Alright, let's talk briefly about materials. I've been using the Tom Kuhn No Jive yo-yo for these tricks; I like this yo-yo a lot, I find that it's a really well balanced and well proportioned yo-yo. It's not too big, it fit's well in my hand, it's comfortable, on backhand stalls it fits really nicely on my knuckles, it has relatively high walls so it's pretty easy to control kickflips or whatever, but there are a lot of good options. I prefer a yo-yo made out of wood, I just like the feel, but you can use a lot of different materials. Typically you don't see metal fixed axle yo-yos because metal tends to have a lot of rim weight and that tends to be more difficult to throw the yo-yo into off plane flips and stuff. You also dont necessarily want a really high gap because it's harder to control on stalls - The yo-yo tends to flip over a little bit chaotically if you have a lot of gap so you want something kind of thin, but something that also fits your hand really well. So the No Jive is a great option.

I'll also plug my signature SPYY x YoYoExpert X TMBR EH, which is a great beautifully crafted yo-yo by TMBR in Portland. This yo-yo is spectacular, it does everything. TMBR also makes a great yo-yo in the Turner, which has a very very similar shape to the EH. So I would also heartily recommend that. If you want to go with plastic Duncan is a great option, they've made yo-yos forever and their Butterfly is one that a lot of fixed axle players, includint Drew Tetz, swear by and this is a terrific one. If you can find a sparkly one their the best. They also make the Profly which is kind of a rounder shape than the Butterfly, but also plastic and also light. It has a wood axle unlike the Butterfly which has a metal axle so I find that to be a little more responsive and easier to control for me. This one was painted by John Higby, so if you can find a John Higby Profly thats definitely analogous to finding a sparkly Butterfly.

So, in any case, in terms of string I recommend using Cotton. This is type 8 cotton, type 10 cotton is also really good. You can also use slick 50/50 (50% polyester / 50% cotton). I don't recommend going down to type 6 because that's really thin but type 8 will do you great. I would stay away from Polyester string if you're using a wood axle because it tends to melt pretty quickly under the friction of the fixed axle yo-yo depending on how hard you throw. Honestly, if you're throwing really lightly for stalls it's not going to make a difference, you can throw poly all day. But if you're going to throw any sleepers or long tricks it's not going to hold up in the same way that cotton or slick will. Although if you're throwing the Butterfly with a metal axle then polyester is perfectly ok, that works really well actually.

So, a lot of options. But, in any case, good luck finding a yo-yo that suits you, that you like to play, that you think you'll play more, and you'll get better. If you have a yo-yo that is a chore to play you'll never want to pick it up and you'll never really progress.

Good Luck and Thanks for watching!