down to being just one player’s opinion. I write my reviews from a stand point of “this is what I thought was cool, this is what wasn’t so hot”. That is why I don’t use a rubric, it feels silly putting a score on my own personal opinion. I’m not saying the occasional oddball doesn’t pop up because that was the first non-positive yoyo review I’ve read. Now, that is one review of what, thousands? For the most part, reviews are kind of pointless, and the only real way to tell which one you want is to play them. > [@JetEyeNight](#): > > > [@WildCat23](#): > > > > > [@Steve Brown](#): > > > > > > > [@WildCat23](#): > > > > > > > > I think the reviews are really for publicity. > > > > > > Then why aren’t the companies writing them? > > > > Because that just makes the company look bad. > > So are you saying yoyoers are writing reviews for their own publicity or for the yoyo company’s publicity. I don’t quite understand what you’re trying to say. What I’m saying is that companies send throws out to reviewers so that the reviewer will say good things about the yoyo. They know this is extremely likely, as I have only seen 1 (Thanks saintrobyn!) negative review in 2 years of yoyoing. They know that if they negatively review more things, their review site is going to go down the drain. [Previous page](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879.md?page=1) [Next page](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/yoyo-reviews-are-kind-of-useless/54879.md?page=3)