I haven’t done any yoyoing for about 15 years, and I want to get back into it. Problem is, I’ve been so out of the loop, I don’t even know where to start.
Back in 1998 my friends and I yoyo-d all the time and we got pretty good, even did some inter-school competitions in SoCal. Then I moved to Oklahoma in 1999 and couldn’t find anyone who was interested, so I just stopped doing it, as much as I hate to say it.
My main yoyo then was a Saber Raider, which I still have. I also used a Fireball, which I still have. But I imagine yoyos have gotten better since I was 13 years old, so I’m here for thoughts.
Now that I’m an adult I can say money isn’t an issue with buying a new yoyo, but I want to progress naturally like I did when I was a kid, so I’m not looking for anything outrageous just yet. I just want a general well-rounded yoyo.
From what I’ve read, I’ve narrowed it down to these: One, KickSide, Lyn Fury, Speed Maker, Journey, Legacy II, Raptor, Metropolis, Echo.
Both the journey and the legacy will do nicely and take you as far as you want to go w/them. Also pick up some string when you order. Slick 6 or slick 8 (50/50 cotton/poly) still works nice.
My vote would go towards the Legacy II. It’s plastic. So it scuffs more and dings less. It is also made of Celcon, a plastic that feels very much like soap, and allows you to do grind tricks when you advance that far. It also has metal weight rings on the inside, which help stabilize it.
As for string, 50/50 will work fine, but most people these days use 100% poly. Just get a bulk 100 pack of whichever you like and get it in a neon color (Eg, bright green, yellow).
A SpeedDial would cover almost anything you would want to do, and adding a Loop900 even better. I really believe you should get more than one yo-yo, if not what I listed, then something like (but those are really adjustable and you can personalize to your needs).
About the strings, I stopped yoyoing for several years too and when I got back I bought about 3x 10 packs of different strings (cotton, polyester, slicks) and I found what was better to me before buying packs of 100.
If you want a go big with it get DM2 an use the slim bearing for it to be responsive and then web your ready toucan use it for advanced unresponsive play (assuming you know what that is)
You cant go wrong with any of those you listed, but I would go with a classic; introducing you to modern shapes. Often responsive yoyos are recommended to beginners so that they develop a goo string throw, but youre probably just a teeny bit rusty and it shouldnt take too long to remember those techniques…
Dont forget to buy a large bearing fir your classic too.
Welcome back! After about a 13 year break, I got back into yoyos two months ago. Hopefully you have more self-discipline than me, though - those nice metal One Drops and CLYWs get real tempting real fast…
I recently started back up after the same amount of time off. Based on the yoyos you listed I would say try out the lyn fury and the legacy 2. Also mentioned was the classic. If money isn’t a huge concern I would say pick up all three.
Everything about throwing is based on personal preference so you may find one you love and another you don’t care for but if you can build up your preferences on cheaper plastics you are less likely to spend money on a high end metal and not like as much as you thought.
My other recommendation is to pick up a shaped bearing for the classic that way you’ll have an 8-ball from the lyn, a speed (10-ball) from the legacy and a curved bearing from the classic and since they are all size C they can be moved around from throw to throw.
Also I agree with trying out different string to find out if you like thinner or thicker string. When ever I order string I alway try to get the same color for the same types ie. fat kitty string is red, yye string is white and normal kitty is neon yellow. This just helps me if I get the lots mixed up.
Really it all comes down to preference so try out different stuff and see what you like. Just my two cents. But good luck!
Everyone’s string advice is sound. Slick 6 still works for many people, 100 packs of poly are the most economical option, and a few 10 packs of different strings are what you need if you’re not sure.
The Lyn Fury is a fantastic little yoyo, but it’s not exceptionally stable. Since money isn’t TOO much of an issue, I would personally recommend skipping past the Legacy, Lyn Fury, etc. and going right to one of the YYJ plastic/metal hybrids like the Dark Magic 2. It comes with both bearings, is a great yoyo for responsive play (not looping, mind you, but other classic string tricks), and will last you as long as you want it to. (which won’t be long… if the addiction grabs you and you’ve learned to bind, you’ll be scooping up metals in no time!)
Some people prefer other of the YYJ hybrids, and it’d be hard to go TOO wrong with any of them. SR-71, SFX, New Breed, Speeder 2… as far as I remember, all of those come with both bearings.
Going back the other direction again, you could go “really” cheap to get back up to speed and start learning some string tricks, and then save the real money for an unresponsive yoyo without worrying about whether it can fit a slim bearing or not.
So, a Classic (with or without also ordering C-sized large bearing) to get back into the swing of things, and then something like a C3 Capless or Something Firmy either on the same order or a bit later on.
By the way… we all ramble… and all have our personal approaches. Take everything we say with a grain of salt.
What I would recommend is the YYJ Journey. The Journey is a great beginner yoyo, it’s durable, so you can let your kids or wife try it And it can take you pretty far, by cleaning the bearing in it, or replacing it with a new one and siliconing it, you have a very good unresponsive yoyo, or just taking advantage of the adjustable gap feature and widening it buy slightly unscrewing the yoyo. Here’s what I would recommend buying with it
As someone who encourages the growth of 2A [double hand looping] style, I suggest you grab a pair of YoYoFactory Loop1080. It’s just like the old school style of play that was such a hit when the yoyo ‘boom’ came about. While you’re at it, grab bulk string and thick and thin lube [YYF or YYJ, either one]
I think it’s nice because you’re basically re-learning everything and with a clean slate, you can start over and start learning looping tricks.
I’ll leave the string trick yoyo advice to the guys above. I’m here to advise for another style of play.
Welcome back to yoyoing and it’s great to have you here.
I’ve never tried a Journey, but yoyospirit’s advice translates perfectly over to the YYJ Classic as well, which has a more modern profile. It’d be hard to go wrong with that advice and either of those yoyos.
I would look out for the One and as someone else said, the Speed Dial will take you from beginner to advanced as you can adjust the gap. The only problem with this is that the Speed Dial is a metal yoyo so it might break and become damaged easier. Another choice is the Journey as others mentioned as well which is a great beginners yoyo. The Duncan Flipside is another yoyo that takes you from beginner the advanced like the Journey where you can simply flip the caps over to change the responsiveness. The Yoyojam Classic and the Onestar are also great beginner yoyos to look out for especially the classic’s incredibly cheap price which also plays well and. I wouldn’t go for anything fancy like a Chief or a Cascade just yet as a beginner so that you don’t damage an expensive yoyo that quickly.
Besides 1a, I would also advise you to try 2a (looping with 2 yoyos) as kuyaChristian mentioned. There are a couple of yoyos which can do looping tricks like your fireball, the loop 900, the loop 1080 and the loop 808.
I would also get some spare string and some lube. There is thick lube which is for beginner/looping yoyos (responsive) and thin lube which is for advanced (unresponsive) yoyos but you probably only need thick lube at the moment.
Also look out for Yoyoexpert trading cards (with professionals on each card) which you will receive one pack for every order and an extra pack for every $50 order. There are also prizes which can be won and every pack has 3 cards. Information about the trading cards and prizes can be found here: http://yoyoexpert.com/cards/
I think the YYJ Classic is really, really good, for both responsive and unresponsive. It comes with a narrow bearing for responsive play, and rubber o-ring response pads. I would suggest, as jhb said, to buy a lot of strings. You could also buy a wider bearing, and I suggest getting either silicon pads or flowable silicon, because the stock rubber rings turn the string black and get all over everything.
Wow, thanks for all of the recommendations. I definitely need to get caught up on the terminology, ie 2A, responsive, unresponsive, and so on. I’ll do some Googling and figure out what’s what.
But this is great! I’ve a long list of suggestions, so once I get caught up, I’ll decide what to order.
I really believe you should get more than one yo-yo, if not what I listed, then something like (but those are really adjustable and you can personalize to your needs).