I think we can all agree that fidget spinners are pretty lame. But YoYos are timeless. They’re the second oldest toy in the world, in fact.* Way more fun. Way more interesting. Modern yoyos also take actual skill to use and per the video, you can put on a real show.
And there is a glut of pretty awesome inexpensive chinese clone yoyos on the market these days, like every other toy, so a savings is you.
The first thing you need to know is responsive versus unresponsive yoyos.
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Responsive is old timey style. You spin the yoyo, snap your hand, and it will bind and come back to you.
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Unresponsive is the modern style. You spin the yoyo, and it will hang and spin forever, but getting it to come back requires learning a (relatively) simple bind trick. This is preferred so that you can do more tricks while the yoyo is spinning.
They’re also cool to look at:
So. If you want to try this out, and who wouldn’t because it’s freakin’ awesome, I have some inexpensive Amazon recommendations to start with:
I ended up giving this model to a poor kid in India, but for 12 bucks you can’t beat the price. It is a great aluminum yoyo. Yes it is a clone, but that price! There is also a green and black version if you prefer other colors. It is unresponsive, but you should start with unresponsive anyways.
There are a handful of things you should know with your first yoyo, and this video covers it well:
If you like that yoyo, get heavily into it and want more choices, check out this 2017 buyer’s guide. I personally recommend the bimetal yoyos, that have steel on the outer edges. A really nice feel.
* guess what the oldest toy in the world is?
