Yo-yo Buyer's GuideEuro-Yo Yo-Yo Shop | Yo-yo Buyer's Guide  | Yo-yos for Children and beginners
Yoyo buying advice for beginners and children
Can't decide which yo-yo to buy? These are my recommendations for a first yo-yo for a beginner of any age.
A note for parents
In my experience, children under 6 do not have the patience or coordination to learn to yoyo. They tend to get frustrated and quickly lose interest. Of course, your child could be different, this is just a generalisation!
Remember that yo-yos are not suitable for young children under the age of 3 years due to their small parts (choking risk) and long cord (strangulation risk).
When chosing a yo-yo for a child, if you can, choose the yoyo with them: they can be quite particular about yo-yo colours, graphics, features and styles. They might well be quite well informed from speaking to their friends if there is a yoyo craze at their school, or they may have their own requirements such as LED lights or an auto-return clutch that is the latest 'must-have'. Or they might just HAVE to have THAT yoyo because all their mates have one.
Which yo-yo is best for a beginner?
I am always being asked this, and there is no simple answer. In this section of the shop I have selected what I consider to be very good yo-yos for children or beginners who are new to yo-yos. You (or your child) might disagree with my choices! I hope the following information might help you in making your decision.
There are four key points to consider when choosing a first yo-yo:
1. Safety.
Yo-yos are small lumps of plastic and metal that are going to get thrown around at speed on the end of a piece of string. Even a small object weighing just 60 grams can cause quite a lot of damage when hitting anything at speed. A yo-yo can damage people, pets and possessions. Yo-yo injuries can and do happen. Always play in an area clear of people, pets, and anything breakable. Change strings regularly to prevent breakages.
Some yo-yos such as the Henrys yo-yo range have rubber rims which makes them softer and safer. Plastic yo-yos are harder. Logically, metal yo-yos are very hard and therefore potentially the most dangerous.
2. Robustness
Yo-yos get sat on, trodden on, hit walls, ceilings, the floor and your favourite vase. Bits get lost. Yo-yos break. Fact. Beginners are good at breaking yo-yos!
Some yo-yos are stronger and more robust than others. Some cheap yo-yos are made of weaker or more brittle materials and will crack if they hit a hard object. Yo-yos with internal clutch mechanisms (auto-return yoyos) or LED lights do have more to break and go wrong inside them. But they offer greater play value.
All of the yo-yos I have selected here are robust. The Henrys range of yoyos are very robust.
Be warned, they all contain small parts and care should be taken not to lose these.
3. Cost.
The old maxim "You get what you pay for" does apply. But, I do NOT recommend you buy the most expensive yo-yos.
Very cheap yo-yos can be a false economy - they may break more easily and not be good enough to learn anything but the most basic of tricks.
More expensive yo-yo's tend to be more robust and last longer, be better designed, more playable and (importantly) more fun!
You know your kid: will they look after and appreciate a more expensive yo-yo? Do you want your child to break a cheap yo-yo or an expensive one? How long will their interest last?
Expensive metal yo-yos are designed for experienced yo-yo players. They are not suitable for young children or beginners. PLEASE DON'T BUY AN EXPENSIVE METAL YO-YO FOR A CHILD OR BEGINNER! They are:
a) much harder to play
b) they need a skill called binding
c) NOT for beginners
d) Easily broken
e) Precision-made and designed to be highly unresponsive (they don't come back to the hand)
f) very expensive and
f) wasted on all but the most gifted of yo-yo prodigy's.
You (or your child) may be an exception IF they have been yo-yoing for some time and have learned, or want to learn how to 'bind' a yo-yo. 'Binding' is an advanced skill that needs to be mastered to play most metal yoyos..
All the yo-yos I have chosen represent the best value for money while not compromising on quality.
But "what about playability?" I hear you ask! Well, this is where things get quite subjective. The yo-yo's I have selected here will all offer good play value while allowing the player to progress beyond the basic tricks. Some features such as CDROMS or auto-return add to the playability of a yoyo.
Finally, remember this: if you get into yo-yos as a hobby, you will inevitably want to buy more yoyos. Most yo-yo players have a yoyo collection, with each yoyo being preferred for particular tricks. For a first yo-yo I would get one that best introduces you to the hobby. When you choose your next yo-yo, you will be better informed to make your own choice and to spend more of your money ;-)
So my recommedations are:
Duncan Bumblebee
PowerYo FX7 Black Widow
Yomega Fireball
Yomega Powerbrain XP
YoyoFactory FAST 201
YoyoJam Lyn Fury
Now, make your choice, place your order and go hide the breakables ;-)
Pete
©Copyright Peter Thake 2009
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|  | | Yo-yos for the progressing yo-yo player
Got a yo-yo or two and want to take it to the next level? Can't decide which yo-yo to buy? These are my recommendations for the undecided intermediate yo-yo player. These are the yo-yos that I know please most players. It is not conclusive. I would strongly suggest you spend a little time reading some yo-yo reviews on the web (try forums such as our shop forum). At this stage a serious consideration is your budget: how much do you want to spend? Also, which tricks do you want to learn? Do you want to try an offstring yo-yo, or try 2-handed looping?
Yo-yos I would suggest you consider adding to your collection are: any of the metal-rimmed yoyos by YoyoJam! If you want to try an advanced yo-yo that needs a bind, or you want to learn to bind without spending too much money, try the new YoyoJam Legacy or Auldey L3.
So my recommedations are:
YoyoJam Lyn Fury
YoyoJam Hitman or Dark Magic
Duncan Metal Zero
YoyoJam Legacy - brilliant choice if you want an unresponsive yoyo to learn to bind with.
Auldey L3: a very well priced unresponsive metal yoyo. |
| | | Yo-Yos for the experienced player
More experienced yo-yo players sometimes ask me what advanced yo-yo I recommend from the multitude of professional yo-yos that are on sale. I will be asked very broad questions such as "What yoyo could I get that is really good but for around £50?", or more specific questions like "what do you think is better, the SPYY Pro or the CLYW Basselope?". Or the question will be along the lines of "I want a yo-yo with a bead blast finish that is the same size as the YoYoFactory 888 but it must be blue".
I am sorry but I cannot recommend a particular yo-yo. I have not tried them all. There is a large degree of personal preference when choosing a yoyo. You must research your choice. You will have to rely on information and opinions gained from the web and form your own opinion. It is a bit like asking "What cheese do you recommend". Well I like stilton, you might not ;-)
Personally I would always take the advice of any retailer with a pinch of salt. They may have stock that they are keen to sell, or models that are more profitable.
I like to help, but I cannot be your personal shopper ;-)
General Advice for purchasing advanced yo-yos:
In general terms my advice would be that long established manufacturers such as YoyoFactory, YoYoJam, Hspin etc produce good products of consistent quality at reasonable prices. Many of their yo-yo models have been around for years and remain best sellers. They are best sellers for a reason: they are good yo-yos. They are generally made in large runs and so are more mainstream, parts and spares are generally plentiful and there are lots of reviews and player opinions about their yo-yos. Conversely, they tend mot to be so unique, and are less collectible, and tend to be aimed more squarely at players rather than collectors. A good safe choice for anyone uncertain as to what to buy but who wants a good reliable quality yo-yo at a reasonable price.
Other yo-yos are made by individuals or small companies for fun as much as for profit. They are often made on a more informal fashion by people with a passion for yo-yos. Production will be sporadic, the runs smaller (a 'run' is the number of a particular yo-yo produced at any one time). There are loads of these and examples include General Yo. BIST, Chico etc. The yo-yos produced are often of exceptional quality, but information on these is often limited, with fewer reviews available. Often, by the time a review appears, the to-to has sold out! While these are definitely designed to be played, they are also very collectible. Some true yo-yos icons have arisen, such as the legendary and extremely desirable Anti-Yo Bapezilla. Since these are made with a real love for yo-yos and for playing yo-yos, the makers tend to have a real pride in what they produce and are often real innovators. They often individually test each yo-yo before selling it and go out of their way to ensure a good finished product. The designs are often very unique and individual. These are yo-yos for both players and collectors but the catch is that there is a limited supply, there will be little comparative information available (no reviews), the designs might be a bit more radical, and they tend to be more expensive. However, you might end up with an amazing yo-yo and have one of only a handful made in the entire World. A bit more risky perhaps, but the rewards are great.
Finally, recent years have seen the rise of the Chinese and Eastern Yo-Yo manufacturers such as Auldey, Younkee and Aoda. At first these had a reputation for copying well known brands but I believe that recently they have begun producing more innovative and individual yo-yos. Whatever your feelings about this, to their credit they have played a huge role in bringing reasonable quality metal yo-yos to less affluent countries. They make a good range of yo-yos, and the quality has been improving. They do make some yo-yos which compare favourably with brand name yo-yos but at less than half the price. The finish of some is variable but they are generally very playable and offer very good value. An excellent choice for anyone with a more limited budget wanting to try a more advanced metal yoyo. |
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Euro-Yo Yo-Yo Shop | Yo-yo Buyer's Guide Copyright 2010, New Heart Trading. Euro-Yo is part of New Heart Trading, run by Peter Thake, a registered Sole Trader. Established in 2005, based in Hampshire, UK. All images and trade names are used with permission. VAT Registered 901 9153 46. |
